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Katie Holmes Starting Over at 45 After Suri Cruise Graduation: ‘Fully Embracing This Next Chapter’
It’s a rite of passage for every teen. Days after attending her prom in a corseted floral-print ensemble on June 18, Suri Cruise graduated from New York City’s LaGuardia High School, the famed performing arts institution that counts Timothée Chalamet, Jennifer Aniston and Nicki Minaj among its former students. Next, Suri revealed in a classmate’s TikTok video posted this May that she’s heading to college in Pennsylvania.
But Suri’s not the only one transitioning to a new phase of life. Twelve years after Katie Holmes blindsided Tom Cruise with divorce papers, escaped his controversial faith and secured custody of their daughter, Katie, 45, is “fully embracing this next chapter,” a source exclusively tells Life & Style. “She’s been through a lot. The Tom drama seems so long ago, but it followed her for many years.”
Suri turning 18 a few months ago was a “catalyst” for Katie, adds the source, that “helped her healing process. She successfully raised their daughter the way she wanted to. Katie and Suri are both such strong women.”
Katie Holmes Is Ready to Begin Again
A decade ago, the single mother declared in an interview, “I don’t have any fear now.” Today, that rings truer than ever, according to the source. While Katie was reluctant to completely let her guard down for a long time following her very public split from husband of five years Tom, 61, and his religion, the insider says she “really lives her life with no fear in 2024. Katie is no longer under a microscope.”
These days, the empty nester is putting the focus on her career. On top of acting, “I’d like to continue to write and direct my own films,” the former Dawson’s Creek and Batman Begins star — who in August also starts rehearsals for an Our Town Broadway revival that opens in the fall — shared with The Times in June.
Other moves that perhaps no one saw coming? She’s mulling adding author and beauty mogul to her résumé. “Maybe [I’ll] write a few books — fiction,” Katie recently said, admitting she “would love” to do a skincare line at some point, as well.
At the start of the summer, Katie launched her first clothing and accessories line, too: a well-received capsule collection in collaboration with cult French fashion brand A.P.C. It includes “pieces that are cool but not recognizable,” she says, “and can fit into your existing wardrobe seamlessly.”
Katie’s a Proud Mom
Sending Suri off to school, where she’ll be a six-hour drive away, is bittersweet. “Katie will no doubt miss having her around the house. She and Suri are so close,” says the source.
Katie recently admitted her only child, who’s reportedly leaning toward studying fashion, has been known to raid her wardrobe. “Sometimes the basics definitely disappear,” Katie said, sharing that though she’s saved some pieces for her daughter, Suri “has her own sense of style and her own expressions.”
Katie’s proud of the young woman her little girl has become. But like most moms, “she’ll probably never stop worrying about Suri,” says the source, though she also “raised her right and should feel confident about Suri having a good head on her shoulders.” Katie’s trying not to be “too clingy” as Suri starts packing to move out, adds the source, but “she’ll still surely hope to get a daily text once Suri leaves.”
Reflecting on what this moment means for Suri and for herself has been important as Katie shifts from caregiver to mentor. “Instead of wallowing in having an empty nest, Katie appears to be looking at it as an opportunity,” explains the source. “She’s doing more projects, dipping her toes into fashion and continuing to elevate her own style,” which A.P.C.’s creative director praised as “appealing to everyone … very sophisticated but also accessible.”
In her mid-40s, Katie has, unexpectedly, even made a nose ring her new signature look: “I thought it was pretty,” she’s said of the piercing.
When it comes to romance? Since Tom, she’s embarked on just a handful of relationships, dating Jamie Foxx, 56, restaurateur Emilio Vitolo Jr., 36, and musician Bobby Wooten III, 35. “Motherhood was always her main priority,” says the source, noting that now “a dating app isn’t out of the question. She’ll see what the next year brings.”
That goes for everything. “Katie’s friends say she seems ready to explore new things and to spread her wings and fly,” adds the source. “There’s an excitement about the unknown!”
