12 Rare Photos of Katie Holmes Early in Her Career

Shortly before Holmes achieved widespread fame, she acted in the 1997 film The Ice Storm with A-listers Elijah Wood, Sigourney Weaver, Tobey Maguire, and Christina Ricci. The film won one BAFTA award and was in the running for the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival.

In 1998, Holmes got the role of a lifetime as Joey Potter in the hit teen television series Dawson’s Creek. As she explained to Jimmy Fallon while visiting his show in 2018, it might not have happened because she almost passed on the in-person audition as her high school play was opening the same day. To make things even worse, the show’s creator told her that the audition tape she recorded herself was half taped over. Thankfully, everything worked out in the end.

At her first Primetime Emmy Awards, Holmes opted for a lace embroidered gown paired with a small white bag.

About a year after being cast in Dawson’s Creek, Holmes was in Go, a movie about a drug deal from different perspectives. The film won two Independent Spirit awards. Here she is with her sister at the premiere.

Then, Holmes walked the carpet again with Klein for the premiere of the movie Abandon. They complemented one another in chic black looks.

A year later, Holmes starred in Pieces of April, a movie about a young girl who invites her dysfunctional family to her place for Thanksgiving dinner. The film was written and directed by Peter Hedges, the writer behind What’s Eating Gilbert Grape. Moreover, Pieces of April was nominated for an Oscar.

The actress struck a pose at the Golden Globes Awards after-party in 2004. That year, Holmes had the leading role in First Daughter, the Forest Whitaker-directed film with Michael Keaton. Holmes played the president’s daughter in the romantic comedy.

Holmes has attended New York Fashion Week for decades. Here, she’s seated front row at Vera Wang’s fall 2005 runway show at Bryant Park.

She also joined Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Cillian Murphy, and Morgan Freeman in Christopher Nolan’s Batman Begins. She was Batman’s love interest, Rachel Dawes. Catch her here at the movie’s Hollywood premiere.

Holmes smiled at the camera while attending the Yves Saint Laurent show during Paris Fashion Week. The following year, she appeared in Mad Money with Diane Keaton and Queen Latifah.