Katie Holmes filed for divorce from Tom Cruise back in 2012. Since then, she's been a single mom to their daughter, 13-year-old Suri Cruise. As any single parent knows, it is not easy to navigate motherhood alone, but Katie Holmes has shined as a single mom. Sure, she probably has off days that the media doesn't know about, and she's been open about having to lean on others through the tough times. But for the most part she's done an excellent job raising Suri thus far.
The actress was 27 when she had Suri, and told Elle magazine that she loves how she and her daughter have kind of gotten to grow up together.
"I was happy to become a mom in my twenties," she said. "It's been nice that our ages fit. … Every age that my child has been and my age at that time has been a good match."
Here are 20 times that Katie totally nailed the single mom life.
Leaning on others
Making time to play
We love this photo Katie shared of playing dress-up with her daughter a few years ago. As parents, it can be easy to get into a rut where we're too busy to stop for a moment to play with our kids, but they always remember when we do. Take a page out of Katie's book and plan a silly activity every once in a while.
Including her daughter at work
As a busy working actress, Katie can't always put her job on hold to spend time with her daughter. Her solution has been at times to bring Suri along with her and educate her about the film industry. We know that not every parent can bring their children to work, but it is always a great idea to inform our kids as much as possible about our jobs so they can try to understand what we do.
Staying healthy but not forcing it
Katie told Shape that she sometimes works out with Suri if their schedules happen to overlap, but that she never forces her to work out "because I know that's lame." It's tough to strike a balance with kids to make sure they're getting enough exercise to be healthy but also not developing potentially negative body image issues if we press too hard. Katie seems to have that balance down. If it happens, great, but she's not mandating it.
Going to the Kids' Choice Awards
It's probably not very fun for adults to go to the Kids' Choice Awards, but it's probably super fun for a kid to go. Katie prioritized Suri's excitement about the event back in 2015 and took her to the show's taping. Katie wasn't even nominated for an award or anything, but she still went. This is what being a parent is all about.
Belles of the ballet
In 2018, Suri and Katie went on a rare public outing together to attend the American Ballet's opening night gala. There's something so fun about a mom taking her little girl to the ballet, and Katie wasn't going to miss that moment with her own daughter. Suri was 12 at the time, and definitely able to understand how exciting the event was.
Respecting Suri's personality
When it comes to raising Suri, Katie told InStyle that she just wants to respect who her daughter is as an individual. "My biggest goal has always been to nurture her into her individuality. To make sure she is 100% herself and strong, confident, and able. And to know it."
This is such a great way to parent a child, and Katie excels at it.
