7 Photos of Katie Holmes Young & Giving Off All the Joey Potter Vibes

Once upon a time, in 1997, 19-year-old Katie Homes snagged a gig on a promising teen drama called Dawson's Creek, in which she starred alongside a similarly young James van der Beek. Holmes played Joey Potter, a young teen helplessly in love with her best friend and neighbor Dawson (van der Beek), and the rest is history. 

In addition to her role as Joey Potter, Holmes also earned a part in acclaimed director Ang Lee’s The Ice Storm. Here she is with her very ’90s hair at the New York premiere of the film.

By 1998, she was basically a red carpet pro and had already covered mags like Seventeen, Rolling Stone and TV Guide. Here she is at her very first Emmy Awards. We’re digging those ringlets, Katie.

With the success of Dawson’s Creek, Holmes began racking up lead roles in major movies like Teaching Mrs. Tingle alongside Dame Helen Mirren. Just look at her pout at the premiere. 

We’d be remiss not to mention her five-year romance with Chris Klein (they were even engaged but split in 2005!) and her chance run-in with Beyoncé at the MTV Movie Awards. 

By the time this pic was snapped in 2006, 27-year-old Holmes was married to Tom Cruise (they started dating in April 2005 and became engaged 7 weeks later) and had welcomed their daughter, Suri Cruise.

Holmes recently opened up about becoming a mom at a relatively young age in the Elle UK December issue. “I was happy to become a mom in my twenties. It’s been nice that our ages fit,” she said. “Every age that my child has been and my age at that time has been a good match. We kind of grew up together.”

At 29, Holmes debuted a matching haircut with 2-year-old Suri, making her transition from teen starlette to chic mama complete. 

That concludes our trip down Katie Holmes memory lane.