Katie Holmes

Born: 18th December 1978
Where: Toledo, Ohio

The Dawson's Creek regular first came to the attention of cinema audiences in her feature debut - Ang Lee's The Ice Storm.

The youngest of five children, she acted in school theatre productions before meeting a manager who encouraged her to go to LA for a television pilot season.

She won a part in Ang Lee's feature film The Ice Storm in her very first audition, playing Tobey Maguire's love interest.

A videotape was then sent to Dawson's Creek, a new production by the acclaimed writer Kevin Williamson (Scream, I Know What You Did Last Summer).

But Holmes refused to audition for the part of Joey when she realised it clashed with her school play. Dawson's Creek ended up rescheduling and she got the part.

She also turned down the part of Buffy in TV series Buffy the Vampire Slayer - which made Sarah Michelle Gellar famous - so she could finish high school.

She was reunited with Tobey Maguire in Wonder Boys, chronicling the life of a middle-aged author (Michael Douglas) plagued by writer's block.

In 2000, she played a slutty rich girl whose disappearance and murder is an integral plot point in The Gift.

She starred alongside Benjamin Bratt in the horror film Abandon as well as appearing alongside Colin Farrell in the thriller Phone Booth.

2003 saw Katie in the role of Nurse Mills in the American remake of The Singing Detective and the lead in the romantic drama Pieces of April.

Recent projects include First Daughter starring alongside Michael Keaton and Batman Begins, the prequel to the Batman series starring Christian Bale.