Thanks to Mandy for posting this on the mb :) Holmes grounded By Nancy Mills February 03, 2005 KATIE Holmes is used to being in the celebrity spotlight. And so, when she plays President Michael Keaton's only child in First Daughter, she already has an understanding of what her character is going through. She has to cope with Secret Service men guarding her college dorm room, reporters chasing her around campus and students more interested in her title than who she is. "Being in the public eye can be isolating," Holmes says. "It's hard to make friends easily. That's why I'm always on the phone with my family, trying not to think about my image. "Part of being the youngest (of four) is that I was born with the courage to stand out because everyone else had done it already," she says. "I had to find something different." Holmes' image is squeaky clean, though she protests that it's not wholly accurate. She grew up in Toledo, Ohio, the daughter of a lawyer and a homemaker, snagged her first movie, The Ice Storm, while still in high school, and then landed on Dawson's Creek. As Joey Potter, the lovelorn tomboy and best friend of James Van Der Beek's Dawson Leery, Holmes spent six years in Wilmington, North Carolina, where the show was shot. Their very teenage relationship formed the emotional hook of the popular series. "It was very difficult for me to leave Wilmington, to have my little glass bubble burst and move on," she says. "I hate change. On the other hand, it was refreshing to play someone else." That someone else is the president's daughter -- poised and awkward, obedient and defiant, gullible and wise. "Kate is still accessible to young girls, but she's truly a woman," says her First Daughter director, Forest Whitaker. "She's someone people care about and want to follow. She's not afraid to make fun of herself, and she has good comic timing." The movie gives Holmes a chance to play an American princess, complete with beautiful dresses, ballroom dancing and happy endings. But it's also a topical story, she says. "With all the attention on Chelsea Clinton and the Bush girls, it's a great background for the coming of age of a young girl," she says "But this is much more of a girl's journey toward independence than First Daughter Goes to College." Holmes, who got engaged to actor Chris Klein last Christmas, already has taken that journey. "I didn't have the experience of going to college," she says. "But for six years on Dawson's Creek, I was in a high-pressure situation by myself, without having family around. That caused me to be less dependent on others." Holmes soon decided to be the good girl. "Fame came so quickly to the four of us (Dawson's Creek colleagues Michelle Williams, Van Der Beek and Joshua Jackson)," she says. "At first, we all resisted the idea of being role models, but young people watched us and looked up to us." Holmes says there could be a Dawson's Creek reunion movie some day, but she would like to go to her high school's 10-year reunion first. "I'm aware that some people may still be watching," she says, "but I just try to be a happy person. Fame doesn't really change you. It brings out who you are." Holmes plays a good girl again in the upcoming prequel Batman Begins, opposite Christian Bale. "My character works in the District Attorney's office and was Bruce Wayne's good friend growing up," she says. Holmes won't say whether she has a wedding date set. The longer the delay, she knows, the more room for speculation. But her other priority, having moved to Los Angeles, is staying grounded. "Fame and adoration can be addicting," she says. "I like people to like me, so I have to really watch that. I call my mom a lot." Link to article Another mention of Katie attending Super Bowl festivities: All day long, stars will get their game on at several celebrity sporting events, ranging from a Cadillac go-cart race (Owen Wilson, Katie Holmes) to a flag football.... Link to article

<< Read More News | Talk About It >>