Katie Holmes’ Best Quotes About Motherhood and Raising Daughter Suri Cruise

Picture-perfect parent! Katie Holmes has had her share of ups and downs, but one thing remains certain — her commitment to daughter Suri’s well-being.

Holmes, 39, and her ex-husband, Tom Cruise, welcomed Suri in April 2006. The Oceans 8 actress and the Mission Impossible star called it quits in June 2012 after six years of marriage.

The Dawson’s Creek alum has been open about the highs and lows of raising Suri as a single parent because Cruise, 56, has distanced himself from the teenager because she does not share his Scientology faith.

"She’s a normal tween,” a source told Us Weekly exclusively in April 2019. “She loves pop music and fashion and hanging out with her friends. She’s into ballet and dancing. That’s one of her favorite hobbies. She’s curious and loves to learn. She does well in school.” The insider added at the time: "Suri has grown up spending a lot of time with Katie’s family in Ohio, and she’s close to her grandparents and aunts. They are a close-knit family and have done everything they can to be there for her and to help with her upbringing.” When it comes to keeping her "great kid" from becoming spoiled, Holmes has taught Suri how to be "extremely polite and respectful." The actress has also made a point "to travel with her [daughter] on commercial planes and not travel private.” The source shared with Us, "She is so sweet and well-mannered. She’s just a good girl who is a joy to be around. Katie has done things right with her because she’s very grounded and down to earth. She doesn’t come across as spoiled or like a celebrity kid at all. She’s kind and she always shows gratitude.”

Scroll down to revisit Holmes’ most heartfelt quotes about motherhood over the years, from describing Suri's personality to opening up about becoming a mom at a young age.

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Picture-perfect parent! Katie Holmes has had her share of ups and downs, but one thing remains certain — her commitment to daughter Suri’s well-being.

Holmes, 39, and her ex-husband, Tom Cruise, welcomed Suri in April 2006. The Oceans 8 actress and the Mission Impossible star called it quits in June 2012 after six years of marriage.

The Dawson’s Creek alum has been open about the highs and lows of raising Suri as a single parent because Cruise, 56, has distanced himself from the teenager because she does not share his Scientology faith.

"She’s a normal tween,” a source told Us Weekly exclusively in April 2019. “She loves pop music and fashion and hanging out with her friends. She’s into ballet and dancing. That’s one of her favorite hobbies. She’s curious and loves to learn. She does well in school.” The insider added at the time: "Suri has grown up spending a lot of time with Katie’s family in Ohio, and she’s close to her grandparents and aunts. They are a close-knit family and have done everything they can to be there for her and to help with her upbringing.” When it comes to keeping her "great kid" from becoming spoiled, Holmes has taught Suri how to be "extremely polite and respectful." The actress has also made a point "to travel with her [daughter] on commercial planes and not travel private.” The source shared with Us, "She is so sweet and well-mannered. She’s just a good girl who is a joy to be around. Katie has done things right with her because she’s very grounded and down to earth. She doesn’t come across as spoiled or like a celebrity kid at all. She’s kind and she always shows gratitude.”

Scroll down to revisit Holmes’ most heartfelt quotes about motherhood over the years, from describing Suri's personality to opening up about becoming a mom at a young age.

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“I love her so much,” the Ohio native told InStyle in March 2020. “My biggest goal has always been to nurture her into her individuality. To make sure she is 100 percent herself and strong, confident, and able. And to know it. She came out very strong — she's always been a strong personality. She'll pick an activity and work her butt off until she's really good at it. Then she's like, ‘OK, I'm going to try the next thing.’ She's very focused and a hard worker.”

She added of her 2012 split from Cruise: “That time was intense. It was a lot of attention, and I had a little child on top of it. [Suri and I] had some funny moments out and about in public."

“I was happy to become a mom in my 20s,” Holmes told Elle UK in November 2019. “It’s been nice that our ages fit. How do I put this? Every age that my child has been and my age at that time has been a good match. We kind of grew up together.”

The actress is “of course worried” about Suri encountering bad influences, she went on to tell the outlet, explaining, “Doesn’t every parent [worry about that]?” She added: “There is so much bad news and hate and things that don’t make sense. The atmosphere around the world is … terrifying.”

The Giver actress got candid about mom guilt during a March 2018 interview with Women’s Health. “Remember the days when the only time anyone took out a camera was on birthdays, holidays and vacations? Like, that one has taken her child to Morocco. Why haven’t I taken my child to Morocco?” she said. “Being a parent, every choice I make is with my child in mind.”

When Hillary Clinton lost the November 2016 presidential election to Donald Trump, Suri was affected. “I thought Hillary was going to win this year and it was such a — it just hurt so badly when she didn’t,” Holmes said on The Jenna Bush Hager Show in March 2017. “And I know that it hurt my child so much as a 10-year-old, and it really made me think, ‘Oh, we have a lot … a long way to go as women.’ We have to raise our girls to be very strong, not just for themselves, but to open the doors for other people.”

Holmes’ commitment to Suri will always come before her career. “My child is the most important person to me and her upbringing is paramount to my work right now. It’s very important that I’m present and she has a stable, innocent childhood,” the Ray Donovan actress told Town & Country magazine in March 2017. “I feel so blessed to do what I do, but there’s nothing in the world better than watching your child succeed.

So charitable! During her December 2015 appearance on the Today show, Holmes gushed over her big-hearted daughter. “My little one is very, very genius and very sensitive,” the Batman Begins actress explained. “So she’s always [saying], ‘Mom, let’s give my old toys to people who need it.’ So we are always doing that.”

It’s very important for Holmes to provide Suri with a cheerful holiday experience. “We are getting ready for Christmas in my house. My daughter’s 8 years old and she already has her Christmas list ready,” the Logan Lucky actress said on The Ellen DeGeneres Show in November 2014. “It’s written out. She’s very organized. I start to, like, get a little bit of panic because you cannot screw up talking to Santa. You cannot miss any item on that list, because if you screw that up, that’s years and years of hearing about it and then probably therapy.”

“I think the basics are important: the number one thing is making sure my child feels loved,” Holmes told Elle UK in March 2014 of raising Suri to be confident and happy. “[I want her to feel] good about herself. And then what she does and who she is, is special and important and should be celebrated. And my mom always said, ‘No one loves you like your mother.’” 

Shortly after splitting from Cruise, Holmes opened up about bringing up Suri in a fun and light-hearted environment. “I spray-paint shoe racks, because, why not? I think, ‘Oh, I’m a great mom’ and then it doesn’t really pan out the way I think it’s going to,” she told Women’s Wear Daily in September 2012. “But the intention’s there. I’ve always done crafts at home — I have to stay creative in every aspect [of my life].”

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