Suri Cruise has grown up before the eyes of the world; her famous parents, Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes, had a whirlwind romance that whipped up a frenzy around their small family and ended with a sudden split after nearly six years, followed by a reported estrangement from her father.
Suri was the A-list of nepo babies in the 2000s; she even inspired a mean-girls-style Tumblr blog called 'Suri's Burn Book' which was full of sassy quips about other nepo babies like the Beckham kids, written in her voice.
But she is no longer the timid child carted around by her doting mother; on June 21, the teen graduated from LaGuardia High School in New York, making headlines with her decision to drop her famous father's surname and change to 'Suri Noelle'. Her name, meaning 'princess' in Hebrew, now incorporates her mother's middle name, proving just how close the two are.
Suri was the spitting image of her mom at graduation, dressed in a white flowy dress with her long dark hair worn down. Notably absent from the event was her father, who was seen dancing up a storm at Taylor Swift's London leg of her record-breaking Eras Tour instead of attending his youngest child's graduation.
Growing up in the spotlight
Katie and Tom's love affair was a defining moment of the 2000s; we all remember the iconic moment when Tom jumped on Oprah's couch, so in love that he couldn't contain his excitement. The pair, dubbed TomKat by the media, met in April 2005, got engaged just seven weeks later, and welcomed Suri in April 2006 before marrying in October 2006.
Tom gushed to ABC News about the birth of his daughter, saying at the time, "It was everything that we wanted it to be... It was spiritual. It was powerful. It was indescribable."
Katie echoed his sentiments, telling Vanity Fair in October of the same year, "The moment the doctor handed me Suri, I was just ready. The feeling is indescribable. All I can say is the moment I looked in her eyes, I felt like Mom."
Katie's protectiveness over her only child has been a constant since her birth; she told Instyle about the lengths she went to avoid the press and find privacy when Suri was growing up.
"We were followed a lot when she was little," she said. "I just wanted her outside, so I would walk her around to find parks at, like, six in the morning when nobody would see us."
Speaking to Glamour in 2023, the Dawson's Creek actress reiterated how abnormal Suri's childhood was. "What has been really important for me with my daughter, because she was so visible at a young age, is I really like to protect her," she said.
"I'm very grateful to be a parent, to be her parent. She's an incredible person," the proud mother continued.
Scientology vs fatherhood
Katie and Tom divorced in 2012, after less than six years of marriage. The relationship between Tom and Suri is reportedly strained due to Tom's heavy involvement with the controversial Church of Scientology.
Speaking in court during a 2013 defamation trial in which Tom sued a media company for claiming he abandoned his child, a lawyer asked if his ex-wife divorced him to distance Suri from the world of Scientology.
Tom revealed, "That was one of the assertions, yes." The pair were last snapped together at Disney World in 2012.
Katie was granted full custody of Suri during the divorce proceedings, and Tom received visitation rights. Despite their separation, both parents expressed that they were "committed to working together as parents to accomplish what is in our daughter Suri's best interests."
Suri’s promising path
Katie's goal was always to "nurture her into her individuality, to make sure she is 100 per cent herself and strong, confident and able. And to know it," she told Instyle. “She came out very strong — she's always been a strong personality," she continued.
At 18, Suri has already started honing her talents; she lent her beautiful singing voice to two movies her mom directed: Alone Together (2022) and Rare Objects (2023).
In the Glamour interview, Katie raved about her daughter's talents and the importance of involving Suri in her projects. "I hope she always does something on my films. I always ask her," she revealed.
"But both of those experiences came out of the same sense of what I love about our industry, which is, you have these projects, and you become a family with people. And it's this safe, beautiful, creative space.
"So it comes out of love for me to include someone who I love dearly," she continued. "That's how I like to work. I like to have that kind of feeling. It was very meaningful to me to have her there because she's my heart."
Katie's dedication to nurturing Suri's artistic talents is evident; she told People in 2014 about her efforts to be "very creative" with her daughter and to encourage her artistic spirit. "That speaks to the girl in me," she said of her parenting style.
In a now-deleted TikTok video, Suri hinted at her college choice by wearing a Carnegie Mellon sweater. She was also snapped heading to her high school prom with her boyfriend, budding musician Toby Cohen, reminding us again how much she has grown up.
The mother-daughter-duo share an extremely close bond, and are sure to miss each other when Suri heads off to college. "My main goal is to just let her know how much I love her," the 45-year-old told People. "I'm very grateful to be a parent, to be her parent. She's an incredible person. She's my heart.