Katie Holmes Katherine Noelle Holmes was born on December 18, 1978, in Toledo, Ohio. The youngest of five children -- she has three older sisters and an older brother -- Katie had no intention of becoming an actress while growing up,Her mother, Kathy Holmes, enrolled her long-legged daughter into Margaret O'Brien's Modeling School in Toledo, which ultimately led Katie to her present career path. During her summer vacation from Notre Dame Academy (an all-girls Catholic high school), 17-year-old Katie attended a modeling convention in New York City.