Joey represents a lot of kids today who have been dealt a hard hand by life early on. In spite
of her 15 years, she's had to deal with her mother's recent death from breast cancer, her
father's infidelity and the fact that he's in prison for marijuana trafficking. She lives with her
unwed and pregnant sister and her sister's boyfriend, but is the well-entrenched fourth
member of Dawson's family. Fitting comfortably into the sister/daughter role, J oey continues
her lifelong practice of entering Dawson's bedroom through the ladder conveniently perched
on the side of his house. It is Joey that first questions the future of her relationship with
Dawson when confronted by social norms and her own physical attraction to her lifelong
friend.
 
Exuding a preternatural maturity both on and off the screen, Katie Holmes is a captivating
newcomer to the acting business, landing major roles both in film and on television with just a
handful of auditions.

Born and raised in Toledo, Ohio, Holmes started acting in theater productions in high school,
but didn't think she had a shot at stardom living in the Midwest. Fate intervened when she
was attending a national modeling and talent convention in New York City, and she met a
talent manager who encouraged her to come to Los Angeles for television's pilot season.

On her very first professional audition, Holmes dazzled the casting director for the acclaimed
feature film "The Ice Storm." Directed by Ang Lee ("Sense and Sensibility"), the Fox Searchlight
release won the screenplay award at the Cannes Film Festival and starred Kevin Kline,
Sigourney Weaver, Elijah Wood and Joan Allen. The slice-of-life art house film about the
sexual revolution of the 1970s featured Holmes as the love interest of Toby Maguire.

When the next pilot season came up during her senior year of high school, Holmes opted to
skip coming out to Los Angeles to perform in her school's production of "Damn Yankees" as
Lola. For the "Dawson's Creek" audition, she sent in a videotape from Toledo, and when the
call back conflicted with her play's opening night, she declined rather than let down her
classmates. Fortunately, the producers were able to reschedule her audition and she landed
the series regular role of Joey Potter.