QUIETLY CONTENT

Life in lockdown has been a lesson, says Katie Holmes – and it’s all about gratitude for the simple things

- NICI DE WET

THERE’S always been something cutesy and girly about her – the smooth apple cheeks, the butter - wouldn’t melt smile, the big brown eyes gazing seemingly innocently out at the world.

But make no mistake: Katie Holmes is one tough cookie. She has, after all, turned her back on one of Hollywood’s most powerful men, faced the wrath of the Church of Scientology and thrown herself hook, line and sinker into raising her child completely on her own.

And she’s doing a darn fine job of it, by all accounts. Katie (41) and her daughter, Suri (14), have one of the strongest mother-daughter bonds in celebville. Before Covid-19 came along and New York went into lockdown, the pair were often seen out and about on the streets of Manhattan.

Then the coronavirus bit hard into the Big Apple. But now that things are a little better they were spotted out again recently, grabbing an iced coffee together, stylish in their summer dresses and matching masks.

As she strode confidently next to her mom, Suri looked a far cry from the once shy little kid who used to clutch a blankie or soft toy in one hand and her mother’s hand in the other.

In another sighting the teen was seen helping her mom carry their dogs across town, holding a dog bed under one arm.

“You’d struggle to find a mom-daughter duo who are more in sync,” an insider told Us Weekly magazine. “They’re a real team – their connection is a beautiful thing to witness.”

Katie previously said it’s her single mission in life to raise her daughter to the best of her ability.