Born and raised in Toledo, Ohio, Katie Holmes acted in high school theater productions before meeting a manager who encouraged her to go to LA for television's pilot season. She won a part in the acclaimed feature film The Ice Storm (1997) in her very first audition, but she didn't stop there. A videotape was sent to "Dawson's Creek" (1998), a new production by the acclaimed writer Kevin Williamson (_Scream (1996)_ , I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997)), which landed her the series regular role of Joey Potter.