The Dramatic Transformation of Suri Cruise at College

Like many children of celebs, Suri Cruise headed to college hoping to escape the celebrity shadow that her parents, Katie Holmes and Tom Cruise, have cast on her for her whole life. When she graduated from high school, Suri started the process by using the name “Suri Noelle” instead of using her very recognizable last name. She used it when performing in a “Head Over Heels” production, but this was just the start of a new chapter for Suri. Before her daughter went out on her own with a clean slate, Holmes talked about how Suri’s journey of personal growth reminded her of her own. In 2019, she told Elle UK, “Every age that my child has been and my age at that time has been a good match. We kind of grew up together.”

A couple of years after that, in June 2021, Suri was photographed by paparazzi taking a walk in NYC with her mom. The teen looked like a doppelgänger of a young Katie, with long, wavy brown hair, blue jeans, and a vintage tee. Still, Holmes spoke to The Times in 2024 before Suri headed off to college, maintaining that her daughter had her “own sense of style and her own expressions.” She admitted that Suri will occasionally raid her closet, which explains why their looks are sometimes similar.

When it was time to move into her dorm, Suri looked like a regular 18-year-old. Katie helped her move-in daughter at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh. Photographs taken in August 2024 showed Holmes moving around boxes to help out with the movie. Suri wore white sneakers paired with a flowing white blouse and baggy jean shorts. This was just the start of her time in Pennsylvania and the beginning of her college transition.