Katie Holmes's Calculated Breakup With Tom Cruise THERE she was in her little blue dresses and her nifty sunglasses, the newly single mom holding her adorable 6-year-old daughter as she raced around New York City. One minute, she was carrying an ice cream cone for the child. The next, they were feeding animals at the Central Park Zoo. Stars, we are told, are just like us. But few have done quite as well as Katie Holmes at winning over the sympathies of a tabloid-buying public, of convincing people that she really is their type. People magazine practically described her as a feminist icon, far from the "passive, demure" plaything she had once supposedly been. About two weeks ago, Ms. Holmes, 33, announced her split from Tom Cruise, 50, a breakup that reportedly threw the famed action star for a loop. And she quickly followed that news by taking the unusual path of being photographed all over the city, showing up for a scheduled shoot for "Project Runway" and appearing on the cover of the August issue of Elle in what now seems to have been a cannily timed interview. It's far from the "please respect my privacy" stance that most celebrities take when they announce a divorce. Even the ubiquitous Kim Kardashian laid low after splitting from Kris Humphries. It all seemed a bit too calculated. Having made millions of dollars as an actress, first as the star of the WB drama "Dawson's Creek" and then as Christian Bale's love interest in the Batman franchise, did Ms. Holmes really need to run out for milk on a recent day when dozens of paparazzi were outside her door? Perhaps not, but few are holding it against her, if conversations with magazine editors, fashionistas and Hollywood publicists are to be believed. As Janice Min, the editorial director of The Hollywood Reporter, put it: "The whole narrative on Katie Holmes was "She's been brainwashed and lobotomized. She's a zombie for Scientology. That's what made this whole saga breathtaking. Forget the princess in "Brave." This is the heroine of the moment. Liz Rosenberg, the publicist for many celebrities who have been through nasty breakups and divorces, among them Madonna and Cher, concurred. "People see her as a battered wife who got out," she said. I don't know why. I don't have the hatred for Tom Cruise other people have, but whatever went on between them, she came out smelling like a rose. Indeed. Whatever Ms. Holmes's strategy was, it seems to have worked. The couple reached a settlement (the terms have not been disclosed, but have reportedly left the former Mrs. Cruise well off, as well as with primary custody of Suri) in near-record time, suggesting that the sweet-looking actress is very savvy. Even the fashion crowd, which previously grumbled that Ms. Holmes's clothing choices were a bit of a bore, is now applauding her style sense. "I'm fascinated by what she's been wearing," said Charlotte Cowles, an editor at New York Magazine's fashion blog, the Cut. It's simple relatable clothing. She's playing the mom role she wants to portray herself as: a loving parent and as a normal person, America's sweetheart. It's a clichéd term, but Tom Cruise is a wild card, and she knows she needs to play the opposite. She's been very smart. Nor does it hurt that many of the clothes Ms. Holmes has been wearing are ones she designed for her fashion label, Holmes & Yang (which she started with the stylist Jeanne Yang). Hence the paparazzi shots of her have become something akin to a stealth ad campaign, Ms. Holmes's very own product-placement extravaganza. "The way she's getting photographed today, she's in a position to get more exposure than ever before," said Robert Burke, a former Bergdorf Goodman executive and prominent consultant to numerous fashion brands. She's not waiting for fashion editors and stylists to come and pull her clothes. Still, Mr. Burke was mostly amazed at the larger story, and how deftly Ms. Holmes had executed an image overhaul. "More than anything, she looks like a strong individual, which is probably the most appealing factor," he said. So again: how exactly did this happen? Some Hollywood intimates thought they were witnessing the handiwork of the actress's father, Martin Holmes, a lawyer in Ohio who helped guide his daughter's career before she met Mr. Cruise. He is said to have been suspicious of her famous husband for some time. Others viewed the split as part of the natural evolution of a woman who had been on a long journey toward finding herself.