Katie Holmes is an actress.
Kate Noelle Holmes ( born December 18 , 1978 ) is an American actress who first achieved fame for her role as Joey Potter on The WB television teen drama Dawson 's Creek from 1998 to 2003 . Holmes had a starring role in 2003 's Pieces of April , a gritty comedy about a dysfunctional family on Thanksgiving . In the 2005 film Batman Begins , the highest-grossing film of her career to date , she played Rachel Dawes , Gotham City 's assistant district attorney and Bruce Wayne 's childhood sweetheart . She also appeared in art house films such as The Ice Storm , horror films such as Do n't Be Afraid of the Dark and thrillers including Abandon .