Cruise doesn’t need online payday loans to celebrate with Holmes

The average American would need hefty online payday loans to celebrate Katie Holmes‘ 30th birthday in the style to which she’s accustomed. Luckily, husband Tom Cruise has plenty of extra cash to fund a weeklong birthday extravaganza.

Holmes’ birthday is tomorrow, but Cruise says they have been celebrating all week. He is also planning to take Holmes and Suri for a romantic getaway after Holmes finishes her Broadway run in “All My Sons.”

Holy nostalgia, Batman!

When I first heard that Holmes was turning the big 3-0, my reaction was: “She’s only 30?! I feel like she has been around FOREVER.” Long before she appeared in “Batman Begins,” she graced the silver screen as a teenager.

She appeared in her first movie, “The Ice Storm,” at age 18. While that isn’t an early age to begin an acting career, perhaps my feeling that she’d been acting her whole life came from her role as a 15-year-old on “Dawson’s Creek.”

Crazy about the ‘The Creek’

Holmes was 19 when she landed her role as Joey Potter on the teen drama “Dawson’s Creek.” The show ran for five years and attracted the attention of angsty teens across the country.

Holmes starred opposite James Van Der Beek and became an instant celebrity. Her portrayal of the sensitive, tomboyish character attracted plenty of attention. She landed several movie roles during (and after) the show’s run.

Side show

At the same time Holmes was working on “The Creek,” she held roles in nine movies. Some of the highlights included the cult hit “Go,” novel-turned-film “Wonder Boys” and Oscar-nominated “Pieces of April.”

She won her first award for her performance in “Disturbing Behavior.” She was awarded  “Best Breakthrough Female Performance” at the MTV Movie Awards. It was her second role in a film.

She worked with such well-known actors as Michael Douglas and Tobey MacGuire, and she established credibility for being able to handle a variety of roles. After “The Creek” finished its final season, Holmes began work on another big role. She starred in “First Daughter” as, well, the first daughter. Unfortunately, the producer probably had to take out online payday loans to cover the money lost on that film.

Family time

After playing Rachel Dawes in “Batman Begins” and Heather Holloway in “Thank You for Smoking” in 2005, Holmes had enough extra cash to take some time off. She gave birth to Suri in April 2006 and married Cruise later that year.

The family was the focus of an intense media frenzy. The age difference between Holmes and Cruise, 16 years, was the object of much scrutiny. And Cruise’s vehement defense of Scientology and sometimes erratic behavior cause the spotlight to swing their way often. The couple’s refusal to immediately release baby pictures of Suri generated a slew of rumors.

Back to the grind

Holmes returned to work for her role in “Mad Money,” which came out this year. While the movie generally recieved unfavorable reviews, Holmes did get to work with Queen Latifah and Diane Keaton.

Now Holmes is making a name for herself on Broadway in a revival of Arthur Miller’s play “All My Sons.” She plays Ann Deever, and the show continues through next month.

Here’s lookin’ at you, kid

She’s got a lengthy filmography, a famous husband and a 2-year-old daughter. Two of her films were nominated for Golden Globes, and one of them won an Oscar. Not bad for three short decades.

With her carreer, she has enough extra cash that she’ll probably never need to apply for online payday loans — even if the Screen Actors Guild does go on strike.