Fans Said Suri Cruise Looked Like ‘Female Version Of Tom Cruise’ When She Was 17 — How She Changed Throughout the Years

Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes’s daughter, Suri, divided fans with her look in photos days before her 17th birthday. A source reportedly explained Tom’s alleged reason for his years-long non-existence in Suri’s life, a child who’s transformed from a little girl into a young adult. Katie’s daughter showed off her talents as she built her own path in life and has since enrolled in college.

Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes had one of the most high-profile marriages of the early 2000s, and out of their relationship came their daughter, Suri. Born on April 18, 2006, Suri is now 20 years old this year (2026).

Although she does not have a good relationship with her father, fans noticed that she resembles Tom when they saw her in 2023. Suri is ready to forge her own path in life, independent of her parents’ careers.

Tom and Katie divorced when Suri was just five. After her parents’ divorce, Suri did not see or speak to her father, and the pair still share a highly strained and estranged relationship. However, Tom had once said not having a relationship with his daughter was not an “ideal situation.”

He knew that when he and Katie split, things would change within their family dynamic, and accepted that. The actor confirmed that one of the reasons Katie had left him and kept their daughter from having a relationship with him was to protect Suri from the Church of Scientology.

Tom has been a Scientologist for many years. The church allegedly forbade the star from having a relationship with his daughter because she is not a Scientologist, yet a source effused:

“That is his loss, his issue, his problem. He must really be brainwashed.”

Leah Remini, an ex-Scientologist, once confirmed that Tom would see Suri as a “suppressive person” and think he could not be connected to her. Yet Suri’s success has remained strong. Katie’s daughter hasn’t changed much since childhood.

What Did Suri’s Transformation Look Like over the Years?

When Suri was a little girl, she was all cute and chubby-cheeked. Her parents didn’t always leave her at home and opted to go out to different public occasions where the toddler was photographed looking her best.

Suri at Nearly a Year Old

Suri as a 1-Year-Old

When the little girl turned two, she was photographed after being spotted at a children’s store. Her similarity to her famous mother had become evident at this point, as she shyly held a teddy bear in the picture.

Suri as a 2-Year-Old

A year later, the little girl appeared to have come into herself as she was seen waving to the cameras while inside a confectionery store. She had the same color eyes as her mother, and her hair had grown out.

Suri as a 3-Year-Old

Two years later, the little girl had grown in height, and her hair was even longer. It seemed her parents had ensured she learned how to swim at a young age, as she was seen at a pier wearing a cute swimming costume.

Suri as a 5-Year-Old

At age six, she seemed more confident in herself but was still very much into stuffed toys, as she was photographed in New York City holding a teddy bear. She also looked more and more like Katie.

Suri as a 6-Year-Old

Fast-forward to a few years later, on April 18, 2016, Katie was photographed alongside her daughter, who had just turned ten. The publication noted in the Instagram photo that the little girl had a growth spurt!

Suri as a 10-Year-Old

The following year, Suri’s looks were becoming more defined as she inched closer to teenagehood. Her hair was cut shorter as she attended another sporting event where she was photographed looking right at the camera.

Suri as an 11-Year-Old

On November 21, 2020, Tom’s daughter was now a teenager who seemed to be a lover of dogs, as she was seen walking two of them in New York. The little girl appeared to lean more toward her mother’s dress sense in jeans, sneakers, and a jersey.

Suri as a 14-Year-Old

At age 15, she was photographed several times with her actress mother going about their lives. Suri looked more and more like Katie, and the little girl seemed to be getting taller by the day!

Suri as a 15-Year-Old

By age 16, Suri was almost indistinguishable from her mother. When she was photographed strolling around in New York in November 2022 while wearing a facemask, it was hard to tell that she wasn’t Katie. The pair even have the same eyes!

Suri as a 16-Year-Old

By the time she turned 17, she looked more like her beautiful mother’s sister than her teenage daughter! Tom’s child had the same lean body as Katie and was almost as tall as the actress. Suri was photographed at various times during that time.

Suri as a 17-Year-Old

By the time Suri turned 17, her looks had evolved more to accommodate both parents. Tom’s genes were clearly defined in the teenager, but she still favored her mother more. On June 25, 2023, she was photographed in Soho, New York, walking with some friends.

This time she looked like a proper adult, complete with a face full of makeup. For this outing, she wore a black tank top, a knee-length denim skirt, several silver bracelets, a black choker necklace, white socks, and black sneakers. In fact, she went on to enroll at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in August 2024.

Why Did Suri Divide Fans and How Did She Look Before Her 17th Birthday?

Katie and Suri have spent much of their time together since the former won sole custody of her daughter in the early 2000s. They have even struck fans with how alike they look and dress similarly as Suri nears her mother’s height.

Yet photos of Katie and Suri in New York in the last week of March 2023 had fans divided on who the teenager looked like more. As the mother and daughter stepped out together, some thought Suri looked just like her mom, and others thought she was more like her father. One even called her Tom’s “clone.”

Another photo of Suri and Katie showed the younger girl wearing a comfortable outfit, including baggy jeans and a sweatshirt. The image prompted fans to say she looked just like her father, and they couldn’t believe she hadn’t seen him in so many years, while someone else stated:

“That is the female version of Tom Cruise….wow no denying that she is his kid. Shes (sic) a pretty young lady.”

Someone else who saw a picture of Tom’s daughter holding flowers during 2023’s Mother’s Day thought the teenager had certain features that made them certain that she looked more like the actor. The X user wrote:

“Sorry everyone but Suri looks just like her dad! Look at her NOSE, & eyes…it’s unmistakably Tom. (IJS)”

Suri is not only already grown up, but she has also shown off some of her talents, which are nothing like her mother and father’s acting talents. Yet her creativity shines through.

What Talents Has Suri Already Shown?

While Suri’s parents are both multi-award-winning actors, she has shown talents in the musical field instead. Her mother has even asked her to sing a cover of “Blue Moon,” which played over the opening credits of Katie’s production “Alone Together.”

Katie wrote the romantic comedy based on the quarantine period of the COVID-19 pandemic. The actress said she asked her daughter to do it because she believes she is “very, very talented” and only accepts the best talent on her projects.

Suri also sings in her mother’s film “Rare Objects,” which she shot in 2021. However, she has a relatively normal life when she is not working on big Hollywood projects with her mother. School and her friends take up her time.

While Katie has gone in a different direction with her career, she has slowed down and said she has taken up hobbies like painting, writing, and sewing. She has also passed her love of fashion on to her daughter.

Suri graduated from LaGuardia High School in May 2024 and is currently a student at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. At Pittsburgh’s prestigious Carnegie Mellon University, Suri — who now goes by “Suri Noelle” — is just another student free to roam the campus grounds. In 2024, Katie told Town & Country magazine, “I’m proud of my daughter. Of course, I will miss the close proximity, but I’m really proud of her and I’m happy.”

The young lady’s mother was once asked if Suri had seen “Dawson’s Creek,” and Katie revealed that she had, but explained that she never forced the 20-year-old to watch or have an interest in her work. However, during the pandemic, they laughed about the show, with Tom’s ex-wife confessing that it was “wild” to have a daughter who’s almost the same age as she was when she began her career.