Suri Cruise Turns 10: A Look Back at the Frenzy Surrounding the Birth of TomKat’s Daughter

Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes debut Suri. (Photo: Annie Leibovitz/Vanity Fair)

Before Blue Ivy, before North West, even a month before the arrival of Shiloh Jolie-Pitt, the world was obsessed with baby Suri Cruise. The daughter of Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes, born April 18, 2006, was everything 10 years ago.

A lot of the interest in the child was because the relationship between Cruise and Holmes happened so suddenly, with them going public with their romance in late April 2005, and him bizarrely gushing about his love for her on Oprah Winfrey’s couch just one month later. The couple dubbed TomKat had dated for just two months when one of the biggest movie stars in the world proposed to a former Dawson’s Creek star at the top of the Eiffel Tower. That’s right, Tom Cruise, the same guy whose poster Holmes had on her bedroom wall as a girl in Toldeo, Ohio.

From the start, fans also knew the baby was destined to have a posh lifestyle. Cruise, who was in Germany promoting Mission: Impossible III when his “Kate” was expected to give birth, assured reporters that he had two pilots on standby to return him to L.A. at the moment Holmes called.

When Holmes finally did give birth in Santa Monica, Calif., the media uproar was so intense that Brooke Shields, who just so happened to welcome her baby girl on the same day in the same hospital, recalls not just news cameras but helicopters circling the area in an attempt to catch a glimpse of the Cruise baby.

His rep immediately issued a short statement that the two had “joyously welcomed the arrival of a baby girl, Suri, today. The child weighed 7 pounds, 7 ounces and was 20 inches in length. Both mother and daughter are doing well.”

The name Suri means “princess” in Hebrew, and “red rose” in Persian. At the time, a source told People that the baby girl had “lots and lots of dark hair and big, blue eyes. She’s going to be a beautiful baby."

The public was dying to see a photo of the TomKitten, but it didn’t get much more information — well, actual information rather than wild speculation that the birth was all a PR stunt — for nearly six months. That’s when Suri finally made her debut alongside her proud parents on the cover of Vanity Fair, photographed by none other than famed celebrity photographer Annie Leibovitz.

The family arrives at their home in 2008. (Photo: Splash News)

In the accompanying interview, Holmes explained that she and Cruise wanted that critical first little while just for the family, but they had been told by publicists they would need to offer a photo at some point.

"We were just living our lives, being a family,” Cruise said. “Actually, we were taking our own photos and always planned to release those at the right time."

Holmes continued that "the craziness began” after a few months. “This ‘Where is Suri?’ controversy. Tom and I looked at each other and said, 'What’s going on?’ We weren’t trying to hide anything."

But interest in the family never died down, both because of their luxe lifestyle and their involvement with Scientology. Suri was photographed in designer dresses and high heels, riding in helicopters and in chauffeured cars. There was a trip to the Louvre when she was 16 months old. At 7, the little girl had her first confrontation with the paparazzi.

By that time, Cruise and Holmes had split. She surprised him by filing for divorce on June 29, 2012, at least partly because of his deep involvement in Scientology.

"We are committed to working together as parents to accomplishing what is in our daughter Suri’s best interests,” they said in a statement. “We want to keep matters affecting our family private and express our respect for each other’s commitment to each of our respective beliefs and support each other’s roles as parents."

Holmes takes her daughter to work on a movie set. (Photo: FameFlynet)

Since the split, Suri has rarely been seen with her A-List father; he’s often filming in exotic locales. In October 2012, Cruise slapped a $50 million lawsuit on Bauer Media Group, which published stories in Life & Style and In Touch that he had "abandoned” his daughter. The matter was settled in court on undisclosed terms.

The tween now spends most of her time with Holmes in New York City, where their lifestyle is much more laid back than before. Mom and daughter walk the streets of Manhattan going to gymnastics class, attending occasional sporting events, and taking in Broadway shows like School of Rock. Suri and her friends did get to go backstage and meet the cast, though!

Suri and pals go backstage at “School of Rock.” (Photo: WENN)

Related: Suri Cruise Has Two Contrasting Lifestyles Following Katie Holmes and Tom Cruise’s Divorce

In 2014, Holmes explained to Today that she knows she can’t give her little girl the “gift of normalcy,” but it doesn’t stop her from wanting it.

“Of course you try your best. I try very hard because I’m very grateful for my upbringing, my parents, my siblings,” Holmes said. “I try to do what they did for me for my little one.

"The most important thing for me is letting her know how proud I am and her accomplishments mean everything. Whatever I do is whatever. It’s really just about her. That’s what I think is most important."

Holmes marked Suri’s birthday on Monday with an Instagram post that showed her some love, but didn’t include a photo or much information at all.

Holmes shares a birthday wish for Suri. (Photo: Instagram)

"So grateful for my favorite day of the year!!!!!! Happy Birthday to my sweet angel Suri,” she wrote.

Cruise arrives for filming on Suri’s birthday. (Photo: FameFlynet)

Cruise, who rarely uses social media, was photographed on the set of the upcoming reboot of The Mummy.