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Still single! Katie Holmes insists there's no new man in her life as she goes topless for magazine... while marking two year anniversary of Tom Cruise split

The Daily Mail - UK
By Carolyn Hiblen
7/8/14

It's been five years since Katie Holmes last graced the cover of Glamour magazine.

And what a homecoming the 35-year-old actress gets as she appears on the cover of the August issue, which is on newsstands now.

The single mom-of-one - who just marked the two year anniversary of her split from husband Tom Cruise - looks simply fabulous as she posed seductively for the women's monthly. In one shot, she even goes topless.

In the accompanying interview, the star sits down with designer Zac Posen. While the pair haven't known each other that well for very long - with the 33-year-old designer revealing that they bonded 'a few months ago over cheese fries at a diner' - they first met back in Katie's Dawson's Creek days, which she refers to simply as 'the Creek.'

The Batman Begins star gushed about her relatively low-key life in New York City, where she is raising daughter Suri, aged eight.

'I love being able to experience so many cultural things in one day. I live very close to the gallery district, and then at night I'll find myself at Lincoln Center at a ballet,' she enthused.

'I love going to Knicks games,' she continued. 'And I love taking the subway.'

Though the actress isn't dating anyone just yet - 'I am really focused on motherhood and work right now,' she says - she does consider herself a romantic at heart.

'Yes, I do. It's probably a mixture of life experience and my upbringing,' she explained. 'You know, my mom still sends care packages!'

Beginning the show at the age of 19, she experienced a meteoric rise to fame.

But while many would and have buckled under that pressure, Katie said he family kept her grounded and still do to this day.

'My family has been so crucial to my outlook on life,' she relayed. 'I started acting at 17 and had success at an early age, where all of a sudden people knew who I was. But my parents always treated me the exact same way at home and reminded me of gratitude. And that's been a grounding force.'

'Being from Ohio, raised in a small city as the youngest of five, it was instilled in me that you work and work and work. You just keep going. Like, nothing worth having happens quickly. For example, my mother is a sewer and a knitter. She always said, "Your work on the inside has to be as beautiful as your work on the outside."'

Speaking of family and raising a little girl by herself, the doting mom admitted that while motherhood is 'the greatest gift', she wasn't prepared for just how much it would change her.

'When I became a mother, my life completely changed,' she confessed. 'I've seen Frozen a lot. But the biggest change? I think you don't know - I didn't know - how much love I had in me. It's overwhelming. Every day I discover more about this spectacular human being I get to be the mother of.'

Having spent the best part of two decades as a working actor in the cutthroat entertainment industry, Katie has learnt a thing or two.

So does she find the whole auditioning process discouraging or humbling?

'It's all of that,' she said. 'You have good days and bad days. I've been in the business almost 18 years. And I feel like I'm just learning how to do it. What I've learned is that you can't take yourself too seriously. But you should take your ideas seriously and see them through.'

Indeed, part of that means challenging herself creatively, which is exactly what she did as she stepped behind the camera to direct her latest project.

'It was a short for AOL where I interviewed wonderful women in the city [including Jill Abramson, the first female executive editor of The New York Times; Renee Robinson, former principal dancer with Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater; and Jane Rosenthal, producer of films like Meet The Fockers],' she explained. 'I wanted to discover what it was that made each of them successful.'

So what common lessons did she discover from the women?

'Keep going. Don't give up. Be willing to try a lot of different things. And don't expect your wish to come true in a year - I thought that was an important message, especially because we're in this time of instant gratification,' she added.

With this first project under her belt, the next goal on her list is to direct a feature film.

'I would like to direct a movie at some point,' she said, adding: 'It will include an incredible scene with beautiful gowns, and you will be involved.'

With a keen interest in musical theatre, would she ever consider being in a musical?

'Absolutely!' she gushed. 'I love a high kick.'

But it isn't all work and no play despite Katie's busy schedule juggling motherhood and her career.

When it comes to her favoured girls' night activity, she doesn't hesitate to name karaoke - although she admits she doesn't have have a go-to 'flirt' song.

'I don't really have one. I'd probably trip if I tried one,' she insisted, adding: 'I do like to do Love Shack.'

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