KATIE HOLMES 'I WANT TO PROTECT SURI'

THE ACTRESS OPENS UP ABOUT KEEPING HER DAUGHTER SAFE

- Sara Tapia

She may not be her little baby anymore, but Katie Holmes is still fiercely protective of her now-teenage daughter, Suri, who was thrust into the spotlight after her birth in 2006 due to the actress' high-profile relationship with superstar Tom Cruise. But since the couple's shock split in June 2012 - Holmes secretly filing for divorce from an allegedly unsuspecting Cruise - the 44-year-old has made it her mission to keep Suri, who recently turned 17, out of the public eye.

"What has been really important for me with my daughter, because she was so visible at a young age, is I really like to protect her," Holmes recently divulged in an interview with Glamour magazine.

Like her own idyllic upbringing in Toledo, Ohio, Holmes has attempted to keep Suri's childhood as normal as possible - from park play dates to riding the New York subway to get around. And while the public fascination with the star and her daughter hasn't made that easy, Holmes revealed she loves being a mother more than anything. "I'm very grateful to be a parent, to be her parent," she shared.