You may have seen it – and other shots like it – in the gossip mags and on gossip sites over the past few weeks. It’s Katie Holmes snapped by papparazzi while out running. Sometimes she runs with Tom (once also with step-son Connor) and sometimes alone. But the thing is, she runs. She puts on her trackies and her runners and she puts on her ipod and she just hits the pavement.
She sweats and she puffs and she grimaces. Now, that shouldn’t be so remarkable.
So why is it? Why do these images always make me stop and look and make me like her? I think it’s because in this age of contrived celebrity appearances and staged ‘candid’ photo opportunies, it’s refreshing. It feels real.
I’m sure she knows there’s a good chance she’ll be photographed. She always is. Paparazzi follow her everywhere. But she doesn’t seem to care. She does it anyway. Now, I don’t claim to have the inside word on what Katie Holmes thinks or who she is. Maybe I’m over-thinking it. But what I do know is that every time I see shots of Katie Holmes, she looks real. When she’s going out or when she’s on a red carpet she gets dressed up. Like you would.
But when she’s out with Suri or going to rehearsals or going to the park or walking in the street she looks normal. Her hair is not professionally done. She wears little if any make-up. Sometimes she looks really tired.
And I love that. I can relate to that (the Tom part and the Scientology not so much but I’m putting that aside for the purpose of this post).
A while back, I wrote a column about why another female celebrity tends to inspire a very different reaction among women. A very negative, oddly irritated reaction. As I wondered out loud why we tend to like some female celebrities and not others (and why so many women tend to feel the same way about certain celebrities) I noticed the following: