Nowadays, Katie Holmes is most well-known for her marriage to and divorce from Tom Cruise, but it didn't start out that way. As a plucky teen, Katie Holmes was cast in the teen sitcom Dawson's Creek after sending in a one-off audition tape she filmed in her basement.
Clearly, Katie was perfect for the role of Joey, and the show ran for six seasons and more than 100 episodes before ending in 2003. A handful of cast members were already up-and-coming in Hollywood, but the show proved to be a massive break for Katie.
It turns out that decades later, that one show might have been her most lucrative gig, not to mention the piece of work that started her entire career.
Katie Holmes Has Had A Lucrative $25 Million Career
Katie Holmes has a net worth of around $25 million, which almost seems low given her long resume in Hollywood. Yet there were spans of time when she didn't act much, specifically while married to Tom Cruise.
$25 million is nothing to scoff at, either, especially because it seems that Katie earned most of her money early in her career.
It would seem that Katie did take steps to protect herself when she married Tom, ensuring that her earnings (though perhaps low during her marriage) would remain separate from her super-earner ex.
It turns out that Katie may have built up her nest egg long before she met or married Tom, though. Her early stint on Dawson's Creek may have cemented Katie's star status, but it also padded her bank account quite nicely.
How Much Did Katie Holmes Make On Dawson's Creek?
When Dawson's Creek debuted in 1998, most of its cast were lesser-known names. By the time the series ended in 2003, most were household names with plenty of acting projects lined up.
A teen herself at the start of the series, Katie reportedly started out earning $30,000 per episode. Later in the series, as it became more popular, Katie brought in $178,000 per episode.
Though Katie's character Joey wasn't the title character, she appeared in every single one of the show's 128 episodes. At her lower rate, that comes to a total of over $3.8 million for the entire series. On the higher end, even if Katie only earned the $178K salary for half the episodes, she could have brought home more than $13 million.
No Project Has Come Close To Katie's Earnings From Dawson's Creek
Even at the height of buzz around Katie Holmes during her marriage to Tom Cruise and the birth of their daughter Suri, she didn't seem to sign on to any projects that made as much as the beloved teen sitcom.
However, the former couple's reported prenup did guarantee her nearly $5 million in child support from the time of the split to when Suri reaches adulthood.
Some sources suggest that Katie was only worth about $10 million when she married Tom, but it's unclear whether her current net worth factors in child support or her earnings only.
Her other earnings also don't stack up against Dawson's Creek. Some of Katie's higher-paid projects include Batman Begins and Abandon, which both fetched her $1 million in payment. Various other projects paid hundreds of thousands, but only for short-term projects like films, which are one-and-done.
Katie's rate per film also isn't advertised, though it's assumed for cameos like in Ocean's 8, she likely didn't make multi-millions.
Is Katie Holmes The Most Successful Dawson's Creek Star?
Though Katie Holmes might be the most recognizable name and face from Dawson's Creek, she can't compete when it comes to net worth.
Stars like James Van Der Beek and Joshua Jackson have net worths far lower than Katie, actress Michelle Williams surpasses her at $30 million.
With plenty of critical acclaim to her name, Michelle might be the most successful actor to come off the Dawson's Creek set, even if she wasn't a quite-as-beloved lead character.
That's not to say Katie's $25 million is anything to scoff at, though. She has nabbed some lucrative deals during her day, enough that she can take on projects as she wishes, rather than saying yes to everything.
Everything changes eventually. That's just the way life is and you have no control over it. - Joey Potter
Given that she's still acting these days, and moving into producing as well, Katie's net worth will likely continue to grow for many more years.
There's also no word on whether streaming episodes of Dawson's Creek (it was once available on Netflix) earn the cast any royalties. If so, the cast stands to continue making money on their work for ages, as long as viewers are still discovering (or rediscovering) Dawson's Creek.
The show is currently available on HBO, Hulu, Prime Video, and Apple TV.
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