Suri Cruise, the daughter of Katie Holmes and Tom Cruise, has graduated high school – and eagle-eyed fans have noticed the heartfelt nod to her mother in her new name.
What is Suri’s new name?
The 18-year-old now goes by Suri Noelle, dropping her father’s surname amid estrangement rumours.
The name is a sweet nod to her mother, who starred as Joey in Dawson’s Creek between 1998 to 2003. Known professionally as Katie Holmes, the American actresses full name is Kate Noelle Holmes, and now her daughter has taken her middle name.
It’s not the first time Suri has used the moniker, going by Suri Noelle late last year when she played Morticia Addams in her school’s production of The Addams Family: A New Musical.
“She is showing praise for her mother by using her middle name,” a source told Page Six, speculating that she made the name change because she “wants her own identity”‘ to “start afresh at college.”
At this stage it’s unclear whether she has legally changed her name.
Does Tom Cruise have a relationship with Suri?
Suri’s decision to ditch her father’s name comes after Page Six confirmed the father and daughter remain estranged.
Katie Holmes and Tom Cruise had a high-profile divorce in 2012, with Katie effectively raising Suri solo for the past 11 years.
According to their divorce settlement, the actor agreed to pay Katie $400,000 a year until Suri turned 18 and will continue to pay for her college fees. His daughter is expected to attend Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh later this year, and is reportedly leaning towards studying fashion.
Under the terms of the former couple’s divorce agreement, though he may be physically absent from his daughter’s life, Tom has and will continue to cover, “medical, dental, insurance, education, college and other extracurricular costs.”
The last time Tom and Suri were photographed together was a trip to Disneyland in 2012, the year his divorce from Katie was finalised.
Suri isn’t the only Hollywood child dropping her famous surname. Earlier this month Shiloh Nouvel Jolie Pitt, the daughter of Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt filed paperwork to legally remove ‘Pitt’ from her surname.
Her decision to file the petition, on the day she turned 18, came amid continuing speculation of an estrangement between Brad and his children following his split with Angelina in 2015.
“They’ve struggled to forgive and connect with Brad since the divorce,” a source told Us Weekly earlier this year. “Their mom is the head of the household, and she’s raised them with love and selflessness their whole lives. Once Brad left, it was very hard for them to see him go to war with her.”
