Katie Holmes celebrated her father, Martin Joseph Holmes, Sr. ‘s milestone 81st birthday with an emotional tribute shared to social media. The actress took to Instagram to post a sweet picture of her parents alongside a heartfelt message.

The photograph captured Martin posing next to his wife, Kathleen Stothers-Holmes, in coordinating outfits. Martin donned a smart navy blazer with a pair of gray tailored pants. The suit was layered over a crisp white shirt with a red tie. Meanwhile, Kathleen wore a gray cardigan over a long-sleeve red top.

In the caption, Katie penned: “A very Happy Birthday to my incredible dad! He is the best dad and grandfather who is so kind and generous and always leads with love. Thank you Dad!”

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The actress, the youngest of five children, grew up in Ohio where she was encouraged by her parents to follow her creative ambitions. Before stepping into acting, she began her career as a child model. Her big break came in 1998 when she landed the role of Joey Potter in Dawson’s Creek.

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Katie welcomed her daughter, Suri Cruise, with her ex-husband, Tom Cruise, in 2006. Suri shares an incredibly close relationship with her grandparents, and has even inherited her grandmother’s passion for design.

Suri is now studying at Carnegie Mellon University, and is thought to be majoring in a creative subject. The School of Design which offers a variety of subjects and is suitable for students with interests ranging from graphic designers, illustrators, animators, fashion designers, and artists, all housed under one department. The teens sophomore year at college began on August 26 following a summer break spent with her mom in New York.   Kathleen had her own drapery business for many years before Katie was born.

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Chatting to InStyle about her mom, the actress said proudly: “My mother had a very successful drapery business, but then when I was born — I was a lot of work. [laughs] So she gave it up.”

“But my mom is an incredible quilter, and one of my sisters is an art teacher, so I grew up with that.”

Katie continued: “I’ve always wanted Suri to feel empowered [in that way] too. I remember asking her what kind of party she wanted for her fourth or fifth birthday, and she said a fairy party. So we went to the fabric store and picked out everything we needed for fairies. I wanted her to create things instead of having stuff done for her. That way she was always in charge.”