Just six weeks before the shocking announcement of her divorce from Tom Cruise, actress Katie Holmes sat down for a chat with Elle where she talked about Tom Cruise and being in her 30s among other topics. Check out highlights of her interview and a selection of Katie's spread!

Her sudden and unexpected decision to file for divorce from her husband of six years, actor Tom Cruise, landed her on the cover of tabloids across the planet. It seems that she's signalled that something is not working in her marriage in an interview she gave to ELLE just six weeks before the announcement of her divorce, so find out what Katie Holmes declared merely a month and a half before opting for separation, by reading highlights of her interview with the ELLE August.

Despite the fact that since the beginning, her relationship to the now 50 year old actor was rumored to be heading downhill, Katie and Tom proved everyone wrong and appeared to be one of the power-couples in Hollywood, that until recently, when Katie took even Tom by surprise by filing for divorce in New York City and requesting full custody of their six year old daughter Suri. While posing seductively for Carter Smith's camera lens for the cover of ELLE August 2012, Katie Holmes deflected most questions about her hubby and turned them around, talking about her instead. The 33 year old actress said, when asked about Tom and being Mrs. Tom Cruise, that:

“He has been Tom Cruise for 30 years. I know who I am and where I am and where I want to go, so I want to focus on that.”

The surprising response did raise a few eyebrows but nobody suspected a thing as the entire divorce is rumored to have been carefully and secretively planned by Katie and her friends and family. Obviously, being married to a very famous actor can help 'open a few doors', but when asked if that was her case, if being married to Tom Cruise helped her career, Katie underlined that she's worked for her fame by saying:

“Things are not handed to anyone. If anything, you work a little bit harder when you’re in such visible circumstances.”

While most women panic when they're getting near their 30s, Katie apparently found the age more of a 'new phase' and the 33 year old projected her confidence in the fabulous spread featured in the magazine. As far as her being in her 30s, Katie told Elle that:

“I definitely feel much more comfortable in my own skin. I feel sexier. I think in my twenties – it’s like you’re trying too hard to figure everything out…I’m starting to come into my own. It’s like a new phase.”

Now that you know that she's made public her decision to split from Tom Cruise, do you detect a suggestion of her move that shocked an entire world?

Find out more about Katie Holmes by checking out her full interview in the August 2012 issue of Elle.
Photos courtesy of Elle