Following Split, Katie Holmes Set To Show Racier Side In Upcoming Issue Of Elle Magazine

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) - As the divorce drama continues between Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes, the public will get a glimpse of what may be in store for the young actress following the split.

A sexy Holmes will grace the cover of the August issue of Elle magazine. She gave the interview six weeks before filing for divorce, and seems to drop some hints that she was ready for a fresh start.

"He has been Tom Cruise for 30 years," Holmes said in the issue. "I know who I am and where I want to go, so I want to focus on that."

And where she was on Friday was the Whole Foods in Chelsea, out in public again.

"I definitely feel much more comfortable in my own skin," she told Elle. "I'm starting to come into my own. It's like a new phase."

Jennifer Peros of Us Weekly magazine sees the interview and the actresses' racy shots as a sign that Holmes is breaking free from the "girl next door" image that she's portrayed for years.

"Tom had a very short leash on her," Peros told CBS 2's Cindy Hsu. "He wanted to approve everything she wore in photo shoots and he made sure that every movie role she took was OK with him. So this is kind of her coming out, it's the new Katie."

The outfit that she's wearing in the issue comes from her own clothing line. which will make its first public presentation at New York Fashion Week in September.

Peros said that even the heels in the pictures tell a story.

"Tom Cruise is five-foot-seven and Katie Holmes comes in at five-foot-10," Peros said. "So the past few years of her life she's always had to wear flip-flops and flats."

Cruise, who celebrated his 50th birthday this week, is now in California shooting a movie. And on Friday, the trailer came out for "Jack Reacher," his film which hits theaters in December.

The Elle magazine issue with Holmes' interview will hit newsstands on July 17. That happens to be the same day that Holmes is set to face a New York City judge for the latest divorce proceedings.

What do you think of the new-look Katie Holmes? Offer your thoughts and comments in the section below...