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EARLY LIFE

Tom Cruise

Born Thomas Cruise Mapother IV on July 3rd, 1962, in Syracuse, New York, Tom is the third of four children to teacher Mary Lee and electrical engineer Thomas Cruise Mapother III. Raised as a Catholic, Tom had a difficult childhood; he suffered from dyslexia and had a difficult relationship with his father whom Tom has publicly criticized for his strict, abusive parenting. Tom and his family moved regularly when he was a child, living in places like New York and Ontario. Whilst living in Ontario, Tom studied at Henry Munro Middle School where he developed a passion for hockey and had his first taste of acting, appearing in a school production of IT that was filmed for Canadian television. His parents separated when he was 12 years old and he moved to New Jersey with his mother. He later briefly attended a Franciscan seminary to pursue a life as a Catholic priest, before attending New Jersey High School to develop his burgeoning acting talent.

ACTING DEBUT

In his late teens, Tom moved to New York City and soon earned his first acting part with a small role in Endless Love (1981). Bigger parts were on the horizon though and Tom quickly earned more substantial roles in the military drama Taps (1981), and Francis Ford Coppola’s The Outsiders (1983) before he found his breakthrough role in 1983’s Risky Business. That film was a breakout hit with Tom earning a Golden Globe nomination for his star-making performance. His first bona-fide blockbuster was yet to come though with Tom sealing his A-list status in Tony Scott’s hugely popular action thriller Top Gun (1986). The film was a worldwide success, grossing over $350 million and transforming Tom into one of Hollywood’s most popular actors. He hasn’t looked back since playing on his screen charisma and demonstrating his natural acting talent in both big budget blockbuster fare and high profile dramas.

TOM CRUISE – SUPERSTAR

With acclaimed performances in The Colour of Money (1986), and Rain Man (1988), it was only a matter of time before Tom would earn the attentions of Hollywood’s major awards; with his performance as a paraplegic Vietnam veteran in Oliver Stone’s acclaimed drama Born on the Fourth of July (1989) he earned his first Golden Globe award and his first Oscar nomination. The star reunited with Tony Scott for the Nascar thriller Days of Thunder (1989) before demonstrating consistent success in the varied likes of A Few Good Men (1992), The Firm (1993), and Interview with the Vampire (1994). However, Tom was destined for bigger, more crowd-pleasing things with the release of TV adaptation Mission Impossible (1996) setting the actor on course to being Hollywood’s most bankable star. With further Oscar nominations and Golden Globe wins for his turns in Jerry Maguire (1997), and Magnolia (1999), and box office smashes Mission Impossible 2 (2000), Minority Report (2002), The Last Samurai (2003), Collateral (2004), and War of the Worlds (2005), Tom became known as Hollywood’s proven sure thing at the box office.

CONTROVERSY

However, he fell out of favour with the public thanks to some highly-publicized bizarre behavior on The Oprah Winfrey Show and his often outspoken remarks regarding his Scientologist beliefs culminating with Paramount studios refusing to renew their partnership with the actor in 2006. Tom has publicly apologized for some of his more controversial comments and has still proven to be a box office draw with Mission Impossible III (2006) grossing almost $400 million worldwide, but his latest non-franchise releases have underwhelmed with both Valkyrie (2008), and Knight and Day (2010) underperforming at the box office. He will next be seen in Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol (2011).

Tom Cruise in Mission Impossible III

PRODUCING CAREER

Tom has also had success as a producer with many of his blockbuster releases being produced by his own company, Wagner/Cruise Productions, including the Mission Impossible franchise and The Last Samurai as well as the more independent-minded releases Narc (2002) and Shattered Glass (2003).

PERSONAL LIFE

Tom previously had high profile relationships with co-stars Rebecca De Mornay (Risky Business), and Penelope Cruz (Vanilla Sky, 2001), and has been married 3 times; to Mimi Rogers (1987-1990), Nicole Kidman (1990-2001), and Katie Holmes (2006-present). He shares two adopted children with Kidman; Isabella Jane (born 1992), and Connor Cruise (born 1995), and has a biological daughter, Suri (born 2006) with current wife Katie Holmes. Tom has been nominated for 3 Oscars and 7 Golden Globes, and has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. He is currently represented by Creative Artists Agency.

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