Background

Thomas Cruise Mapother IV, more commonly known as Tom Cruise, is an American actor and film producer.

He was born on July 3, 1962, in Syracuse, New York. He is one of two actors (the other being Tom Hanks) to have seven consecutive blockbuster films exceeding US$100 million.

He has been nominated for three Academy Awards and won three Golden Globe Awards.

Early Years

Little is known about Cruise's childhood. When he was 12, his mother left, taking him and his sister Lee Anne with her. His father's name was also dropped at that time.

He attended eight elementary schools and three high schools in two countries in twelve years. He eventually graduated from Glen Ridge High School in New Jersey in 1980.

Cruise has said that he suffered from child abuse at the hands of his father, calling him "a bully" and "a merchant of chaos." He was also subject to bullying at school.

Cruise started acting after being sidelined from his high school's wrestling team due to a knee injury. While he was injured, he successfully auditioned for a lead role his high school's production of "Guys and Dolls" and decided to become an actor after his success in the role.

Career Highlights

Cruise's first acting role came in 1981, when he had a small role in "Endless Love," a drama film starring Brooke Shields. His first leading role was 1983's "Risky Business," which was widely thought to be the film that propelled Cruise to stardom. One sequence in the film, featuring Cruise lip-syncing an song in his underwear, has become an iconic moment in film history described as a "Generation-X classic."

Cruise signed on with "Top Gun," after turning it down at first, which was opened in May 1986. This fighter pilot film was the highest grossing film of the year, taking in US$354 million in worldwide figures. He also starred in Martin Scorsese's "The Color of Money," "Rain Man," and "Cocktail."

Cruise welcomed the 1990s with an Academy Award Best Actor nomination for Oliver Stone's "Born on the Fourth of July," when he took the role of real-life Anti-Vietnam War hero Ron Kovic. It was then the audience knew that Tom could play complicated roles other than being "handsome." Some of his more intense roles were in Ron Howard's "Far and Away," a period film co-starring Nicole Kidman; "A Few Good Men" where he earned his first Golden Globe Award and MTV nominations; and Sydney Pollack's "The Firm."

In 1994, Cruise starred in an ensemble cast in "Interview with the Vampire," a gothic drama horror film based on Anne Rice's best selling novel. In 1996, Cruise starred in-as well as produced-"Mission Impossible," a remake of the 1960s TV series.

The film gross over US$456 million worldwide, making it the third highest grossing film that year. It was in that same year when he played the title role in the comedy-drama "Jerry Maguire." His performance as a down-on-his-luck sports agent earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor.

With Jerry Maguire's commercial success, Tom became the first actor in history to star in five consecutive films that grossed at least $100 million in domestic release.

In 1999, he starred in the erotic thriller "Eyes Wide Shut," which took two years to complete and was Stanley Kubrick's last film. It was also the last film in which he starred alongside then spouse Kidman. Cruise also played a misogynistic male guru in "Magnolia," which netted him a Best Supporting Actor nomination at the Academy Awards.

Cruise returned as Ethan Hunt in the second installment of the Mission Impossible films, which was released in 2000. It continued the series' blockbuster success, taking in almost US$546 million in worldwide figures and, like its predecessor, was the third highest grossing film of the year. He also starred in "Vanilla Sky," a remake of the 1997 Spanish film "Abre Los Ojos"; "Minority Report," a dystopian science fiction thriller; and "The Last Samurai."

In 2004, Cruise took a surprising turn against his generic "good guy" role by portraying as a sociopathic hitman in the crime thriller "Collateral." He also starred in "War of the Worlds," which earned $591 million worldwide although it received negative reviews.

In 2006, he reprised his role as Ethan Hunt in the third installment of Mission Impossible.

Cruise has appeared several times as one of the most powerful and most beautiful celebrities in various publications. However, his popularity seemed to wane since 2006, when his production company broke ties with Paramount Pictures as well as controversy surrounding his relationship with Katie Holmes.

Personal Life

Cruise was married three times, first with actress Mimi Rogers in 1987. They divorced in three years lated. Rogers was generally believed to be the one who introduced Cruise to Scientology.

His second marriage was with Nicole Kidman, whom he met on the set of the film "Days of Thunder." They were married in 1990 and divorced in 2000. They adopted two children, Isabella and Connor.

After being briefly romantically linked with Penélope Cruz, the lead actress in his film "Vanilla Sky," Tom Cruise began dating actress Katie Holmes, whom he has a daughter named Suri. They were married in Bracciano, Italy, on November 18, 2006.

Cruise is also one of the most vocal supporters of The Church of Scientology.


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