An irrefutable Hollywood megastar who is equally magnetic and manic, revered and reviled, Cruise was just 21 when he landed his breakthrough role as a horny high-school hunk in 1983's sex romp
Risky Business. With athletic good looks, a 1,000-watt smile and oodles of natural charm, he became an overnight celebrity, thanks in part to an iconic scene in which he danced around his living room to Bob Seger's "Old Time Rock and Roll" clad in a shirt, briefs and sunglasses. Eager to prove that he wasn't just another pretty boy, the young actor signed on to a number of diverse projects. Aside from a few bombs (the fantasy epic
Legend, the flat comedy
Cocktail), he was a hit at the box office, in lowbrow blockbusters (a cocky pilot in
Top Gun, a cocky race-car driver in
Days of Thunder) as well as in more high-minded fare (a protective younger brother in
Rain Man, a disabled Vietnam vet in
Born on the Fourth of July, which earned him an Oscar nod). Despite his fame, Cruise was — at least at this point in his life — fanatical about his privacy, including his devotion to the Church of Scientology. Yet a romance with his
Days of Thunder costar Nicole Kidman — whom he married 10 months after divorcing his first wife, Mimi Rogers — landed him in the gossip columns. He starred opposite Kidman again in his next film, the 1992 flop
Far and Away, but then reached new heights in a succession of hits: the military courtroom drama
A Few Good Men, the action flick
Mission: Impossible and the romantic comedy
Jerry Maguire, which snagged him a second Academy Award nomination. At the apex of his fame, Cruise disappeared from the screen for three years in order to work with his wife under celebrated (and notoriously slow) director Stanley Kubrick on the sexual epic
Eyes Wide Shut. Released in 1999, the convoluted film was neither a critical nor commercial success. But Cruise bounced back with an Oscar-nominated supporting turn as a sex guru in
Magnolia that same year. It's ironic that so many of Cruise's roles revolved around sex considering that rumors abounded about his sexual orientation, leading the actor to file a number of defamation lawsuits. In 2001 his marriage to Kidman fell apart and their split dominated the tabloids for months, as did his subsequent relationship with
Vanilla Sky costar Penelope Cruz. In the '00s, after two decades in showbiz, Cruise began averaging a blockbuster per year (
Mission: Impossible II,
Minority Report,
War of the Worlds). However, in 2005 his off-screen antics began to sully his reputation, including his public feud with Brooke Shields over the merits of antidepressants; his constant championing of the controversial Scientology; and his bizarre romance with starlet Katie Holmes, which prompted him to proclaim his love standing atop a sofa on
The Oprah Winfrey Show. Dubbed TomKat by the media, the couple enjoyed a whirlwind courtship and soon announced that they were engaged and pregnant. They welcomed a daughter in April, 2006 and tied the knot in November of that year. Their constant media attention earned them a 2006 Razzie award for being the year's most tiresome tabloid target.
Tom Cruise Fast Facts:
- Studied for one year at a Franciscan seminary.
- Joined the Church of Scientology in the '80s while married to Mimi Rogers (whose father and first husband were active in the religion). Initially Cruise said that Scientology helped him overcome his dyslexia. Later, however, he claimed that he had been misdiagnosed and never really suffered from the learning disability.
- Earned his pilot's license in 1994.
- Volunteers with the Hollywood Education and Literacy Project (H.E.L.P.), which provides free tutoring to children and adults.
- Collaborated with screenwriter Robert Towne on four wildly successful films: Days of Thunder (1990), The Firm (1993), Mission: Impossible (1996) and Mission: Impossible II (2000).
- At age 39, he got braces to correct his bite on the recommendation of his kids' orthodontist.
- At the 2005 MTV Movie Awards, he received the first-ever MTV Generation Award.
- Katie Holmes gave birth to their daughter Suri in April, 2006. Since photos of the baby were not immediately released, the media began to wonder if Cruise was intentionally hiding her (although various celebrities including Leah Remini and Jada Pinkett-Smith claimed they met Suri and that she was gorgeous). In September 2006, Cruise and Holmes finally revealed their progeny to the world in a 22-page Vanity Fair spread.
- Tom Cruise Relationships:
- Cass Mapother - Sister
- Connor Anthony Kidman Cruise - Son
- Isabella Jane Kidman Cruise - Daughter
- Joe South - Stepfather
- Katie Holmes - Wife
- Lee Anne Mapother - Sister
- Marian Mapother - Sister
- Mary Lee Mapother South - Mother
- Mimi Rogers - Ex-wife
- Nicole Kidman - Ex-wife
- Penelope Cruz - Ex-significant Other
- Suri Cruise - Daughter
- Thomas Cruise Mapother III - Father
- William Mapother - Cousin
- Tom Cruise Awards:
- 1984 Golden Globe: Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy - Nominee
- 1990 Golden Globe: Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama - Winner
- 1993 Golden Globe: Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama - Nominee
- 2004 Golden Globe: Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama - Nominee
- 1997 Golden Globe: Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy - Winner
- 2000 Golden Globe: Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture - Winner
- 1989 Oscar: Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role - Nominee
- 1996 Oscar: Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role - Nominee
- 1999 Oscar: Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role - Nominee
- 2009 Golden Globe: Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture - Nominee
- 1994 People's Choice Awards: Favorite Actor in a Dramatic Motion Picture - Winner
- 1990 People's Choice Awards: Favorite Motion Picture Actor - Winner
