On July 3, 1962, Tom Cruise, who would later become an iconic Hollywood leading man, was born in Syracuse, New York. Thomas Cruise Mapother IV, as he was born, began his acting career in the 1980s and quickly gained recognition for his clean-cut good looks and versatility.
The parents of Tom Cruise were Mary and Thomas Mapother. Mary, an amateur actress and schoolteacher, and Thomas, an electrical engineer, raised Cruise in a loving household. However, their parents divorced when Cruise was 11 years old, and his mother decided to move the family to various places such as Louisville, Kentucky, and Glen Ridge, New Jersey, after she remarried. Both of Cruise’s parents have since passed away.
Cruise’s early life was marked by challenges, specifically dyslexia, which he shared with his mother and three sisters. Although this posed an academic challenge for Cruise, he excelled in athletics. Additionally, he briefly considered a career in professional wrestling until a knee injury sidelined him during high school.
At the age of 14, Cruise enrolled in a Franciscan seminary with aspirations of becoming a priest before leaving after one year. It was not long after when a teacher encouraged him to participate in the school’s production of the musical “Guys and Dolls,” which marked the beginning of Cruise’s journey towards an acting career.
In 1981, Cruise made his film debut in “Endless Love” and went on to secure supporting roles in films like “Taps” (1981) and “The Outsiders” (1983) before landing a breakthrough role as a high-school senior in “Risky Business” (1983). Cruise continued to solidify his status as a leading man with the highly successful “Top Gun” (1986), where he portrayed Navy jet pilot Maverick.
Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, Cruise took on a range of diverse roles and delivered critically acclaimed performances. He appeared in films such as “The Color of Money” (1986), “Rain Man” (1988), for which Cruise earned his first Academy Award nomination, and “Born on the Fourth of July” (1989) where he portrayed Vietnam War veteran-turned-activist Ron Kovic.
Cruise’s acting career continued to flourish in the 1990s with roles in films like “A Few Good Men” (1992), “Interview with the Vampire” (1994), and the “Mission: Impossible” series, which spawned multiple sequels over the years. Cruise also received another Oscar nomination for his performance in “Jerry Maguire” (1996) and “Magnolia” (1999).
In the 2000s and beyond, Cruise starred in various action films such as “Minority Report” (2002), “The Last Samurai” (2003), and “War of the Worlds” (2005). He continued to deliver compelling performances in movies like “Oblivion” (2013) and “Edge of Tomorrow” (2014), demonstrating his versatility as an actor.
Beyond his acting career, Cruise has been a prominent member of the Church of Scientology for over 30 years and has maintained his status as a celebrity face of the faith. His personal life has also garnered significant media attention, especially his three marriages to actresses Mimi Rogers, Nicole Kidman, and Katie Holmes, with whom he shares three children.
In a bold move, Cruise famously returned his Golden Globes to the Hollywood Foreign Press Association in response to criticisms of lack of diversity and ethical improprieties within the association. Despite the ups and downs in his personal and professional life, Tom Cruise remains a revered figure in Hollywood, known for his exceptional talent and enduring star power.
