Bonafide movie star! Tom Cruise has defined pop culture for decades through his movies and marriages, so Us Weekly is taking a look back at the film icon’s career, personal life and more.
The actor was born Thomas Cruise Mapother IV in New York in July 1962. After becoming interested in acting as a child, he landed his first onscreen role in 1981’s Endless Love.
Cruise went on to star in countless blockbusters and critically-acclaimed films, leading several franchises and earning more than one Academy Award nomination. Some of his notable work includes Mission: Impossible, Top Gun, Risky Business and Jerry Maguire.
The Rain Man star also became known for doing his own stunts in his action movies. “He’s too old for this stuff,” Jack Reacher author Lee Child told The Times in November 2019. “He’s 57. He needs to move on, transition to being a character actor. He could get another 20 years out of it. He is talented. He’s a terrific guy, very considerate, good fun.”
While Cruise carried on with his career as planned, he had less success in his personal life. He was married to Mimi Rogers from 1987 to 1990, Nicole Kidman from 1990 to 2001 and Katie Holmes from 2006 to 2012.
The Cocktail star and Kidman adopted two children together: daughter Isabella and son Connor. “I’m very private about that,” the actress told Australia’s Who magazine in November 2018. “I have to protect all those relationships. I know 150 percent that I would give up my life for my children because it’s what my purpose is.”
The Oscar winner added at the time: “They are adults. They are able to make their own decisions. They have made choices to be Scientologists and, as a mother, it’s my job to love them. And I am an example of that tolerance and that’s what I believe — that no matter what your child does, the child has love and the child has to know there is available love and I’m open here. I think that’s so important because if that is taken away from a child, to sever that in any child, in any relationship, in any family — I believe it’s wrong. So that’s our job as a parent, to always offer unconditional love.”
Meanwhile, Cruise and Holmes welcomed a daughter in April 2006.
Scroll down to relive highlights from Cruise’s years in the spotlight.
