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Background:
"Definitely. I don't have anything like I'm never going to get married again.
I'm very much a romantic and an optimist." Tom Cruise
Golden Globe winning, Oscar nominated actor Tom Cruise was hurled toward the
spotlight after brilliantly acting in the acclaimed films Magnolia (1999), Jerry
Maguire (1996) and Born on the Fourth of July (1990). Initially recognized while
starring as Joel Goodson in Risky Business (1983), Cruise later gained more
praise for acting in such blockbusters as Top Gun (1986), Rain Man (1988, with
Dustin Hoffman), The Color of Money (1986, with Paul Newman) and A Few Good Men
(1992, with Jack Nicholson). He was also noticed while playing roles in the
runaway success Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles (1994),
Mission: Impossible (1996, 2000, 2006), Vanilla Sky (2001) and Steven
Spielberg's Minority Report (2002, co-starring Samantha Morton). The
award-winning actor also played roles in the films Collateral (2004) and War of
the Worlds (2005). He will star in the upcoming films 3:10 to Yuma and The Few.
"I will never be down with love. Ever. I'm the guy who loves relationships. I
love women." Tom Cruise
Black-haired, blue-eyed Tom Cruise, who stands at 5' 7" inches tall and owns a
contagious smile, has been listed as one of 50 most beautiful people in the
world three times (1997, 1991, 1990) as well as was chosen as Sexiest Man Alive
(1990) by People Magazine. On a more personal front, the handsome actor has been
linked to several beautiful women including Columbian model Sofia Vergara (born
on July 10, 1972), actresses Rebecca De Mornay (together 1983-1985) and Melissa
Gilbert (born May 8, 1964), as well as Spanish actress Penelope Cruz (Vanilla
Sky costar, reportedly began dating summer 2001).
After splitting up with Cruz at the end of January 2004, Cruise, who was once
married to actresses Mimi Rogers and Nicole Kidman, drew public’s attention when
he began romancing Dawson Creek star Katie Holmes (former Chris Klein's 4-year
lover), who is 16 years his junior. Since then, Cruise began showing wacky
antics to demonstrate his love to Holmes, including the infamous couch-jumping
act on Oprah Winfrey show. The couple, who welcomed a baby girl named Suri on
April 18, 2006, have signed a $41 million pre-nuptial agreement.
As a humanitarian, Tom Cruise has participated in several charity programs
including The Ashley Flint Fund, The Tsunami Relief Fund, a Diabetes Fund, the
Hilary Rodham Clinton's Campaign and The Church of Scientology.
Scientologist Devotee
Childhood and Family:
"Because I grew up in so many different places, I was used to rumors [about me].
You know, I didn't have the right shoes; I didn't have the right clothes. I even
had the wrong accent." Tom Cruise
The only son to parents Thomas Cruise Mapother III (electrical engineer; died in
1984 of cancer) and Mary Lee Mapother (teacher and amateur actress), Thomas
Cruise Mapother IV was born on July 3, 1962. He has two older sisters: Lee Anne
Mapother (works in publicity and marketing for Cruise's company; born 1959) and
Marian Mapother (has a teaching degree; born 1961), and one younger sister named
Cass Mapother (owns a restaurant in New Jersey; born 1963). Due to his father's
profession, Syracuse, New York born Tom and the family lived in several places.
Following his parents divorce when he was 11, Tom and his sisters joined their
mother in Louisville, Kentucky and then in Glen Ridge, New Jersey, the latter in
which they stayed with stepfather Joe South. Tom is also the cousin of actor
William Mapother.
Tom was dyslexic and this often made school difficult. However, he excelled in
sports and once considered becoming a professional wrestler. By 14 years old,
Tom had attended 15 different schools in both the US and Canada. He was a
student at the Packanack School in Wayne, New Jersey (from first through third
grade), St. Xavier High School in Louisville, Kentucky (briefly, was also a
paperboy for the Louisville Courier-Journal) and finally graduated from Glen
Ridge High School in June 1980. After a serious knee injury cut him from his
high school wrestling team, 14-year-old Tom decided to become a priest and went
to Franciscan seminary, which he dropped a year later. When he was 16, an acting
career knocked. A teacher asked him to perform in the school's production of the
musical Guys and Dolls, in which he starred as Nathan Detroit and by age 18 Tom
was ready to pursue an acting career in New York.
On May 9, 1987, Tom Cruise married actress Mimi Rogers (born January 1956), but
they divorced three years later in January of 1990. In the same year, Tom met
actress Nicole Kidman (born 1967) while filming Days of Thunder (1990). After
dating for several months, the couple decided to exchange wedding vows on
Christmas Eve, 1990, in Telluride, Colorado. After celebrating their 10th
wedding anniversary, Tom and Nicole separated, filed for divorce on February 7,
2001 and were divorced on August 8, 2001. The couple has two adopted children:
son Connor Anthony Kidman Cruise (born on January 17, 1995) and daughter
Isabella Jane Kidman Cruise (born on born December 22, 1992). From his
relationship with fiancee Katie Holmes (actress; born on December 18, 1978),
Cruise has one daughter, Suri (means Princess in Hebrew or Red Rose in Persian),
who was born on April 18, 2006.
"I'm a romantic. I probably will get married again at some point. Just because
things didn't work out with Nic doesn't make me feel that it can't work out for
me. I guess I have a dark side - getting a little cynical. But I'm really an
optimist. I see the cup as half full not half empty." Tom Cruise
Off screen, Tom Cruise is a prominent Scientologist who believes it helped cured
him of dyslexia in 1992. While not filming he enjoys skydiving, scuba diving and
piloting his Pitts Special S-2B stunt plane. Tom, who has two dogs Basil and
Murray and a cat Harvey, currently resides with sister Cass and her three
children in Los Angeles.
Mission: Impossible
Career:
"I'm going to work my a** off and do whatever it takes-blood, sweat, and
tears..." Tom Cruise
Originally dreaming of a career as a professional wrestler, then priest, Tom
Cruise found his love of acting after starring in a production of his high
school play, the musical Guys and Dolls (played the lead role of Nathan
Detroit). At age 18, he packed for New York to begin his acting career. He honed
his acting skill by enrolling at the high profile Neighborhood Playhouse School
of Theatre, in which he studied with legend acting coach Sanford Meisner and
Phil Gushee. He also signed up with the Actors Studio, New School University,
New York. Afterwards, Tom headed to Los Angeles where he met Creative Artists
Agent Paula Wagner.
After attending a string of auditions, Tom landed on his debut film work in
1981. He played a bit part in Franco Zeffirelli's adaptation of Scott Spencer's
best selling novel, the erotic, passion-soaked drama Endless Love (starring
Brooke Shields and Martin Hewitt). That same year Tom also got a role in the
screen version of Devery Freeman's novel, Harold Becker's military school drama
Taps (with Timothy Hutton and Sean Penn). Tom then became a gangster with Emilio
Estevez in Francis Ford Coppola's stylized teen melodrama based on S. E.
Hinton's popular novel, the 1960s The Outsiders (1983, also starring Matt
Dillon, C. Thomas Howell, Ralph Macchio, Rob Lowe and Diane Lane).
1983 was Tom's breakout year. He won his first starring role as shy young man
Woody in Curtis Hanson's sexy teen comedy Losin' It (1983). He also gained wide
recognition for portraying the lead role of a Chicago teenager looking for fun
at home while his parents are away in Paul Brickman's crime comedy Risky
Business. The film was a box office hit, grossed $65 million and instantly
launched Tom's name toward the spotlight. Meanwhile, Tom nabbed another lead
role, desperate high school footballer Stefan, in Michael Chapman's directing
debut, the romantic drama All the Right Moves.
Two years later, Tom became Mia Sara's lover Jack, a peasant who must stop the
Lord of Darkness from both destroying daylight and marrying the woman he loves
in Ridley Scott's lush fantasy film, the box office flop Legend (1985). However,
he rebounded when Tony Scott cast him as aspiring pilot Lt. Pete 'Maverick'
Mitchell in his drama action film Top Gun (1986, costarring Kelly McGillis, Val
Kilmer and Meg Ryan), which became the biggest-grossing film of the year. Martin
Scorsese handed him the role of pool hustler Vincent Lauria, alongside Paul
Newman in his runaway success drama The Color of Money (1986). Now one of
Hollywood A-list actors, Tom was offered a string of film projects. After
starring as talented New York bartender Brian Flanagan in Roger Donaldson's
romantic drama Cocktail, Tom portrayed Oscar-winner Dustin Hoffman's brother in
Barry Levinson's well-received drama comedy Rain Man (both in 1988). Once a
cameo in the western Young Guns (1988), Tom then played Ron Kovic, a Marine
wounded in Vietnam, in the biopic Born on the Fourth of July (1989, helmed by
Oliver Stone). Tom received an Oscar nomination and took home his first Golden
Globe award for Best Actor.
The 1990s saw Tom uniting with then-wife Nicole Kidman in Tony Scott's romantic
action, the Oscar nominated Days of Thunder (he also co-wrote), in which he
starred as young hotshot stock car driver Cole Trickle. In 1992 he reunited with
Nicole Kidman playing revengeful young Irishman Joseph Donnelly in Ron Howard's
epic tale Far and Away. Tom also teamed with Jack Nicholson and Demi Moore when
he portrayed Navy lawyer Lt. Daniel Kaffee in Rob Reiner's film based on Aaron
Sorkin's play, the crime drama A Few Good Men (1992) and became a lawyer again
in Sydney Pollack's fast-paced legal thriller based on John Grisham's
best-selling novel, The Firm (1993).
Co-starring with another super-star, Brad Pitt, Tom portrayed charismatic
vampire Lestat de Lioncourt in the film version of Anne Rice's novel, Neil
Jordan's blockbuster Interview With The Vampire (1994). In 1996, he starred as
American agent Ethan Hunt in an adaptation of the classic TV spy show, Brian De
Palma's smash hit Mission: Impossible (1996, he also produced). He later
reprised his role in its next sequels: Mission: Impossible II (2000) and
Mission: Impossible III (2006). Tom's second Golden Globe award came in 1996
after he portrayed the titular role of a top agent at Sports Management
International who was good at friendship but bad at intimacy in Cameron Crowe's
romantic drama Jerry McGuire (costarring Cuba Gooding Jr. and Renee Zellweger).
In the late 1990s, Tom portrayed the husband of a flirtatious wife (played by
Nicole Kidman) in Stanley Kubrick's version of Arthur Schnitzler's novel, Eyes
Wide Shut. He also took home his third Golden Globe award after playing the
supporting role of Frank T.J. Mackey in Paul Thomas Anderson's drama Magnolia.
The role also earned him an Oscar nomination that year.
During the new millennium Tom continued to grace the silver screen. He received
critical acclaim for starring as wealthy, charismatic but lonely publisher David
Aames (opposite Penelope Cruz) in Cameron Crowe's romantic drama Vanilla Sky
(2001, he also produced). Besides starring in the futuristic thriller action
based on Philip K. Dick's short story Minority Report, Tom also appeared in the
documentary Space Station, the gangster drama Narc and the comedy Austin Powers
in Goldmember (all in 2002). In 2003 he became alcoholic Civil War veteran
turned Winchester guns spokesman Captain Woodrow Algren in the epic The Last
Samurai (he also produced) and the host of the musical TV show Nobel Peace Prize
Concert.
More recent, Tom teamed with Oscar winner Jamie Foxx to play a contract killer
in Michael Mann's crime drama Collateral (2004) and with Miranda Otto, Dakota
Fanning and Tim Robbins in Steven Spielberg's sci-fi adventure thriller inspired
by H.G. Wells's seminal classic novel, War of the Worlds (2005). He also
reprised his Ethan Hunt role for Mission: Impossible III (2006), in which his
character faced a dangerous and sadistic arms dealer while trying to keep his
identity secret to protect his girlfriend. The blockbuster spy movie, which also
featuring Ving Rhames, Keri Russell and Philip Seymour Hoffman, was helmed by
first-time film director J.J Abrams, creator of the TV hits “Alias” and “Lost.”
Abrams reportedly got the directing job because Tom loved the early episodes of
"Alias."
Soon, the Hollywood hunk will star in James Mangold's Western movie 3:10 to Yuma
and Michael Mann's adaptation of Alex Kershaw's book, The Few, a true-life story
of American pilot Billy Fiske.
"Awards are wonderful. I've been nominated many times and I've won many awards.
But my journey is not towards that. If it happens it will be a blast. If it
doesn't, it's still been a blast." Tom Cruise
Awards:
- Saturn Award: Best Actor, Vanilla Sky, 2002
- MTV Movie: Best Male Performance, Mission: Impossible 2, 2001
- Blockbuster Entertainment: Favorite Supporting Actor - Drama, Magnolia,
2000
- Golden Globe: Best Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture (Drama),
Magnolia, 1999
- John Huston Award for Artists Rights, 1998
- MTV Movie Award: Best Male Performance, Jerry Maguire, 1997
- American Cinematheque Gala Tribute: American Cinematheque Award (1996)
- Golden Globe: Best Actor in a Leading Role-Musical or Comedy, Jerry
Maguire, 1996
- Golden Satellite: Best Motion Picture Actor (Musical or Comedy), Jerry
Maguire, 1996
- National Board of Review: Best Actor, Jerry Maguire, 1996
- Razzie Awards: Worst Screen Couple, Interview With The Vampire: The
- Vampire Chronicles, shared with Brad Pitt, 1995
- NATO/ShoWest: International Box Office Star, 1992
- People's Choice: Favorite Motion Picture Actor, 1990
- Golden Globe: Best Actor in a Motion Picture (Drama), Born on the Fourth
of July, 1990
- Chicago Film Festival: Best Actor, Born on the Fourth of July, 1990
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