By Oluwabusayo Oyinloye
Thomas Cruise Mapother IV, popularly known as Tom Cruise, born on July 3, 1962 in Syracuse, New York, U.S., is an American actor and producer who emerged in the 1980s as one of Hollywood’s most popular leading men, known for his clean-cut good looks and versatility
Cruise grew up in near poverty and had a Catholic upbringing. In total, Cruise attended 15 schools in 14 years. He first became involved in drama in fourth grade. In his senior year of high school, he played football for the varsity team as a linebacker, but was cut from the squad after getting caught drinking beer before a game. He went on to star in the school’s production of Guys and Dolls. In 1980, he graduated from Glen Ridge High School in Glen Ridge, New Jersey.
At age 18, with the blessing of his mother and stepfather, Cruise moved to New York City to pursue an acting career. After working as a busboy in New York, he went to Los Angeles to try out for television roles. He signed with CAA and began acting in films.
Cruise began acting in the early 1980s and made his breakthrough with leading roles in the comedy Risky Business (1983) and the action film Top Gun (1986).
Cruise made his film debut in Endless Love (1981). He had supporting roles in such movies as Taps (1981) and The Outsiders (1983) before starring as a high-school senior who turns his parents’ home into a brothel in Risky Business (1983). The movie was a major success, earning Cruise widespread recognition. His star status was cemented with 1986’s Top Gun which was the highest-grossing film of that year, in which he played a navy jet pilot.
In 2006, Premiere ranked Cruise as Hollywood’s most powerful actor. The same year, Forbes magazine ranked him as the world’s most powerful celebrity.
October 10, 2006, was declared “Tom Cruise Day” in Japan; the Japan Memorial Day Association said that he was awarded with a special day because of “his love for and close association with Japan.”
He has received various accolades, including an Honorary Palme d’Or and three Golden Globe Awards, in addition to nominations for four Academy Awards. His films have grossed over $5 billion in North America and over $12 billion worldwide, placing him among the highest-grossing leads in box-office history. He is also one of the world’s highest-paid actors.
Recall that Cruise married actress Mimi Rogers on May 9, 1987, but they divorced on February 4, 1990. Cruise met his second wife, actress Nicole Kidman, on the set of their film Days of Thunder (1990). The couple married on December 24, 1990. However, on February 5, 2001, the couple’s spokesperson announced their separation.
On November 18 2006, Cruise married actress Katie Holmes in a Scientologist ceremony attended by many Hollywood stars, but on June 29, 2012, Holmes filed for divorce from Cruise.
In total, Cruise has 3 children.
