| Human Profile | |
| Name: | Thomas Cruise Mapother IV |
| Birthday: | July 3, 1962 (age 63 years), Born in Syracuse, New York |
| Height: | 5'7" (170 cm) |
| Education: | St. Francis Seminary (Dropped Out) Glen Ridge High School (Diploma) College (No Degree) |
Overview
Thomas Cruise Mapother IV is an American actor and producer, known for his starring roles in blockbuster films like Risky Business, Top Gun, and the Mission: Impossible franchise where he often performs elaborate stunts, and for his prominent advocacy for the Church of Scientology, having received multiple Golden Globe Awards and Academy Award nominations.
Latest News (Dec 31, 2025): Tom Cruise has reportedly canceled his ambitious space movie, which he was preparing to film in outer space with director Doug Liman, due to his refusal to seek assistance from President Donald Trump for the project. Additionally, "Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning" is currently streaming on Paramount+, having been recently released on the service and garnering significant viewership.
Early Life and Ancestry
Thomas Cruise Mapother IV was born on July 3, 1962, in Syracuse, New York, to Mary Lee Pfeiffer, a special education teacher, and Thomas Cruise Mapother III, an electrical engineer. He is the only son among four children, with three sisters: Lee Ann, Marian, and Cass. His upbringing was marked by frequent moves due to his father’s profession, leading him to attend 15 different schools across the U.S. and Canada by the age of 14. His parents, both from Louisville, Kentucky, had English, German, and Irish ancestry. The family’s lineage can be traced back to Ireland, with the Cruise family arriving in the 12th century and the Mapother name having English origins before appearing in Ireland.
His parents divorced when he was young, and he and his sisters were primarily raised by their mother. He has described his father as abusive. During his youth, he briefly considered becoming a Catholic priest and attended a Franciscan seminary for a year. An interest in athletics led him to join his high school’s wrestling team, but a knee injury sidelined him. This injury prompted him to explore acting, and he took on the lead role of Nathan Detroit in a high school production of Guys and Dolls. He developed a passion for acting and, with his mother’s encouragement, moved to New York City at age 18 to pursue a career.
Career Beginnings
After moving to New York, Thomas Cruise Mapother IV took on odd jobs while attending acting classes. His film career began in 1981 with a small part in the movie Endless Love. Later that year, he secured a more significant supporting role as a cadet in the military academy drama Taps. The director was so impressed with his performance that his role was expanded.
He continued to land roles in the early 1980s, appearing in Francis Ford Coppola’s The Outsiders (1983) alongside a cast of other rising young actors. That same year, he had a leading role in the comedy Losin’ It. These early roles began to attract attention in Hollywood and set the stage for his commercial breakthrough.
Breakthrough and Stardom
The year 1983 proved to be a pivotal one in his career with the release of Risky Business. His portrayal of Joel Goodson, a high school student who gets into trouble while his parents are away, was a critical and commercial success, propelling him to stardom. An iconic scene featuring him dancing in his underwear became a memorable moment in 1980s cinema.
His status as a major box-office draw was cemented with the 1986 film Top Gun, where he played the heroic naval aviator Pete “Maverick” Mitchell. The film was a cultural phenomenon and a massive financial success. Following this, he demonstrated his acting range by co-starring with Paul Newman in The Color of Money (1986) and Dustin Hoffman in the Academy Award-winning film Rain Man (1988). He earned his first Academy Award nomination and a Golden Globe Award for his role as anti-war activist Ron Kovic in Born on the Fourth of July (1989).
Major Work and Production Company
Throughout the 1990s, Thomas Cruise Mapother IV solidified his position as a leading Hollywood actor, starring in a series of successful films including A Few Good Men (1992), The Firm (1993), and Jerry Maguire (1996). For his role in Jerry Maguire, he won a Golden Globe Award and received his second Academy Award nomination for Best Actor. In 1996, he took on the role of superspy Ethan Hunt in the film adaptation of Mission: Impossible, which he also produced. The film’s success launched a long-running and highly profitable franchise.
He continued to explore diverse roles, earning another Golden Globe and an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor for his work in Magnolia (1999). The 2000s saw him star in numerous science fiction and action films, such as Minority Report (2002), The Last Samurai (2003), and War of the Worlds (2005). He remains active in the Mission: Impossible series, known for performing many of his own elaborate stunts. He reprised his role as Maverick in the 2022 sequel Top Gun: Maverick, which became the highest-grossing film of his career. In 1993, he co-founded the production company Cruise/Wagner Productions with his former talent agent, Paula Wagner, which has produced many of his films.
Personal Life
Thomas Cruise Mapother IV has been married three times. His first marriage was to actress Mimi Rogers, whom he wed on May 9, 1987; they divorced in 1990. He met his second wife, actress Nicole Kidman, on the set of their film Days of Thunder. They married on December 24, 1990, and adopted two children together, a daughter and a son. Their marriage ended in divorce in 2001.
He began a relationship with actress Katie Holmes in 2005. The couple married in Italy on November 18, 2006, and have one daughter together. Their divorce was finalized in 2012.
He has been a prominent member of the Church of Scientology since the 1980s, having been introduced to it by his first wife, Mimi Rogers.