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Tom Cruise
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Stage Name: Tom Cruise
Birthdate: July 03, 1962
Birthplace: Syracuse, NY
Occupations: Actor, Director, Producer, Writer
In 1976, if you had told 14 year old Franciscan seminary student Thomas Cruise Mapother IV that one day in the not too distant future he would be considered one of the top 100 movie stars of all time, he would have probably grinned and told you that his ambition was to become a priest. Nonetheless, this sensitive, deeply religious youngster who was born in 1962 in Syracuse, NY, was destined to become Tom Cruise, one of the highest paid and most sought after actors in screen history. The only son of nomadic parents young Tom spent his boyhood eternally on the move and by the time he was 14 he had attended 15 different schools in the US and Canada. He finally settled in Glen Ridge, NJ, with his mother and her new husband. While in high school, Cruise developed an interest in acting and abandoned his plans of becoming a priest, dropped out of school, and at age 18 headed for New York and a possible acting career. The next 15 years of Tom's life are the stuff of legends. He
made his film debut with a small part in Endless Love (1981) and from the outset exhibited an undeniable box office appeal to both male and female audiences.
Though below average height and not particularly handsome in the traditional sense, within 5 years Tom Cruise was starring in some of the top grossing films of the 1980s including Top Gun (1986); Color of Money, The (1986); Rain Man (1988) and Born on the Fourth of July (1989). By the 1990's he was one of the highest paid actors in the world earning an average 15 million dollars a picture in such blockbuster hits as Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles (1994); Eyes Wide Shut (1999); Mission: Impossible (1996); Mission: Impossible 2 (2000); Magnolia (1999) and Jerry Maguire (1996) for which he received an Academy Award Nomination for best actor. In 1990 he renounced his devout Catholic beliefs and embraced The Church Of Scientology claiming that Scientology teachings had cured him of the dyslexia that had plagued him all of his life. A kind and thoughful man well known for his compassion and generosity, Tom Cruise is one of the best liked members of the movie community. Tom Cruise is married to actress Nicole Kidman and the couple have 2 adopted children. Thomas Cruise Mapother IV has indeed come a long way from the lonely wanderings of his youth.
Claim to Fame: Played gung-ho cadet in Taps (1981)
Spouse:
Wife: Nicole Kidman, actress; born 1967; married December 24, 1990
Wife: Mimi Rogers, actress; born January 1956; married 1986; divorced January 1990
Rebecca De Mornay, actress; together 1983-85
Recent Movies:
Eyes Wide Shut
Magnolia
Mission: Impossible 2