Tom Cruise

On this day in 1962, Thomas Cruise Mapother IV is born in Syracuse, New York. After his breakout role in the 1983 film “Risky Business,” Cruise went on to become one of the biggest stars in Hollywood, appearing in a long list of critically acclaimed dramas and blockbuster action movies, including “Top Gun,” “Rain Man” and “Mission: Impossible.”
At age 18, Cruise made his feature film debut in “Endless Love” (1981), which was followed by “Taps” (1981) and “The Outsiders” (1983). He won international fame for his role as fighter pilot Pete “Maverick” Mitchell in 1986’s “Top Gun.” Cruise received his first Academy Award nomination for his performance as Vietnam vet and anti-war activist Ron Kovic in “Born on the Fourth of July” (1989). His second Oscar nomination came for his portrayal as a sports agent in “Jerry Maguire” (1996); a third nomination followed for Cruise’s performance as a self-help guru in Paul Thomas Anderson’s ensemble drama “Magnolia” (1999).
Cruise’s numerous film credits also include “The Color of Money” (1986), with Paul Newman; “Rain Man” (1988), with Dustin Hoffman; “A Few Good Men” (1992), with Jack Nicholson; “The Firm” (1993); and “Interview with the Vampire: the Vampire Chronicles” (1994). He starred as superspy Ethan Hunt in 1996’s “Mission: Impossible,” and reprised his role in the hit 2000, 2006 and 2011 sequels. Other Cruise movies include “Minority Report” (2002) and “War of the Worlds” (2005), both of which were directed by Steven Spielberg.
In the spring of 2005, Cruise and actress Katie Holmes, who co-starred in the television teen drama “Dawson’s Creek” (1998-2003), embarked on a whirlwind, high-profile romance. That May, Cruise went on “The Oprah Winfrey Show” and generated headlines by jumping on the host’s couch and expressing his love for Holmes, who is 16 years his junior. The following month, the two actors were engaged in Paris. Around the same time, Cruise sparked controversy for his impassioned advocacy of Scientology and his public criticism of anti-depressant drugs and psychiatry.On November 18, 2006, following the birth of their daughter Suri in April of that same year, Cruise and Holmes were wed in Italy, an event that received huge media coverage. Prior to tying the knot with Holmes, Cruise was married to the actress Mimi Rogers (“Someone to Watch Over Me,” “The Door in the Floor”) from 1987 to 1990. Cruise acted in three films with his second wife, Nicole Kidman, to whom he was married from 1990 to 2001 (and with whom he has two children): “Days of Thunder” (1990), “Far and Away” (1992) and “Eyes Wide Shut” (1999). On June 28, 2012, Holmes filed for divorce from Cruise. Two weeks later, it was announced the couple had reached a divorce settlement.

Breaking into Acting

Cruise set a 10-year deadline for himself in which to build an acting career. He left school and moved to New York, struggling through audition after audition before landing an appearance in 1981's Endless Love, starring Brooke Shields. Around this same time, he snagged a small role in the military school drama Taps (1981), co-starring Sean Penn.
His role in Taps was upgraded after director Harold Becker saw Cruise's potential, and his performance caught the attention of a number of critics and filmmakers. In 1983, Cruise appeared in Francis Ford Coppola's The Outsiders, which also starred Emilio Estevez, Matt Dillon and Rob Lowe—all prominent members of a group of young actors the entertainment press dubbed the "Brat Pack." The film was not well received, but it allowed Cruise to work with an acclaimed director in a high-profile project.

A-list Star

His next film, Risky Business (1983), grossed $65 million. It also made Cruise a highly recognizable actor—thanks in no small part to a memorable scene of the young star dancing in his underwear.
In 1986, after a two-year hiatus, the budding actor released the big-budget fantasy film Legend, which did poorly at the box office. That same year, however, Cruise's A-list status was confirmed with the release of Top Gun, which co-starred Kelly McGillis, Anthony Edwards and Meg Ryan. The testoterone-fueled action-romance, set against the backdrop of an elite naval flight school, became the highest grossing film of 1986.
Cruise followed the tremendous success of Top Gun with a string of both critically acclaimed and commercially successful films. He first starred in The Color of Money (1986), with co-star Paul Newman, and then went on to work with Dustin Hoffman on Rain Man (1988). Cruise's next role, as Vietnam veteran Ron Kovic in the biopic Born on the Fourth of July (1989), earned him an Academy Award nomination and a Golden Globe for Best Actor