Tom Cruise - Biography

In a nutshell

Oh Tom. What is it about you that makes people wonder if you're a good guy or a bad guy? Or, perhaps, just somewhere in the middle?

Tom Cruise first hit the silver screen back in 1981 alongside Brooke Shields in the film Endless Love. Obviously not a major hit but it's a start!

Several other small parts came and went without anybody really sitting up to take notice but, like all major stars, one film was about to change all that. Legendary producer Jerry Bruckheimer was on the lookout for an actor to star in their new film based on the lives of a group of fighter pilots. Yawn, we hear you say. Well, little did we know that this film was about to turn into a worldwide smash. That's right, Tom bagged the lead role in Top Gun. When it opened in 1986 is took a whopping $354m and the rest, as they say, is history. Go and dust down your VHS copy and give it another watch...

Tom Cruise has gone on to build himself up into one of Hollywood's bankable stars. He can be hired by a studio and a project is almost guaranteed to be a success. Not many can claim to have that reputation.

If you want us to mention some of Tom's other classic films we can. Yes? Sure, we're talking Rain Man, The Color Of Money, Born on the Forth of July, Days of Thunder and A Few Good Men. Phew. We'd forgotten for a moment just how many great films this man has been in!

One of the biggest Hollywood blockbusters of the 90s was Mission: Impossible, in which Tom starred as well as being a producer. It took around $456m at the worldwide box office and became a popular franchise although, if you ask us, it ran out of steam after M:I 2.

There's no denying that Cruise is a popular guy, but that popularity appears to have waned in recent years. We all love a good poll and several magazines have featured Tom in one guise or another. He's been listed in polls such as 'Most Beautiful People', 'Sexiest Stars' and the 'Power 100'.

Tom has seen more than his fair share of beautiful women over the years, having been married numerous times. First up was Mimi Rogers, whom he married back in 1987. They divorced in 1990. So what do you do when you break up with a partner? Find another, of course! Tom started dating Australian actress Nicole Kidman after they met whilst working together on the film Days of Thunder. They married in 1990, adopted some kids and ended up divorcing in 2001.

So, another actress fell into the arms of Tom. This time the gorgeous Penelope Cruz, and they stayed together for three years. And that brings us to Katie Holmes, the former Dawson's Creek actress. They started dating in 2005 and had a baby daughter, Suri, in 2006.

Tom has had some classic moments over the last few years; anybody remember the 'jumping up and down like a crazy person' moment on Oprah's show? But it's his involvement with Scientology which has caused the most press coverage. And quite frankly, something we're not really interested in exploring...

Did you know?

The tomcruise.com domain name was owned by 'cybersquatters' until Tom sued in 2006 and the domain was transferred to his ownership.