Tom Cruise: Snapshot

Name
Tom Cruise
Date of Birth
July 03, 1962
Birth Place
Syracuse, N.Y.
Never one to sit on the sidelines – unless he's rooting for his kids at a sports game – Tom Cruise loves a big gesture, whether it's couch jumping on Oprah or doing his own stunts.

The Oscar-nominated actor, who once considered becoming a Catholic priest, now belongs to the Church of Scientology, which he believes helped him overcome dyslexia. His divorce from Nicole Kidman drew attention, but not nearly as much as his whirlwind romance with Katie Holmes.

Before Holmes gave birth to daughter Suri, Cruise criticized actress Brooke Shields for taking antidepressants for postpartum depression. Though he has since apologized, Paramount Pictures severed their 14-year relationship, claiming that his off-screen antics hurt ticket sales. Cruise has since signed with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. to resurrect United Artists, where he will star in and produce films.

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Tom Cruise: Five Fun Facts

  1. Between ages 6 and 7, Tom Cruise was used as a smooching guinea pig: His sister's friends would sit him on the kitchen sink and practice kissing him on the lips.
  2. At 14, Tom Cruise spent a year at a Franciscan seminary in Cincinnati and even took a vow of celibacy.
  3. Tom Cruise had no interest in acting until a knee injury forced him to quit high school wrestling and he tried out for a school play.
  4. Tom Cruise once had a standing offer to pose nude for Playgirl. "He'd look pretty good in a race car, or maybe the cockpit of a plane," editor Nanci S. Martin said in 1990. "He'd look good on top of a white sheet. He'd look good in anything."
  5. A Disney source told PEOPLE in 1992 that Tom Cruise was the inspiration for Aladdin's hunky mug. Photos of the actor decorated the office of the top animator responsible for the title character in the film.

Tom Cruise: Biography

1983

Tom Cruise

August 05

No Risky Move

Cruise's first big movie, Risky Business, opens. Dancing in his underwear, Cruise, 21, lands at the top of Hollywood. EW calls it a "teen comedy that had the unexpected grace of a screwball farce."

1986

Tom Cruise

May 12

Top Dollar

Cruise takes to the skies as jet jock Maverick in Top Gun, the year's biggest moneymaker. It earns $170 million by December.

1987

Tom Cruise

May 09

(Very Quiet) Wedding Bells

In a ceremony so secret even his publicist is left in the dark, Cruise marries girlfriend of a year and a half Mimi Rogers in a Unitarian ceremony in upstate New York. The actor's close friend Emilio Estevez is the best man. In January 1990, Cruise and Rogers call it quits.

Read More on Tom Cruise's Life

Photo Credits

Top Left: Matt Sayles/AP

BIOGRAPHY (top to bottom): Everett; Everett; Eugene Adebari/REX USA

Edited by Janet Mock and Julia Wang

Tom Cruise

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