Tom Cruise

Tom Cruise (born Thomas Cruise Mapother IV July 3, 1962 in Syracuse, New York, USA) is an American actor and producer who has starred in a number of top-grossing movies. His first leading role in a blockbuster movie was in 1983's Risky Business.

Biography

Cruise was born to Thomas Cruise Mapother III and Mary Lee Pfeiffer. The very first Mapother's were Welsh immigrants to the United States. Cruise also has German ancestry from his paternal great-grandparents, William Reibert and Charlotta Louise Voelker. Cruise's parents moved frequently when he was a child, residing in a number of locations throughout the United States and Canada, including Ottawa, Louisville, Kentucky, Glen Ridge, New Jersey (where he attended Glen Ridge High School), and Wayne, New Jersey. Before going into acting, Cruise attended a Franciscan seminary and aspired to become a Catholic priest.

Related Topics:
Welsh - United States - German - Canada - Ottawa - Louisville, Kentucky - Glen Ridge, New Jersey - Glen Ridge High School - Wayne, New Jersey - Franciscan - Seminary - Catholic priest

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He received Academy Award nominations for Born on the Fourth of July (1989) and Jerry Maguire (1996), both as Best Actor; and for Magnolia (1999), as Best Supporting Actor. In 1996, he became the first actor in history to star in five consecutive films that grossed $100 million in domestic release. The films were A Few Good Men (1992), The Firm (1993), Interview with the Vampire (1994), ' (1996) and Jerry Maguire (1996).

Related Topics:
Academy Award - Born on the Fourth of July - 1989 - Jerry Maguire - 1996 - Best Actor - Magnolia - 1999 - Best Supporting Actor - A Few Good Men - 1992 - The Firm - 1993 - Interview with the Vampire - 1994

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Never one to shy away from challenging himself, Cruise also took on more unusual roles following Interview With The Vampire and Jerry Maguire, with Eyes Wide Shut (1999) which took two years to finish as director Stanley Kubrick's last film, alongside former spouse Nicole Kidman. Cruise also turned in a powerful supporting performance as a misogynistic male guru in Magnolia (1999), which netted him a Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination, and also played a villainous hitman who kidnaps unsuspecting cabbie Jamie Foxx in Michael Mann's Collateral (2004), a complex role Cruise played with intensity.

Related Topics:
Eyes Wide Shut - Nicole Kidman - Magnolia - Jamie Foxx - Collateral

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Cruise teamed with producer Paula Wagner to form Cruise/Wagner Productions, which has co-produced several of Cruise's films such as ' and its sequels, Vanilla Sky (2001), and The Last Samurai (2003). The company also co-produced The Others (2001).

Related Topics:
Paula Wagner - Sequel - Vanilla Sky - 2001 - The Last Samurai - 2003 - The Others

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In 1990, 1991 and 1997, People magazine rated him among the 50 most beautiful people in the world. In 1995, Empire magazine ranked him among the 100 sexiest stars in film history. Two years later, it ranked him among the top 5 movie stars of all time. In 2002 and 2003, he was rated by Premiere among the top 20 in its annual Power 100 list.

Related Topics:
1991 - 1997 - People magazine - Beautiful - 1995 - Empire magazine

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A number of Cruise's more well-known and popular movies have cast him in a similar role, one which has been half-jokingly referred to by movie fans (and some critics) as the "Generic Tom Cruise Character." In a role of this type, Cruise has portrayed a character who, as the film begins, is seen as a cocky, stuck-up, self-centered egotist who cares for little other than himself. As the events of the movie unfold, his character learns to become more open-minded and altruistic, until by the time the climax has been reached, he has undergone a radical change and been transformed into a better human being. Examples of the "Generic Tom Cruise Character" can be seen in Top Gun, Rain Man, A Few Good Men, Jerry Maguire, Cocktail, Vanilla Sky, The Last Samurai, War of the Worlds, and others. His most recent film, War of the Worlds, achieved USD $34.6 million in ticket sales around the world on its debut, more than any other of his films on opening day. http://news.bbc.co.uk/cbbcnews/hi/newsid_4640000/newsid_4642800/4642847.stm

Related Topics:
Top Gun - Rain Man - A Few Good Men - Jerry Maguire - Cocktail - Vanilla Sky - The Last Samurai - War of the Worlds - USD

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In 2003, Cruise was named to the Board of Governors of the National Space Society, a nonprofit, educational space advocacy organization founded by Dr. Wernher von Braun. An enthusiastic advocate of space exploration, he provided the narration to the successful IMAX film Space Station 3D.

Related Topics:
2003 - Board of Governors - National Space Society - Nonprofit - Space advocacy - Wernher von Braun - Space exploration - IMAX - Space Station 3D

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He has been married twice, to Mimi Rogers (May 9, 1987 - February 4, 1990) and later Nicole Kidman (December 24, 1990 - August 8, 2001). He and Nicole Kidman adopted two children, Isabella (born 1993) and Connor (born 1995).

Related Topics:
Mimi Rogers - May 9 - 1987 - February 4 - 1990 - Nicole Kidman - December 24 - August 8 - 2001

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Cruise recently discussed his bi-racial son with the TV talkshow host Oprah Winfrey. Oprah asked Cruise if the issue of his race was ever discussed in the household. "We're from the human race, human kind," Cruise said. "I mean, what's there to talk about? He's my son. Listen, that's just how I feel about it. He's my son. I've never thought about color, race, I just have not thought about that."

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During his marriage to actress Nicole Kidman, the couple endured public speculation about their sex life and rumors that Cruise was gay. In May 2001 he filed a lawsuit against gay porn actor Chad Slater. Slater had allegedly told the celebrity magazine Actustar that he had engaged in an affair with Cruise. Both Slater and Cruise denied this, and in August 2001 Slater was ordered to pay $10 million to Cruise in damages.http://www.365gay.com/newscon05/06/060705cruise.htm

Related Topics:
May 2001 - Chad Slater - Actustar

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It is also rumored that Kidman lost her interest of Scientology, and the friction between her and Cruise over this issue drove the marrige apart.

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Cruise was next romantically linked with Penélope Cruz, the lead actress in his film Vanilla Sky. In March 2004, he announced that his relationship with Penélope Cruz had ended in January. In April 2005, he began dating Katie Holmes, before announcing on 17 June 2005 that he had proposed to her at the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=topNews&storyID=8822036. She accepted his offer, but the couple have yet to decide on a wedding date.

Related Topics:
Penélope Cruz - Vanilla Sky - 2004 - 2005 - Katie Holmes - 17 June - Eiffel Tower

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On June 19, 2005 at the London premiere of War of the Worlds Cruise was squirted in the face with water (via a joke microphone) by a man posing as a reporter. The intended comedy sketch was to be included in an upcoming reality show on British television channel Channel 4. Cruise was not humored by the prank as he claimed that it was "disgusting" that someone should act in such a way.

Related Topics:
June 19 - London - War of the Worlds - Upcoming reality show - Channel 4

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Tom Cruise is now filming Mission Impossible 3. Beyond that it is known that for many years he has been interested in playing the Marvel Comics superhero Iron Man in a film version due to be released in 2007.

Related Topics:
Marvel Comics - Superhero - Iron Man

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Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes are expecting a baby. On October 5, 2005, it was reported by People magazine that Holmes is pregnant. The birth would be Holmes' first child, and Cruise's third. Cruise has two children, Connor, 10, and Isabella, 12, from his marriage to Nicole Kidman.

Related Topics:
October 5 - 2005 - People

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