Hollywood's Maverick
No one says “blockbuster” like Cruise, and no one gives their all the way that he does—after all, who else has scaled the Burj Khalifa for a part? But behind the scenes, Cruise’s legacy is a lot more complicated.
1. He’s Not Really A Cruise
We know him as Tom Cruise, but he was born Thomas Cruise Mapother IV—the only brother to three sisters. His parents were Mary Lee, a special education teacher, and his father and namesake, Thomas Cruise Mapother III, was an electrical engineer. Sadly, the name wasn’t the only thing that Cruise’s father gave him.
2. His Home Life Was Unbearable
Cruise’s family didn’t have it easy in those early years. His father found it difficult to hold down a job, and with four mouths to feed, they didn’t have much money—but that wasn’t the only reason for their struggle. Cruise confessed that his father would regularly beat him, and that he rarely felt safe around the man, calling him an “merchant of chaos” and a “bully.”
