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Tom Cruise Briefly Attended High School in Louisville

By KY for KY Store Admin | January 21, 2015

In the mid-to-late '70s, Tommy attended high school at St. Xavier, a private Catholic school nestled in a kind of confluence between a few of Louisville's East End neighborhoods. At that time, the city was locked in a kind of economic and demographic stasis, where the decades of white flight and so-called urban renewal stabilized the metropolitan population for years to come. Some theorize that this was simply a byproduct of young Tommy Mapother harnessing the city's energies, siphoning Louisville's untapped psychic reserves like a battery and transforming its power, bending it to his will.

Before Tom Cruise climbed mountains and pretended to destroy aliens for a living, Tommy Mapother was just doing stuff. A nd he was doing this stuff in, of all places, Louisville, Kentucky. According to multiple biographical sources gleaned from the Internet in a great haste, the young Mapother moved to Louisville from Canada when he was a teenager where he ostensibly did normal Louisvillian things. While in school, the young Mapother reportedly excelled in athletics and theater, and was fascinated with theology, intending to pursue ecclesiastical studies at the St. Francis Seminary School in nearby Cincinnati. He was well on his righteous path, but as most endeavors undertaken by Kentuckians inevitably are, Mapother's pursuits were ruined in the pursuit of alcohol.

A March 4, 2013, New York Daily News article details Mapother's exploits with fellow seminarian Shane Dempler:

Miraculously, beginning in the early-to-mid-eighties, Louisville began to slowly grow once more, having nursed the rising star to manhood. This is probably a coincidence, but as they teach police detectives, we don't believe in coincidences. Not today.

If anything, the city of Louisville can claim it was there that Cruise discovered two of his life's chief passions: Acting and religion. Both have catapulted him out of our state and into fame and fortune, resulting in some of America's most valuable cultural exports and at least one international human rights violation investigation. However, Cruise's Wikipedia page is, as of this writing, scrubbed of any mention of his Louisville residency despite multiple corroborating sources elsewhere on the Internet. (Efforts to reach out to his cousin, Louisvillian and actor William Mapother, were unsuccessful, leaving us woefully unsure if Tom Cruise ever puked in the infield during Oaks Day races at Churchill Downs.)

Logic dictates that, because Tom Cruise lived in Louisville, he lived in Kentucky, thus making him——however fleeting——a Kentuckian. It is an easy distinction to make, but not one rendered lightly. It may not be Berea, Hazard or even Newport, but dammit, Louisville's close enough.

But who knows what could have been? Perhaps, like Castro and his failed baseball ambitions, had the Franciscan friars let him get drunk on that fateful night, Tom Cruise might have remained Tommy Mapother, and the world might have been a different place… probably one with a lot more Eric Stolz.

SHOP ALL OUR GEAR NOW!

The following are recommended topics, including some facts and many outright lies, to be used for conversational purposes in the event that the wearing of this shirt attracts social interest:

"Yeah, he lived in Louisville before commanding indentured servants aboard his personal watercraft within the larger Church of Scientology's ocean-faring Sea Org flotilla."

"I think he was a Cardinals fan."

"Well he wasn't a Scientologist when he lived in Kentucky, is all I'm saying."

"I know that Day-Lewis gets all the love for 'My Left Foot' and all, but Cruise was really screwed over by the Academy that year. His performance in 'Born on the Fourth of July' is incredible and really spoke to me on a personal level."

"No, you're thinking of Dustin Hoffman."

Words by Jonathan Meador . Product Photo by Savanna Barnett .

This t-shirt is no longer in print because nobody bought it. It still lives on in our hearts and on a few people's backs and in our journal chronicling  The 10 Worst Product Ideas We Ever Had . But, we have plenty of other shirts. We suggest this one  featuring another up-and-coming Kentuckian: 

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• kick ass kentuckians

Famous St. Xavier High School, Louisville, Kentucky Alumni

List of famous alumni from St. Xavier High School, Louisville, Kentucky, with photos when available. Prominent graduates from St. Xavier High School, Louisville, Kentucky include celebrities, politicians, business people, athletes and more. This list of distinguished St. Xavier High School, Louisville, Kentucky alumni is loosely ordered by relevance, so the most recognizable celebrities who attended St. Xavier High School, Louisville, Kentucky are at the top of the list. This directory is not just composed of graduates of this school, as some of the famous people on this list didn't necessarily earn a degree from St. Xavier High School, Louisville, Kentucky.

The list you're viewing is made up of different graduates like Tom Cruise and Jack Conway.

• Dig Deeper... The 40+ Best Tom Cruise Movies, Ranked By Fans
• And Deeper... 345 Famous Cancer Celebrities
• # 225 of 227 on The Most Trustworthy Celebrities In The World

Rudy Rucker

William Mapother

Bob Edwards

Scott Padgett

• # 44 of 64 on The Greatest Kentucky Basketball Players of All Time
• # 131 of 140 on The Best Houston Rockets of All Time
• # 102 of 183 on The Best Utah Jazz of All Time

Frank Beard

Jack Conway

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Famous Louisvillians: Art & Entertainment

The vibrant arts and entertainment scene in Louisville can be credited to the plethora of successful artists that got their start in this beloved town.

Between actors, musicians, comedians and other artists, Louisville has yielded an impressive array of talent that has impacted the arts and entertainment industry of today. Click here to download a PDF version of Noteworthy Louisvillians.

Foster Brooks

Born in Louisville, Foster Brooks began his career at WHAS-AM. He gained recognition after reporting about the Ohio River flood of 1937 and then moved West where he started working as a stand-up comedian.

Bob Edwards

Louisville native Bob Edwards, is a Peabody Award-winning member of the National Radio Hall of Fame. He is the former host of NPR’s “Morning Edition” and the current host of “The Bob Edwards Show.” He is a graduate from St. Xavier and the University of Louisville.

Lance Burton

A magician from Louisville, Lance Burton found a love for magic at a very young age. He moved to California after he turned 20 and quickly found success. He appeared on “The Tonight Show” with Johnny Carson 10 times and appeared another 10 times during Jay Leno’s tenure as host. Burton has also performed for both Queen Elizabeth and President Reagan.

American actor and producer Tom Cruise is best known for his roles in such movies as “Risky Business,” “Jerry Maguire,” “A Few Good Men” and “Top Gun.” Cruise has been nominated for three Academy Awards® and won three Golden Globe Awards®. Before becoming one of the biggest stars in Hollywood, Cruise lived in Louisville and attended Saint Xavier High School.

Irene Dunne

Nominated five times for the Academy Award® for best actress, Irene Dunne was famous from the 1930s to the 1950s. Growing up in Louisville, her father worked as a steamboat inspector. Dunne starred in many films including “The Awful Truth” and “My Favorite Wife,” both with Cary Grant.

Jennifer Carpenter

Carpenter, an American actress, grew up in Louisville training at the Walden Theatre Conservatory program. She is known for playing Debra Morgan in the Showtime series Dexter.

Lionel Hampton

Born in Louisville, Hampton was one of the first jazz vibraphonists, Hampton had a long and successful career as a percussionist, pianist, bandleader and actor. Throughout his career, he performed with some of the most notable jazz musicians of the time including Louis Armstrong and Charlie Parker.

Ed Hamilton

Living in Louisville, Hamilton is an American sculptor who specializes in public art . He gained national attention in 1992 when his Amistad Memorial was unveiled in New Haven, CT and in 1998 for his African-American Civil War Memorial in Washington, D.C. His work can be seen around town, including on the Belvedere, the Frazier History Museum and his Abraham Lincoln Memorial in Waterfront Park .

Jennifer Lawrence

Jennifer Lawrence is the youngest person to accrue four Academy Award® nominations. She won the Academy Award® for Best Actress in 2012 for her role in “Silver Linings Playbook.” Lawrence is a native to Louisville, and with no prior training she convinced her parents at the age of 14 to take her to New York where she met her talent agent and began her career.

Jack Harlow

As a tween in Louisville, Harlow began rapping at age 12. He and a friend used a Guitar Hero microphone and a laptop to record rhymes and songs, making a CD and selling copies at their middle school. He went on to be a YouTube star, drawing the attention of major labels, although he chose not to pursue any of the deals offered at the time. Harlow ad has continued on to forge a current career in the rap music industry.

Helen Humes

Born in Louisville, Humes was an American Jazz and R&B singer who started her career in 1927. In 1938, Humes became a singer with the Count Basie Orchestra replacing Billie Holiday. She was given the key to the city of Louisville in 1975.

Victor Mature

Born and raised in Louisville, Victor Mature left for California and was discovered performing on stage at the Pasadena Community Playhouse. He starred in many Hollywood productions, including Cecil B. DeMille’s “Samson and Delilah.”

My Morning Jacket

Louisville-rooted rock band that formed in 1998 is now a world-renowned music maker. The band’s sound, rooted in rock and country, is often experimental and psychedelic. The band has performed several times at Bonnaroo and Austin City Limits. It has also curated the lineup for local music festival Forecastle.

Diane Sawyer

Former ABC World News anchor began her career in Louisville at WLKY. Her father, Erbon Powers “Tom” Sawyer, was a county judge whom Jefferson County’s first state park, E.P. “Tom” Sawyer State Park , was named after.

Nicole Scherzinger

Attended grade school and high school in Louisville, and is best known as the lead singer for The Pussycat Dolls. While her music career continues as a solo artist, she was the winner of the “Dancing with the Stars” season 10 Mirror Ball Trophy, and has served as a judge on “The X Factor.”

Bryson Tiller

Born and raised in Louisville, he gained notable recognition as a singer, songwriter and rapper. In 2016, Tiller received the key to the city from Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer. In the same year, he won two BET Awards for Best New Artist and Best Male R&B/Pop Artist. In May 2017, Tiller released his second studio album which debuted at number one on the Billboard 200.

Wendy Whelan

A native of Louisville, she began her ballet dance training with a local teacher at the age of three. At the age of eight and after performing as a mouse in The Nutcracker with the Louisville Ballet , she joined Louisville Ballet Academy, where she started formal training. After recovering from scoliosis, she went on to become a principal dancer with the New York City Ballet.

A Kentucky native, Ben Sollee began playing cello in elementary school. His love for folk and jazz music comes through in his music. Often arriving to his Kentucky performances by bike, Sollee is an activist for many causes, especially those affecting the state of Kentucky.

Hometown Hero Banners

When you visit Louisville, make sure to keep an eye out for the “famous Louisvillians” gazing at you from banners that hang on buildings around the city. With the purpose of building pride within the local community and enhancing Louisville’s image as an exciting city, these banners recognize and honor the city’s famous sons and daughters. Visit www.louheroes.org for information and locations of all the banners.

Go To Louisville

Louisville: Get a Different Taste

301 South 4th Street Louisville, Kentucky 40202

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25 Things You Should Know About Louisville

By jeff wells | apr 15, 2016.

Most people know it as the home of the Kentucky Derby, that stylish party full of elaborate hats and mint juleps (followed by two minutes of horse racing). But there’s a lot more to this city of 750,000 than horses and bourbon, including its history as a transportation hub, a nifty collection of Victorian homes, and a signature dish known as the Hot Brown.

1. Louisville owes its existence to a stretch of rapids along the Ohio River known as the Falls of the Ohio . Located just north of the city, the falls posed a barrier to boat transportation in the late 1700s, requiring travelers to stop and portage further downriver. Several communities sprang up along this stopping point, including Louisville, which was fully incorporated as a town in 1780.

2. The name was a tribute to King Louis XVI of France, who had supported American colonists during the Revolutionary War. His countrymen didn’t view him quite as favorably, executing him by guillotine during the French Revolution in 1793.

3. In October of 1803 Meriwether Lewis met William Clark just across the river from Louisville, at the Falls of the Ohio. The two had corresponded for months about their expedition to the Pacific Ocean, and at Clark’s home they got down to the nitty gritty of planning and assembling the Corps of Discovery before setting out less than a month later.

4. Louisville was a major river and railroad transportation hub in the 1800s, serving the steady flow of commerce pushing westward. The city continues that tradition today as the worldwide air hub for UPS , where an average of 1.6 million packages are processed every day. 

5. Proximity to the Ohio River and low-lying land make Louisville prone to flooding. The worst flood, in 1937, submerged 60% of the city and forced 23,000 people to evacuate. Eight years later, the second-worst flood struck, forcing 50,000 out of their homes. Louisville has since installed a 29-mile floodwall system, and it’s credited with preventing widespread damage during ensuing floods. [ PDF ]

6. Louisville also has an unfortunate history with tornadoes. In 1890 , a category 4 tornado ripped through downtown, killing more than 100 people. A Courier-Journal headline proclaimed that the city had been “Visited by the Storm Demon.” Decades later, in 1974 , another category 4 tornado hit, destroying several hundred homes and killing two.

7. Horse racing has deep roots in the city. And like all great American sports, it began in the streets. The first reported races date back to the late 1700s on Market Street. Injuries to riders and spectators were apparently quite common, prompting the construction of racetracks like Elm Tree Gardens and Oakland Race Course, both predecessors to the famous Churchill Downs.

8. Churchill Downs , home of the Kentucky Derby, was a financial failure at first. Founded in 1874 by Meriwether Lewis Clark Jr., grandson of explorer William Clark, the track changed owners several times before finally turning a profit after 28 years in business, in 1903.  

9. Churchill Downs was originally called the Louisville Jockey Club. A local newspaper made the first mention of its current name in 1883, in reference to Clark’s uncle, John Churchill, who had formerly owned the 80 acres in what was then a rural area just south of Louisville. The name caught on, and in 1937 the venue was officially incorporated as Churchill Downs.

10. The Kentucky Derby’s signature drink, the Mint Julep , actually originated in Virginia and was typically made with rum instead of bourbon. Word has it the drink was a morning pick-me-up for field hands, who relished its boozy kick and the supposed medicinal properties of the mint. As Kentucky’s bourbon distilling industry grew, the local spirit replaced its Caribbean competitor, and in 1938 the Mint Julep became the official drink of the Derby.

11. Speaking of drinks, a bartender at Louisville’s swanky Pendennis Club is said to have invented the Old Fashioned in 1890.

12. Louisville’s signature dish is a comfort food free-for-all called the Hot Brown. It’s an open-faced sandwich with turkey and bacon smothered in Mornay sauce (main ingredients: butter and heavy cream), topped with Parmesan cheese and roma tomatoes, and oven-broiled. The name refers to the Brown Hotel , where the dish originated in 1920 as an after-hours treat. You can still order a Hot Brown at the hotel’s restaurant, but fair warning: Don’t try to take it down alone.

13. Nineteenth-century architecture enthusiasts, rejoice: Louisville has one of the largest collections of Victorian homes in the country, and the largest collection of cast-iron building facades outside of New York’s SoHo district. [ PDF ]

14. It’s the starting point for the wildly popular Bourbon Trail , a long weekend’s stumble through several Kentucky distilleries. For those who prefer not to leave town, there’s also the Urban Bourbon Trail , which features tastings at more than 30 local bars.

15. Frederick Law Olmstead , renowned designer of Central Park, designed an extensive parks system in Louisville that includes 18 parks and 6 parkways. Commissioned in 1891, it was the last major project of his career and also one of his largest.

16. Hillerich & Bradsby, makers of Louisville Slugger bats , started out as a woodworking shop in 1864. The owner, J. Frederick Hillerich, a German immigrant, was not a baseball fan, but his son, Bud, was an amateur player. The younger Hillerich, who apprenticed under his father, taught himself how to fashion bats, and according to company legend, offered to make one for local pro Pete Browning after watching Browning break his bat in a game. Browning agreed, and the new bat, made from white ash, delivered three hits in its first game in use. Browning continued to hit well with the bat, and eventually gained the nickname “Louisville Slugger.”

17. Burn, baby, burn! Louisville makes more disco balls than any other city in the U.S. At one point, the Omega National Products factory reportedly produced 90% of the country’s disco balls. There’s a campaign underway to produce the world’s largest disco ball in Louisville. It’s called “World’s Largest Disco Ball, Y’all”.

18. Venture down to the waterfront and there’s a good chance you’ll see the world’s oldest Mississippi River-style steamboat still in operation, The Belle of Louisville .

19. It went from the 67th largest city in the country to the 16th largest—overnight. On January 6, 2003 the city merged with surrounding Jefferson County, nearly tripling the population. Officials touted it as a move towards greater efficiency, but with so many “16th Largest City” signs posted around town, it was clearly a marketing move as well.

20. The largest building in the city (and in the state of Kentucky, for that matter) is a former limestone mine that’s been converted into an amusement park. Its support structures designate the underground cavern—part of a 17-mile chain of corridors that run beneath the city—as a building rather than, you know, an abandoned mine.

21. It has a recent history of medical firsts. Doctors at the Kleinert, Kutz and Associates Hand Care Center performed the first successful hand transplant, in 1999. Two years later, a team at Jewish Hospital installed the first self-contained artificial heart in a patient.

22. The country’s largest fireworks display, Thunder Over Louisville , takes place on the Ohio River every April during the Kentucky Derby festival. Pyrotechnic wizards the Zambelli family (a.k.a. the first family of world fireworks) fire off more than 60 tons of shells from barges on either side of the Second Street Bridge spanning the river, and from the bridge itself. Check out a video of the awesome display here.

23. The Louisville Water Tower is the oldest ornamental water tower in the country. It began operating in 1860 after cholera epidemics and several large-scale fires demonstrated the city’s need for lots of clean water. The 1890 tornado did irreparable damage to its pumping capabilities, and in 1903 it ceased operations. These days, it’s enjoying a second life as a museum situated in a picturesque city park.  

24. One of the world’s largest fast-food companies, Yum Brands , has its headquarters in Louisville. The conglomerate owns Pizza Hut, KFC, and Taco Bell, and has yearly sales of $13 billion. Little wonder that Kentucky has the most fast food restaurants per capita of any state in the nation.

25. Louisville is the hometown of Muhammad Ali, Diane Sawyer, Jennifer Lawrence and Hunter S. Thompson. It’s also where a young Tom Cruise landed his first gig—as a newspaper delivery boy.

All images courtesy of iStock

SEE IT: Actor Tom Cruise puts stunning $39.5M Colorado mansion on the market

One of Hollywood's highest-paid stars that also boasts a Louisville connection is taking a step into what hopefully won't be too much of a risky business: the real estate market. 

Tom Cruise is selling his 320-acre mountain ranch in Telluride, Colorado for $39.5 million, according to  TopTenRealEstateDeals.com .

The action star, who spent part of his youth in Louisville attending St. Xavier High School, also owns homes in Beverly Hills and Clearwater, Florida. The Telluride ranch is where he enjoyed time with his kids and much of his marriage to actress Katie Holmes, the real estate website says .

The listing describes the property at 115 Francisco Way as "grand yet unassuming." The 11,512-square-foot living space with four bedrooms and six bathrooms was custom designed with help from Cruise to take full advantage of the surrounding mountain views.

The listing boasts a library, media room, study with secluded offices, billiards room, recreation space, guest suite and fitness center in the main house. The property also has a bunkhouse nestled in the surrounding aspen groves.

From December: Tom Cruise shouts at 'M:I7' crew for breaking COVID-19 protocol in leaked expletive-filled audio

"Perhaps nothing compares, however, to starting and ending each day in the generous master wing, with a wood-burning fireplace and sitting area showcasing unprecedented mountain views," the listing says. "Dual walk-in custom closets, plus a luxurious spa bath with jetted tub, separate shower, and marble-wrapped vanities, complete the picture."

Along with the georgeous mountain and valley views, the home is surrounded by intimate stone patios, a sports court for tennis, basketball or ice hockey, miles of private trails for hiking and riding, and dirt bike and snowmobile tracks threaded throughout the 320 acres.

A stunning photo gallery was posted with the property's listing, but it's not the first time the world has seen inside Cruise's vacation home. It was the location of his last major interview with Oprah Winfrey, a follow-up to his iconic couch-jumping interview in 2005. Winfrey loved the ranch so much that she later bought her own home nearby,  TopTenRealEstateDeals.com  says.

If you can't splurge on the multi-million-dollar estate and therefore have no hopes of meeting up with Cruise to pick up the deed, you'll still be able to see him in "Mission: Impossible 7," which is set to release on Nov. 19.

Pablo Escobear?  Elizabeth Banks to direct a movie about legendary Kentucky 'Cocaine Bear'

Reach Emma Austin at [email protected] or on Twitter at @emmacaustin .

The Homes of Famous Louisvillians

Traditions Real Estate Traditions Real Estate homes of famous louisvillians

Most people that live in our area know that lots of celebrities have come from Louisville, but have you ever wondered where in Louisville they lived?  What their houses looked like?  Well, we were curious so we did a little research and this is what we found.

Diane sawyer:.

Before Diane began her career as a weather forecaster for WHAS, before she worked for the Nixon administration, even before she became the first female correspondent of 60 Minutes, she lived in this home off Lowe Road in the St. Regis Park area.  It was close to Seneca High School where she attended.

Muhammad Ali:

These are the before and after louisville homes of muhammad ali.  the left side picture is his childhood home located at 3302 grand street – before becoming “the greatest”.  after many years away, ali returned to louisville and purchased the home on the right in 2007.  it’s located in prospect in a neighborhood off us 42..

Tom Cruise:

Tom was born in syracuse, ny but spent a few years in louisville.  he lived in this home in the highlands area near bardstown road while attending grade school at st. raphael and high school at st. x..

Jennifer Lawrence:

Jennifer grew up in the east end of louisville and lived in this home off blankenbaker lane while going to school nearby at kammerer middle school.  her parents still own the house and jennifer is rumored to visit often..

John Schnatter:

“papa” john actually grew up and started his pizza business in southern indiana but he has since moved over to louisville and lives in this massive estate in anchorage.  with approximately 40,000 sf and situated in one of louisville’s most exclusive zip codes, this home is easily one of the the city’s most expensive.  the pva assesses the property for $7.5 million..

Larry Birkhead:

Larry was born in louisville in 1973, grew up here and graduated from doss high school in 1991. he became famous after the death of anna nicole smith, when it was determined by dna test that he was the real father of their daughter, dannielynn.  the two returned to louisville and currently live in this prospect home..

Rick Pitino:

Rick pitino wasn’t born in louisville, but it’s safe to say that he lives here now.  pva records don’t show him currently owning a home in jefferson county, but he previously owned and lived in this house in mockingbird gardens..

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61 Fascinating Facts About Tom Cruise

1. Thomas Cruise Mapother IV  was born on July 3, 1962, in Syracuse, N.Y., to  Thomas Cruise Mapother III , an electrical engineer, and Mary Lee Pfeiffer , both of Louisville, Ky. (His grandfather and great-grandfather were both Thomas Cruise Mapother, as well.)

2. He has two older sisters, Lee Anne and Marian , and one younger sister, Catherine , nicknamed Cass. 

3. Cruise wanted to act from around the time he was 4 and started doing impressions of everyone from Donald Duck to Humphrey Bogart and Elvis Presley .

4. In 1974, when the family was living in Ottawa, Mary Lee packed up and took the kids back to Louisville. She officially divorced Tom III in August 1975 and, six weeks later, he remarried, briefly. Joan Lebendiger , recently widowed, had four kids, one of whom later told biographer Andrew Morton that they never saw their stepbrother Tom again after the wedding.

"As a kid, I had a lot of hidden anger about that. I'd get hit, and I didn't understand it," Cruise  recalled to  Vanity Fair  in 1994.

"He was the kind of guy who really got picked on a lot at school himself when he was growing up," he said of his father. "He had also been small, though he ended up being six foot two. People had been quite brutal to him. Inside, I believe he was a really sensitive individual." Tom III could also "actually be quite loving." 

But in 2006 he told Parade  that his dad was "a bully and a coward—the person where, if something goes wrong, they kick you. It was a great lesson in my life, how he'd lull you in, make you feel safe and then, bang!"

Cruise visited his father in the hospital before he died of cancer in 1984 and Tom III said he'd get better and they would "'talk about the whole thing,'" the actor told  VF , but that never came to pass.

5. Tom was very close to his mother, whom he described to James Lipton on Inside the Actors Studio   as "a very warm, charismatic woman, very kind, very generous." She worked four jobs at any given time to take care of them, and Tom had a paper route to pitch in. "Every night I'd come home, bathe my feet and sit in the family room, and Tom would massage my feet for a half-hour," Mary Lee recalled to Rolling Stone . (She died at 80 in 2017.)

6. He was also protective of his sisters and, as the man of the house, took on the role of scrutinizing their boyfriends when they'd come by to meet the family.

7. Cruise was raised Catholic and he spent his freshman year of high school at St. Francis Seminary in Cincinnati, after a priest named Father Ric Schneider gave a talk at his (also Catholic) school in Louisville. "He was a typical teenager, trying to find his way in life," Schneider told the New York Daily News in 2013. "We would give them an IQ test, and he just about made the cut. The cutoff is 110, and he scored exactly 110."

It's been rumored that Cruise considered entering the priesthood, but he doesn't it remember it that way. "We didn't have the money back then, and I went for the education for a year, and it was free," Cruise has explained.

8. Mary Lee got remarried to Jack South in 1978 and the whole family moved to New Jersey when Tom was 16.

"In the beginning, I felt threatened by my stepfather," Cruise told Rolling Stone . "There's a part of you that's in love with your mother. But he is such a wise, smart man. He loved my mother so much that he took us all in, four young people. We'd bet on football games, and he was a terrible bettor, so I'd make lots of money."

As for his dad, Tom III, who had recently passed away, "I think that he felt remorse for a lot that had happened. He was a person who did not have a huge influence on me in my teens; the values and motivation really came from my stepfather. But he was important. Really important. It's all sort of complex. There wasn't one thing I felt."

9. He was always a daredevil, jumping off things, riding his bike too fast, sometimes into walls and, here and there, breaking bones. In high school he joined the glee club and did plays. He was also an athlete, over the years dabbling in soccer, baseball, basketball, football and ice hockey, and he wrestled. Sports and acting were where he really stood out and, shocker, the ladies have loved him since grammar school.

"I was a wild kid," Cruise admitted. "I'd cut school. Everything had to do with my wanting always to push the envelope to see: where do I stand with myself? How far can I go?"

10. Cruise has been open about his battle with dyslexia, calling himself "a functional illiterate" in school, though he "loved learning. I wanted to learn, but I knew I had failed in the system."

"My energy was always all over the place. Reading was not at the top of my list, because it took me so long," he told Cameron Crowe for Interview in 1986. "When I wrote a paper, my mother would help me with it. I would take a test and get very nervous. I would skip questions and skip lines. I've gotten better. I've learned to control my eyes. I used to have to use my finger all the time. I just wasn't relaxed about it."

11. Senior year of high school he got kicked off the football team after he was caught drinking, according to Morton, but that left him time to audition for the school musical, Guys and Dolls . He played Nathan Detroit, and a commercial director who happened to catch a performance told him he should pursue acting professionally. So, he started going to New York on weekends to audition for musicals—and he missed his graduation ceremony while performing in an amateur production of Godspell .

12. Cruise made his movie debut in the 1981 drama Taps , in a role that was bigger than the one he was originally cast in "because you could see right away that he had a giant talent," former Paramount head Sherry Lansing said in Stephen Galloway 's 2017 biography Leading Lady . "He was always extremely focused and exceptionally polite."

13. On the set of Francis Ford Coppola 's The Outsiders , featuring a veritable who's-who of '80s-era heartthrobs , prankster Cruise scrawled "Helter Skelter" on co-star Diane Lane 's mirror and put honey on her toilet seat.

14. The only direction Cruise received for his iconic Risky Business dance to "Old Time Rock and Roll" was one line in the script: "Joel dances in underwear through the house." He ad-libbed the rest, grabbing the candlestick, "using it as a guitar, jumping on the table. I waxed half the floor and kept the other half dirty, so I could slide in on my socks. As we went along, I threw more stuff in," he shared with Crowe in 1986.

15. Cruise dated his Risky Business co-star Rebecca De Mornay , who called him a "pure person." She told Rolling Stone in 1986, "There's something earnest and virtuous about him that's quite rare." According to Taps co-star Sean Penn , they were out at a club in New York one night and after realizing that a girl he was talking to was trying to pick him up, Cruise "screamed at her, 'I have a girlfriend I'm in love with!'" (Perhaps at the time readers thought Penn might be exaggerating.) He and De Mornay started dating in the summer of 1983 and maintained a long-distance relationship while he shot Ridley Scott 's Legend in London, but broke up when he returned to the U.S. to start making Top Gun .

16. Top Gun producers Jerry Bruckheimer and Don Simpson envisioned no one other than Cruise playing Maverick after they saw a magazine story about the elite flying school at San Diego's Miramar Naval Air Station and went down to see the hot shots in person. "From the first time we went down to Miramar—even before the script was written—we said, 'These guys are Tom Cruises,'" Bruckheimer told Rolling Stone .

17. Although Cruise also told Rolling Stone in 1986 that he wasn't sure he would be able to get married in his "present state of mind," he tied the knot with  Mimi Rogers on May 9, 1987, two years after meeting her at a dinner party. Emilio Estevez  was Cruise's best man.

18. Paul Newman , his co-star in 1987's The Color of Money , turned him on to race car driving and Cruise has been feeling the need for speed on land and in the air (and sometimes on the water) ever since. Years later the student became the teacher when, in 2010, Cruise taught Zac Efron  about motorcycles. "I don't know," Efron told Details when asked why Cruise offered to do that. "I don't even want to know. It's just so cool that he gave a s--t, the fact that he cared at all."

19. Mimi and her first husband, Jim Rogers , were both members of the Church of Scientology (Jim was a high-level auditor) and she's said to have introduced Cruise to the organization, giving him L. Ron Hubbard 's Dianetics and other literature. His immersion in Scientology coincided with the release of Top Gun and the actor becoming one of the biggest stars in the world, and to this day Cruise remains the most famous member of the church.

20. Despite being critically panned, 1988's Cocktail , starring Cruise as a playboy bartender, gave Disney its biggest opening weekend ever at the time: $11.8 million.

21. According to Morton's 2008 biography  Tom Cruise , director Oliver Stone wanted Tom to be injected with a chemical that would have rendered him temporarily paralyzed so he could better identify with the role of real-life Vietnam War veteran and activist Ron Kovic in 1989's  Born on the Fourth of July . The insurance company understandably shut that idea down. The film still won two Oscars, best editing and best director for Stone, so it worked out.

22. People named Cruise its "Sexiest Man Alive" in 1990. Soon after, he and Rogers divorced. When Vanity Fair  asked about his first marriage in 1994, Cruise replied tersely , "It was a long time ago. I really don't think about it."

23. Cruise met Nicole Kidman  during casting for the racing drama Days of Thunder and they tied the knot on Dec. 24, 1990. They adopted two children, Isabella and Connor , and starred in two more movies together, Far and Away and Eyes Wide Shut .

After Isabella arrived, Cruise told Vanity Fair in 1994 , "We talked about children from time to time, but there was always the work. But then we went, When is it ever going to be the right time? That's how the conversation started. You're lying in bed at night and you're trying to sleep, so you roll over and you go, What would happen if we had this in our life?

"One of the things that Nic and I talk about is that now suddenly we're a family. We're at that point where we're trying to define where we are. Can we still party? Are we really boring? Oh, my God . . . we're old!"

24. Disney had Cruise in mind when they created the look of the title character in 1992's Aladdin . "There's a confidence with all of his attitudes and his poses," lead animator Glen Keane said in a DVD extras feature.

25. An old tabloid go-to back in the 1980s and '90s was to claim that this or that star was gay, and Cruise was aware that the rumor was out there.

"First of all, I don't think it's an indictment," Cruise told Vanity Fair in 1994. "But I hadn't heard those rumors till about three months ago myself… I don't know why they say it. I've heard everything from I've cheated on my wife to my wife was there on the set of  The Firm  because she was pissed off about my love scene on the beach. It's not true, but people are going to say what they want to say."

26. Cruise wanted Brian De Palma to direct Mission: Impossible , which would mark his debut as a producer with his agent turned partner Paula Wagner , even though De Palma was in movie jail following several flops. Cruise even deferred his $20 million salary (not including his back-end deal) so they could raise the movie's budget. Mission accomplished: M:I made almost $500 million worldwide and spawned a franchise . De Palma, however, didn't attend the film's premiere in May 1996, reportedly because he and Cruise didn't always see eye to eye during production.

27. Shooting M:I , Cruise insisted they use a fan big enough to create the 120 mile-per-hour wind he'd be facing if he was really clinging to a bullet train while a helicopter exploded behind him. A crew member told Galloway, "He said, 'I want the wind blowing in my face and I want my jaws to be blowing.' That's Tom. He's a guy's guy."

28. The intense Eyes Wide Shut shoot was scheduled to last four months but ended up keeping Tom and Nicole in London for 18 months. Also during their time in England, as fate would have it, they attended Princess Diana 's funeral in September 1997, as did with Tom Hanks  and Steven Spielberg , who were in town making Saving Private Ryan .

29. "All I can say is that I hope we are together when we are 80," Nicole Kidman told  Talk  in 2000. "I can't say we will be, but I will be so devastated if we are not." Alas, they announced their separation on Feb. 5, 2001. "She knows why, and I know why," Cruise cryptically told Vanity Fair later that year. "She's the mother of my children, and I wish her well. And I think that you just move on. And I don't say that lightly. I don't say that with anything."

30. Penélope Cruz  successfully sued an Australian tabloid in June 2003, winning damages and a retraction over a story claiming she and then-boyfriend Cruise had postponed their impending marriage because she had cheated on him. They broke up in January 2004 after more than two years of dating, a source telling People the relationship "just ran its course."

31. The Church of Scientology denied a 2012 Vanity Fair report that Homeland actress Nazanin Boniadi , then a church member, had basically been recruited to date Cruise for a few months, starting in October 2004 with a group outing that included renting the skating rink at Rockefeller Center and dinner at Nobu. "I'd rather not talk about that," Boniadi told the New York Post in 2013.

32. Cruise specifically held out for J.J. Abrams to direct Mission: Impossible III —Abrams' feature film debut—after watching some episodes of Alias . Paramount was freaking out, wanting M:I3 for a summer 2005 tentpole release, which wasn't going to happen if Cruise and Abrams—busy at the moment with a show called Lost —got their way, but it turned out Cruise had an ace up his sleeve. Spielberg was ready to roll with War of the Worlds in time to give Paramount the summer blockbuster it needed while they waited for Abrams to become available.

33. On May 23, 2005, a giddy Cruise raised his arms in victory, got down on one knee and did a couple of fist pumps, and then jumped up on Oprah Winfrey 's couch (also twice), fueled by love for his new girlfriend, Katie Holmes . "You're gone," the talk show host observed.

"I've got so much energy, I can't help it," Cruise said.

They were both laughing hysterically and the studio audience was cheering, but… maybe you had to be there?

Lest anyone forget, Holmes was at the taping and Winfrey led a chant for her to come out. "She's gonna run!" Cruise exclaimed. "She is freaking out ." Then he took off for backstage to go get her, the camera trailing him, and once they had emerged Cruise enveloped the Dawson's Creek star in a hug.

That moment unwittingly set the tone for Cruise and Holmes' entire relationship, romantic to many but to everyone… just a lot .

34. A month later, Cruise accused Matt Lauer  of being "glib" when the Today host questioned his take on mental health care—specifically, his dismissal of psychiatry and his criticism of Brooke Shields ' "irresponsible" use of medication to treat postpartum depression.

35. Cruise and Holmes' daughter, Suri Cruise , was born on April 18, 2006.

36. Mission: Impossible III came out on May 5, 2006, and did… fine. It was (and remains) the lowest-grossing installment of the franchise, making $134 million domestically, but more memorably it marked the moment where folks started wondering if Cruise had lost his movie-star mojo, if his unadulterated zeal had turned off audiences for good. Not making it better: Paramount severed its 14-year relationship with Cruise's production company that August, and then-Viacom Chairman Sumner Redstone actually told the Wall Street Journal , "We don't think that someone who effectuates creative suicide and costs the company revenue should be on the lot. His recent conduct has not been acceptable to Paramount."

37. Suri was introduced to the world on the September 2006 cover of Vanity Fair , zipped up in her father's leather jacket akin to how Paul McCartney   snuggled daughter Mary on the cover of his 1970 solo album McCartney . The first glimpse at the cover was a huge get for Katie Couric 's first night as lead anchor of the CBS Evening News .

38. Cruise and Holmes' wedding at the 15th-century Castello Orsini-Odescalchi in Rome on Nov. 18, 2016, reportedly cost upward of $3 million . Guest Giorgio Armani designed the bride's ceremony and reception dresses and attendees included Will Smith  and Jada Pinkett Smith , John Travolta  and Kelly Preston , David  and Victoria Beckham , Jim Carrey  and Jenny McCarthy , Leah Remini  and Angelo Pagan , and Jennifer Lopez  and Marc Anthony . Andrea Bocelli performed.

39. Church of Scientology leader David Miscavige was Cruise's best man. According to Remini, who left the church in 2013, a traditional Scientology wedding ceremony includes the vow "to never close their eyes in sleep on a disagreement or an upset."

40. Shields and husband Chris Henchy were also in attendance, Cruise having apologized for publicly disparaging his Endless Love co-star's use of medication to treat postpartum depression. "If you get invited to that wedding, you go," Shields recalled on The Jenny McCarthy Show in 2016. The actress even provided the bride's "something old": an antique enamel compact.

41. 2010's Knight and Day with Cameron Diaz  was widely treated as some sort of "comeback" movie for Cruise, a test to see if he could still have a monster action movie hit after Mission: Impossible III underwhelmed.

"I don't understand why people think that," he marveled to the U.K.'s Telegraph . "I've been working the whole time."

42. His roles in the interim had included his unrecognizable—and hilarious—surprise turn as crass, bullying, bald and fat studio exec Les Grossman in Ben Stiller 's Tropic Thunder , for which he earned a Golden Globe nomination.

"I had about a dozen people making the silicone prosthetics for his head, neck, chest, and hands," makeup designer Barney Burman recalled to Grantland . "We made him special gloves. I did the sculpting, someone else did the molds, someone else was casting them. I had six different people punching hairs into the scalp piece, so his entire head was one-at-a-time, hand-punched hairs; his arms were hand-punched one at a time; his chest was hand-punched."

Added Aida Caefer , "I made the fat suits for Tom Cruise. He was all for  the more ridiculous, the better . The suit went from his neck all the way down to his ankles…The character moved around a lot and he was so soaked in sweat that we had rotating suits for him—one in the morning and one after lunch."

"Tom choreographed all his own moves," Stiller said. "I remember watching him do this stuff and thinking this is so frigging funny."

43. The rumor that Cruise turned down the role of Iron Man, which would have changed the whole vibe of the Marvel Universe, is not true, he says. "Not close," he told ComicBook.com in 2018 when asked if he was really almost Tony Stark. "Not close, and I love Robert Downey Jr. I can't imagine anyone else in that role, and I think it's perfect for him."

44. For 2011's Mission: Impossible—Ghost Protocol , Cruise hung off the edge of the Burj Khalifa in Dubai—the world's tallest building—without a double (though with the appropriate wires). And while he'd been doing as much of his own physical laboring as possible for decades, this reinvigorated Cruise's reputation as the guy who does all the death-defying stunts the insurance companies will allow. The film's $695 million worldwide box office also signaled that Cruise's reputation had preceded him—in a good way.

45. Holmes filed for divorce in June 2012. Her father, attorney Martin Holmes , had helped draft their prenuptial agreement and all was remarkably settled within weeks. And neither of them have ever talked about what happened . They've acknowledged that they were once married to each other, but why it ended has remained anyone's guess. And, oh, how the people have guessed.

46. Eyebrows were raised when the 5-foot-7 Cruise was tapped to play 6-foot-5 vigilante Jack Reacher from Lee Childs ' best-selling novel series.

"Size in my books is a metaphor for an unstoppable force," Childs explained. "Cruise portrays that in his own way."

47. Not as initially OK with the creative license was Interview With the Vampire   author Ann Rice , who according to Vanity Fair was livid in the early '90s when Cruise was cast to play Lestat, having written the character with Rutger Hauer in mind.

"It always helps if one is controversial in casting a movie," director Neil Jordan said. "I just thought that if Tom was willing to go the distance this character demands—and he was—then we could end up with something quite extraordinary, and we did."

48. Mission: Impossible—Rogue Nation was legendary before it hit theaters in 2015 for Cruise's viral airplane stunt, in which he hung onto the door of an Airbus A400M as it took off. For real. He also did his own motorcycle chase and learned how to hold his breath for six and a half minutes for the underwater document swap.

49. He was back on the bike for Mission: Impossible—Fallout and "when the [safety] rigs didn't work, we just went for it," director Christopher McQuarrie told the New York Times . "Everything that you're seeing Tom doing, he's doing free riding on cold cobblestones. Sometimes there was rain; sometimes there was morning dew. There was always a danger of skidding and wiping out."

Cruise also did his own skydiving along with Henry Cavill 's stunt double, dangled from a rope attached to a flying helicopter, and piloted a helicopter for a mid-air chase scene, getting his certification in six weeks. It normally takes three months, McQuarrie said, but Cruise trained for 16 hours a day to cut the time in half.

"Tom was having the time of his life," the director said.

50. Cruise has social media accounts but they are strictly for un-risky business, and he prefers to not know everything that's happening online. "Sometimes I have to for work, but I keep it very limited," he told E! News in 2016. "I don't spend time doing that kind of stuff."

51. Cruise isn't one to let himself go in between physically taxing roles. "Sea-kayaking, caving, fencing, treadmill, weights, rock-climbing, hiking… I jog… I do so many different activities," he has said.

In fact, he refers to his personal workout space—a version of which he takes with him everywhere—as the "Pain Cave."

"Only the motivated can enter," he explained to the AP at the 2017 premiere of The Mummy . "All you got to do is just be motivated. Anyone can come in, we have the crew come in, and we just make it available to everyone."

As co-star Jake Johnson   revealed: "You start every morning with the daily challenge. So before work starts, you're in there. His hair and makeup team is in there, his crew is in there, so there's about 15, 20 people every day doing their squats and jumping jacks. And then I kinda got into it with him…I wanted to be in a Tom Cruise movie and do it the Tom Cruise way."

That includes, alas, avoiding sugar.

"I love sugar," Cruise assured James Corden  on The Late Late Show in 2018, "but I can't eat it because when I'm training, I'm doing all these movies—so I send it to everyone." And then, "I wait for the calls. Like, 'tell me about it.'"

52. Don't tell anyone, but Cruise is human: Aside from what he did to himself running around in childhood, he threw out his back making Legend ; developed an ulcer while shooting Eyes Wide Shut ; tore his labrum scaling a cliff at Dead Horse Point, Utah, for Mission: Impossible 2 ; and broke an ankle on Mission: Impossible—Fallout .

"It was the easy one where I'm running and I jump from one building to the next," Cruise later described the fateful stunt on  The Tonight Show .

53. But this guy commits . In addition to doing three months of helicopter pilot training in six weeks and learning how to hold his breath like he's David Blaine , he played pool for 12 hours a day to play Fast Eddie Felson's protegee in The Color of Money. He lost 18 pounds and read classic books out loud to work on his diction to play centuries-old Lestat in Interview With the Vampire. He learned German to better embody a World War II-era officer in Valkyrie . He actually spent a year and a half learning how to fly a helicopter for  Mission: Impossible—Fallout  (before his whirlwind certification).

54. "I haven't seen him in awhile, but he has sent me a birthday gift every year since I was 11 years old," Dakota Fanning  said on Watch What Happens Live in 2016 about her dad in 2005's War of the Worlds . "Beautiful gifts, it's really kind. I always think, 'Oh, when I'm 18, he'll probably stop. Oh, 21, he'll stop. But every year."

What does Team Cruise pick out? "It's usually shoes," the actress, then 22, shared.

55. In 1986, he told Cameron Crowe , "Let's face it, I'm not saving lives here. I feel fortunate, but this is just one aspect of my life. I love my work, but my family is very important to me, too. You pick up the paper and see that there are many things happening outside my little world."

Since then, the real-life heroics include, all within a few years in the '90s: He lifted two boys over a barricade to prevent them being crushed at the Mission: Impossible premiere in London; he sent his own yacht's skiff to rescue a family whose sailboat was on fire in the Mediterranean in 1996; he rushed to the aid of a woman who had been mugged in London; and he paid the $7,000 emergency room bill for an uninsured cashier who was injured in a hit and run—an accident Cruise witnessed.

"It's just an impulse," Cruise told People in 2000 about his spate of good deeds. "I was never a Boy Scout, so maybe I'm making up for it now."

Or, as he said in the video of an interview for his church that went viral in 2008, "You can't drive past an accident, because as a Scientologist you are the only one who can help"

56. Though he's the most famous face of Scientology, Cruise is incredibly protective of his beliefs and doesn't say too much about it publicly. But in October 2016, he told ITV at the London premiere of Jack Reacher: Never Go Back , "It's something that has helped me incredibly in my life. I've been a Scientologist for over 30 years. It's something that is, you know...without it, I wouldn't be where I am. So, it's a beautiful religion. I'm incredibly proud."

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Tom Cruise's Mother, Mary Lee South, Dies

Mary Lee South, 80, died peacefully in her sleep last week, say sources

Mary Lee South, the mother of Tom Cruise , has died, PEOPLE has learned exclusively.

South, 80, died peacefully in her sleep last week. South, who coped with health issues in recent years, was given a memorial service at her local Church of Scientology this weekend.

The 54-year-old star and his sisters Lee Ann DeVette, 57, Cass Mapother, 55, and Marian Henry, 52, all attended the memorial along with other family and friends.

Born Mary Lee Pfeiffer, the Louisville, Kentucky, native was a special-education teacher when she wed Cruise’s father, Thomas Cruise Mapother III, an electrical engineer. It was from her that Cruise developed a passion for acting.

“I was always interested in theater, but I never did anything with it,” she told Rolling Stone in 1986. “When I was growing up, if you went to Hollywood, that was really risqué.”

The family lived in Syracuse, New York, where Cruise was born, and Ottawa, Canada. When Cruise was young, his mother encouraged him to participate in a local theater group. “I guess I was his greatest audience,” she said. “He had it in him then.” But Cruise’s love of sports took precedence as he grew up.

Her marriage to Mapother was tumultuous. Cruise told PEOPLE in 2006 that his father was “a bully.” Mary Lee ended the marriage in 1974.

RELATED: Why You Need to Watch Jack Reacher: Never Go Back on Blu-Ray

She returned to the United States, and worked a series of jobs to keep her family out of poverty. Cruise helped with money from a paper route. He even massaged his mother’s sore feet after she came home from long days at work.

That close relationship continued when the family relocated to Glen Ridge, New Jersey, and Mary Lee wed Jack South in 1978, when Cruise was 16. “He loved my mother so much that he took us all in, all four young people,” Cruise later recalled.

After a knee injury sidelined her son’s varsity wrestling career, Mary Lee encouraged him to try out for a high school production of Guys and Dolls . After the play, Cruise surprised his mother by asking if he could have 10 years to give show business a try. She approved, and with her support, he waited tables in New York City before breaking into the movies.

The close mother-son relationship continued as he became a box-office star.

As for South, she never doubted her son would be a success. When Cruise asked her and her second husband if he could be an actor, “We both wholeheartedly agreed,” she told Rolling Stone . “Because we both felt it was a God-given talent … So to make a long story short, we gave him our blessing — and the rest is history.”

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William Mapother

• Born April 17 · Louisville, Kentucky, USA
• Birth name William Reibert Mapother Jr.
• Height 6′ 1″ (1.85 m)
• William Mapother was born on April 17, 1965 in Louisville, Kentucky, USA as William Reibert Mapother Jr. He graduated from the University of Notre Dame with a B.A. in English. He is the co-founder of the film finance marketplace Slated. He is known for his work on Lost (2004), In the Bedroom (2001) and Another Earth (2011). - IMDb Mini Biography By: Anonymous
• Parents Louisa Riehm Mapother
• Relatives Tom Cruise (Cousin) Lee Anne De Vette (Cousin) Amy Mapother (Sibling) Katherine Mapother (Sibling)

Self-verified on IMDbPro

• Gender / Gender identity Male
• Pronouns he/him
• Younger cousin of Tom Cruise and Lee Anne De Vette .
• Last name is pronounced "MAY-pah-ther"
• Was a school teacher in East Los Angeles for 3 years before becoming an actor.
• Graduated from Notre Dame with a B.A. in English.
• Co-founder of Slated, the online marketplace for film finance.
• I never really worried about it. As I've amassed a body of work, the questions about Tom have gone away. I figured that if I did good work, I'd be seen for what I am. - talking about his famous cousin, Tom Cruise .

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Tom Cruise Is a London Boy

Sometimes when God closes a door (Taylor Swift says “So long” ), She opens a window (Tom Cruise does the splits). Cruise is living that life in London, and for him that means break-dancing, doing the splits, and watching the British absolutely lose their crumpets. Cruise has lived in London since 2021 and has, in that time, been at the former queen’s Platinum Jubilee, the British Grand Prix, according to the Mercury News . And now he has attended the most British event of all: Posh Spice’s birthday party. Fortunately, he still has the American propensity to do the most. While at the party, Cruise began break-dancing and ended his routine by doing the splits, according to the Daily Mail . “People were absolutely dumbfounded,” a source mentioned. All we’ll say about that is that if there’s one thing the Mission: Impossible franchise could do to s ecure those Imax screens , it just might be a (gay?) club scene in which Cruise distracts the bad guys by jumping into the splits like a Drag Race contestant. Just an idea.

• victoria beckham
• so long london
• david beckham
• mission: complete

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