He moved around a great deal after his parents' divorce, living with a succession of step-families. No problems, no alcoholism - just a confused childhood. He has no acting experience in college and credits the fact that he could not get cast in a college play with actually starting his career.
Hanks was born the third out of four children and his parents divorced in 1961 when he was just five years old. His baby brother lived with his mom, but Hanks and the rest of his siblings lived with his dad. Hanks says that his dad moved so often that by the time he was 10, he had lived in 10 different homes.
Hanks was born on July 9, 1956, in Concord, California. After studying drama at California State University, he performed in summer stock in Cleveland, Ohio. His film debut came in 1980 with a small role in a horror film. Hanks got his break in the television series Bosom Buddies, which ran from 1980 to 1982.
Tom Hanks was born on July 9, 1956, at Mount Diablo Hospital in Concord that's now called the John Muir Medical Center. As a young child, Tom Hanks lived in Redding, Calif., for brief period with his parents before they divorced, according to The New York Times.
In the decades since their wedding day, Hanks and Wilson have raised two sons together, Chester "Chet" Marlon Hanks, 33, and Truman Theodore Hanks, 28. Tom Hanks is also a father of two other children, Colin Hanks, 45, and Elizabeth Hanks, 41, whom he shares with his ex-wife, Samantha Lewes.
Elizabeth appeared as an extra in movies with her dad as a child. She later began a career as a writer after graduating from Vassar College, using the moniker E.A. Hanks. Her writing has been featured in publications such as the Guardian, New York Times and Times Magazine.
Although Hanks' family religious history was Catholic and Mormon, as an adult he converted to Greek Orthodox Christianity after his marriage to Rita Wilson.
Thomas Jeffrey Hanks was born on July 9, 1956, in Concord, California. After graduating high school in Oakland, Hanks attended junior college before transferring into the theater program at California State University.
Hanks spent two years studying theater at Chabot College before enrolling at Cal State Sacramento, but later dropped out. Instead, he told USA Today, “I got an offer to go off and do the thing I was studying to do.” That offer was to become an intern at the Great Lakes Theater Festival in Cleveland.
Are Tom Hanks and Gary Sinise friends in real life?
Tom Hanks, who played Forrest in the 1994 movie, teamed up with other actors to create a surprise video for his former co-star, Gary Sinise, in honor of his commitment to helping veterans. "Thanks Lt. Dan!" Hanks says to Sinise, who portrayed Forrest's commanding officer in the Vietnam War who became his best friend.
She has been working at PEOPLE since 2023. Her work has previously appeared in Elite Daily, Bustle and The List. Before Tom Hanks became a famous actor, he was growing up in Northern California with his three siblings: brothers Jim Hanks and Larry Hanks and sister Sandra Hanks Benoiton.
Hanks and Wilson, both 66, met on the set of the 1980s sitcom "Bosom Buddies." They then starred together in the 1985 film "Volunteers" and began dating, tying the knot in 1988. They've worked together several times after, including in the hit 1993 romantic comedy "Sleepless in Seattle."
From his mother, Abraham Lincoln was a third degree cousin to the famous actor Tom Hanks. Hanks narrated the docudrama film Killing Lincoln, released in 2011, about the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln. Abraham Lincoln's father was a descendant of English immigrants who arrived in Massachusetts in 1637.
Philanthropy. Tom Hanks and his wife, actress Rita Wilson, are noted for their philanthropy across a number of charitable fields. He has given time and money to causes that include women's cancer research, AIDS research, assisting neglected and abandoned children, and veterans affairs.
The cause of her death was bone cancer, diagnosed after a routine checkup. She only had a few months to live since it had spread to her lungs and brain. She felt a sense of loss of health since the doctors could only manage her pain. This news hurt Tom Hanks, despite being divorced from her.
