湯姆·克魯斯生于1962年7月3日，父親是紐約的電氣工程師，母親是個話劇演員，家庭生活充滿艱辛。這讓克魯斯養(yǎng)成了一種吃苦勤奮的精神和一種對待生活的樂觀態(tài)度。他早年的愿望是做一名牧師，在舊金山神學(xué)院進修。接觸影視文藝是個極其偶然的機會，他參加了校內(nèi)音樂劇的演出，從此開始對戲劇與演出十分著迷，加入了當?shù)氐膭≡?。后來又將準備到歐洲去旅游的錢用于到紐約尋求演藝圈內(nèi)的發(fā)展。

克魯斯無疑是21世紀好萊塢人人崇拜的典范：不滿40歲的時候，他已躋身2000萬美元俱樂部；在票房成績上他僅次于頭發(fā)已然花白的哈里森·福特；他擁有自己的制片公司；由他主演的《碟中諜續(xù)集》盡管評價一般，但仍然在2000年暑期掀起一場票房狂潮。2001年，他和導(dǎo)演Cameron Crowe繼《甜心先生》之后再度合作，拍攝了奇情驚悚片《香草的天空》，而2002年中還有和Steven Spielberg合作的科幻大片《少數(shù)派報告》。目前，阿湯哥參演電影的全球累計票房已突破七十億美元。

Thomas Cruise Mapother IV (born July 3, 1962), known as Tom Cruise, is an American film actor and producer. He has been nominated for three Academy Awards and has won three Golden Globe Awards. Cruise's first appearance in a major film was in 1981's Taps. His first leading role was in the film Risky Business, released in August 1983. Cruise played the role of a heroic naval pilot in the popular and successful 1986 film Top Gun, and also secret agent Ethan Hunt in the series of Mission: Impossible action films.

He has starred in a variety of other successful films such as Rain Man (1988), Days of Thunder (1990), A Few Good Men (1992), Jerry Maguire (1996), Magnolia (1999), Vanilla Sky (2001), Minority Report (2002), The Last Samurai (2003), Collateral (2004) and War of the Worlds (2005). Since 2005, Cruise and Paula Wagner have been in charge of the United Artists film studio, with Cruise as producer and star and Wagner as the chief executive. Cruise is also known for his support of and adherence to the Church of Scientology.