Tom Cruise receives the US Navy's highest civilian honor

Cruise reprised his iconic role as Maverick in 2022 for one of the most anticipated sequels of all time. 'Top Gun: Maverick' was a critical and box office success. Cruise was named the highest-paid actor of the year thanks to the movie. It's estimated that he took home a whopping US$100 million for his role!

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First star girlfriend - Actress Rebecca de Mornay was Cruise's first celebrity girlfriend. The actors met during the filming of 'Risky Business.'

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First marriage -

Cruise's first marriage was to actress Mimi Rogers, and lasted three years (1987-1990). He allegedly met her while she was dating one of his friends!

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Second marriage - In 1990, Tom Cruise married actress Nicole Kidman.

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Children -

Nicole Kidman and Tom Cruise adopted two children, Isabella, who was born in 1992, and Connor, who was born in 1995. The marriage lasted 11 years and ended with Cruise filing for divorce in 2001.

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Penélope Cruz -

In the same year as his divorce from Kidman, Cruise began a relationship with Spanish actress Penélope Cruz, which lasted three years. They had met on the set of 'Vanilla Sky.'

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A little too excited -

In 2005, Cruise surprised everyone. During an interview with Oprah Winfrey, he jumped around on the sofa and declared his love for actress Katie Holmes.

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Third marriage -

They had a daughter together, named Suri, who was born in 2005. The couple then got married in 2006.

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Third divorce - After over five years of marriage, the actors divorced in 2012. It has been alleged that Cruise's devotion to the Church of Scientology was one of the reasons for his divorce from Katie Holmes.

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Mimi Rogers - It was Mimi Rogers who first introduced Cruise to Scientology. She was formerly married to another Scientologist, Jim Rogers.

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Dental surgery - Cruise is known for his perfect smile, but the actor has had so many surgeries to correct his teeth that his front tooth is now in the center of his mouth.

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Height - Cruise is 5 ft. 7 in. (1.7 m) tall, which is shorter than his three ex-wives, Mimi Rogers (5 ft. 8 in. or 1.74 m), Nicole Kidman (5 ft. 11 in. or 1.8 m), and Katie Holmes (5 ft. 9 in. or 1.75 m).

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Career - Cruise has worked with some incredibly talented directors, including Oliver Stone, Martin Scorsese, Stanley Kubrick, and Steven Spielberg (pictured).

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The strange 33-year mark -

The star's three marriages all ended when his respective wives were each 33 years old. Spooky, right?

Discover some celebrities who got divorced before they turned 30!

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Beginnings - The star was born on July 3, 1962. He's had a successful career, with more than a few curious goings-on in his personal life.

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Teenage years -

Before he was famous, the film star attended seminary, and was reportedly a little bit of a jerk! However, he later transferred out.

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'Top Gun' (1986) - Cruise really caught the public's attention as Maverick in the action film 'Top Gun.'

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'Rain Man' (1988) - In 1988, he played one of the protagonists in 'Rain Man' alongside Dustin Hoffman. The picture won an Oscar the following year.

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'Born on the Fourth of July' (1989) -

NL Beeld

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'Days of Thunder' (1990) - 'Days of Thunder,' while not necessarily a critical success, was his first film alongside his future wife Nicole Kidman.

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'Interview with the Vampire' (1994) -

The film, which also featured Brad Pitt and Antonio Banderas, opened with over US$36 million. This made it the biggest non-summer release R-rated movie debut.

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'Mission: Impossible' (1996) - In 1996, he appeared in the first 'Mission: Impossible' film, as the protagonist Ethan Hunt. The actor also served as a producer in subsequent films.

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'Jerry Maguire' (1996) - This iconic film also starring Renée Zellweger and Cuba Gooding Jr. gave birth to the famous line "show me the money!"

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'Mission: Impossible II' (2000) -

In the year 2000, he won Best Male Performance at the MTV Movie Awards for 'Mission: Impossible II.' He had won the same award in 1997 for 'Jerry Maguire.'

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'The Last Samurai' (2003) - A critical and commercial success, 'The Last Samurai' brought Cruise out of the action genre and into a period drama.

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'War of the Worlds' (2005) - After appearing in hits such as 'The Last Samurai,' the actor played the protagonist in the film 'War of the Worlds.'

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'Valkyrie' (2008) - He also appeared in many other action films, such as 'Knight and Day' (2010) and 'Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol' (2011).

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'The Mummy' (2017) -

Cruise played the role of protagonist Nick Morton in 'The Mummy' (2017). Unfortunately, it was panned by critics overall.

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'Mission: Impossible - Fallout' (2018) - He reprised the role of Ethan Hunt once again in what is the sixth movie in the 'Mission: Impossible' franchise.

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Highest-paid actor of 2022 -

BrunoPress

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First star girlfriend - Actress Rebecca de Mornay was Cruise's first celebrity girlfriend. The actors met during the filming of 'Risky Business.'

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First marriage -

Cruise's first marriage was to actress Mimi Rogers, and lasted three years (1987-1990). He allegedly met her while she was dating one of his friends!

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Second marriage - In 1990, Tom Cruise married actress Nicole Kidman.

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Children -

Nicole Kidman and Tom Cruise adopted two children, Isabella, who was born in 1992, and Connor, who was born in 1995. The marriage lasted 11 years and ended with Cruise filing for divorce in 2001.

Getty Images

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Penélope Cruz -

In the same year as his divorce from Kidman, Cruise began a relationship with Spanish actress Penélope Cruz, which lasted three years. They had met on the set of 'Vanilla Sky.'

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A little too excited -

In 2005, Cruise surprised everyone. During an interview with Oprah Winfrey, he jumped around on the sofa and declared his love for actress Katie Holmes.

NL Beeld

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Third marriage -

They had a daughter together, named Suri, who was born in 2005. The couple then got married in 2006.

Getty Images

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Mimi Rogers - It was Mimi Rogers who first introduced Cruise to Scientology. She was formerly married to another Scientologist, Jim Rogers.

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Dental surgery - Cruise is known for his perfect smile, but the actor has had so many surgeries to correct his teeth that his front tooth is now in the center of his mouth.

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Career - Cruise has worked with some incredibly talented directors, including Oliver Stone, Martin Scorsese, Stanley Kubrick, and Steven Spielberg (pictured).

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The strange 33-year mark -

The star's three marriages all ended when his respective wives were each 33 years old. Spooky, right?

Discover some celebrities who got divorced before they turned 30!

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Tom Cruise receives the US Navy's highest civilian honor

The star has become a real-life military hero

18/12/24 | StarsInsider

CELEBRITY Retrospective

Tom Cruise has built a career playing military heroes on screen, and now finally he can say he is one in real life, too. On December 17, the 'Top Gun' star was honored with the Department of the Navy Distinguished Public Service (DPS) Award, which is considered the highest naval honor that a person outside of the Navy can receive.

He received the award at a ceremony in London that was held to honor his contribution to the US Navy through his film work. The Navy has released a statement saying that the original 'Top Gun' (1986) movie provoked a huge surge in Navy pilot recruitment. The award was presented by Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro, who said, “His work has inspired generations to serve in our Navy and Marine Corps.”

Cruise said of the award: “I’m happy I have been able to be a source of inspiration to many of the sailors who serve today or have served in the past.”

Let’s take a look back on the life and career that has made this Hollywood star a naval hero. Simply click on!