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Tom Cruise Through the Years

Tom Cruise
Ricky Vigil M / Justin E Palmer/GC Images
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Tom Cruise Through the Years

By Apryl Lovera and ETonline Staff

12:00 PM PDT, July 3, 2024

Tom Cruise, one of the world's highest-paid actors, has a storied acting career that includes various accolades and iconic roles. From Top Gun to Jerry Maguire to Mission: Impossible, here's a look back at the action star's most memorable moments.

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1980

Tom Cruise
Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

Tom Cruise poses for a portrait.


1981

Tom Cruise Taps
Universal History Archive/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

Tom Cruise stars as Cadet Captain David Shawn in the film Taps.


1983

Tom Cruise Risky Business
Warner Brothers/Getty Images

Tom Cruise laughs in a scene from the film Risky Business.


1986

Tom Cruise Top Gun
Paramount Pictures/Archive Photos/Getty Images

Tom Cruise as Lieutenant Pete "Maverick" Mitchell in Top Gun.


1987

Tom Cruise and Mimi Rogers
Allan Tannenbaum/Getty Images

Tom Cruise married Mimi Rogers in May 1987. They divorced in February 1990.


1989

Mark Johnson, Dustin Hoffman, Tom Cruise and Barry Levinson
Bob Riha Jr./Getty Images

Rain Man producer Mark Johnson, Dustin Hoffman, Tom Cruise and director Barry Levinson at the 61st Annual Academy Awards Show on March 29 in Los Angeles, California. Johnson (Best Picture), Hoffman (Best Actor) and Levinson (Best Director) took home Oscars that year.


1989

Tom Cruise Born On The Fourth Of July
Universal Pictures/Getty Images

Tom Cruise in a scene from Born on the Fourth of July.


1990

Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman Days of Thunder
Paramount Pictures/Getty Images

Tom Cruise met Nicole Kidman on the set of Days of Thunder. The pair tied the knot in December 1990. He filed for divorce in February 2001.


1990

Tom Cruise
Jim Smeal/Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images

Actor Tom Cruise attends the 47th Annual Golden Globe Awards on January 20 and takes home the Best Actor prize he won for Born on the Fourth of July.


1993

Tom Cruise
Barry King/WireImage

Tom Cruise's Hand and Footprint Ceremony at Mann's Chinese Theatre in Hollywood, California on June 28.


1994

Tom Cruise The Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles
Warner Brothers/Getty Images

Tom Cruise as Lestat in The Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles.


1996

Tom Cruise Mission Impossible
Murray Close/Getty Images

Tom Cruise stars in his legendary role as Ethan Hunt in Mission: Impossible.


1996

Tom Cruise Jerry Maguire
TriStar/Getty Images

Tom Cruise talks on a phone in a scene from the film Jerry Maguire.


1996

Tom Cruise
Kim Kulish/AFP via Getty Images

Actor Tom Cruise attends the 54th Annual Golden Globe Awards on January 19 and takes home the Best Actor award for Jerry Maguire.


1999

Nicole Kidman and Tom Cruise
Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic

Nicole Kidman and Tom Cruise hit the red carpet for the Eyes Wide Shut premiere on September 9 in Los Angeles, California.


2000

Tom Cruise
Ron Galella, Ltd./Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images

Tom Cruise attends the 6th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards on March 12 at Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, California.


2001

Tom Cruise and Penelope Cruz
RJ Capak/WireImage

Tom Cruise dated his Vanilla Sky co-star Penelope Cruz from 2001 to 2004.


2004

Tom Cruise
Robert Laberge/Getty Images

Tom Cruise enters Dodgers Stadium with the Olympic torch during the torch relay on June 16 in Los Angeles, California.


2005

Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes
Kevin Winter/Getty Images

Tom Cruise began dating Katie Holmes in April 2005.


2006

Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes
Robert Evans/WireImage

Tom Cruise married Katie Holmes in Rome, Italy on November 18, 2006. The actress filed for divorce in June 2012.


2009

Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz
Jose Antonio De Lamadrid/Getty Images

Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz during the shooting of the film Knight and Day on December 9 in Seville, Spain.


2010

Tom Cruise and Jennifer Lopez
Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic

Tom Cruise and Jennifer Lopez perform onstage at the 2010 MTV Movie Awards at Gibson Amphitheatre on June 6 in Universal City, California.


2012

Tom Cruise Edge Of Tomorrow
David James/Warner Brothers Pictures via Getty Images

Tom Cruise stars in Edge of Tomorrow and the film premiered on March 14, 2014.


2013

Tom Cruise
Kevin Winter/Getty Images

Tom Cruise speaks onstage at the Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures preview of Edge of Tomorrow film during Comic-Con International at San Diego Convention Center on July 20.


2016

Tom Cruise
Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images

Tom Cruise signs autographs for fans as he arrives in South Korea to attend Jack Reacher: Never Go Back Seoul premiere on November 7.


2017

Tom Cruise
Pierre Suu/GC Images

Tom Cruise is seen on the set of Mission: Impossible 6 on May 4 in Paris, France.


2018

Tom Cruise
Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images

Tom Cruise poses at the global premiere of Mission: Impossible - Fallout at Palais de Chaillot on July 12 in Paris, France.


2020

Tom Cruise
Marco Ravagli/Future Publishing via Getty Images

Tom Cruise wears a face mask during the filming of the movie Mission: Impossible Lybra on October 9.


2021

Tom Cruise
Neil Mockford/GC Images

Tom Cruise attends the men's final of Wimbledon in England on July 11, 2021.


2022

Tom Cruise
Robyn Beck/AFP/Getty Images

Tom Cruise arrives in a helicopter to the world premiere of Top Gun: Maverick aboard the USS Midway in San Diego, California, on May 4.


2023

Tom Cruise
Loredana Sangiuliano/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

The actor suits up for the premiere of Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One at Odeon Luxe Leicester Square in London, England, on June 22, 2023. 


2024

Tom Cruise
Dave Benett/Getty Images

The dapper star attends London's Air Ambulance Charity Black & White Gala Ball at Raffles London inside The OWO on Feb. 7, 2024 in London, England. 


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