Whether you love him or hate him, Tom Cruise is arguably one of the biggest movie stars Hollywood has seen over the last 30 years.

Cruise was born on July 3, 1962, in Syracuse, New York. His full name is Thomas Cruise Mapother IV. He spent much of his childhood traveling around the world before settling with his mom and stepdad in Glen Ridge, New Jersey.

Tom Cruise’s father, Thomas Mapother III, was born on October 15, 1934, and died in January 1984. His mother, Mary Lee Pfeiffer, was born on September 22, 1936, and died in February 2017. The surname Mapother is pronounced similarly to “May bother,” but with a P sound instead.

Tom starred in several box office hits, including Top Gun, Rain Man, Mission: Impossible, and Jerry Maguire (Credit: Cover Images / INSTARimages)

While a student at Glen Ridge High School in New Jersey, the “War of the Worlds” star dreamed of becoming a priest but...