Thomas J. Hanks was born July 9, 1956 in Concord,
California, Hanks spent much of his childhood moving about with his father, an
itinerant cook, and continually attempting to cope with constantly changing schools,
religions, and stepmothers. Hanks says that by the time he turned 10, he already
had "three mothers, five grammar schools and 10 houses"; nevertheless,
he hates it when the news media say he came from a broken home, because he feels
he and his family are still close. After settling in Oakland, California, he began
performing in high school plays (He attended Skyline High School). He then attended
Chabot College in Hayward, California. While attending community college, Hanks
was a bellman at Hilton hotels. He continued acting while attending Cal State,
Sacramento, and dropped out at age 20 to pursue acting. In 1978, Hanks went to
find work in New York; while there he married his first wife, actress-producer
Samantha Lewes. Tom Hanks was married to SamanthaLewes from 1978 to 1985 and has
two children, Colin and Elizabeth. He married Rita Wilson - who he met during
filming of the movie, Volunteers - on April 30, 1988 and now has two children,
Chester andTruman. His brother, Jim Hanks, is also an actor |
