While in high school, Tom wanted to become a priest but pretty soon he developed an interest in acting and abandoned his plans of becoming a priest, dropped out of school, and at age 18 headed for New York and a possible acting career. The next 15 years of his life are the stuff of legends.

Tom Cruise was born Thomas Cruise Mapother IV His father, the actor has since shared, was “a merchant of chaos” who would belittle and bully his children — and Cruise decided to distance himself from his abuse by dropping the name 'Mapother' when his career took off.

Cruise spent part of his childhood in Canada; when his father took a job as a defense consultant with the Canadian Armed Forces, his family moved in late 1971 to Beacon Hill, Ottawa. He attended the new Robert Hopkins Public School for his fourth and fifth grade education.

After many years of keeping his relationships private, sources confirm that Cruise is dating Russian Elsina Khayrova.