His parents were both from Louisville, Kentucky, and had English, German, and Irish ancestry. Cruise has three sisters named Lee Anne, Marian, and Cass. One of his cousins, William Mapother, is also an actor who has appeared alongside Cruise in five films. Cruise grew up in near poverty and had a Catholic upbringing. He later described his father as 'a merchant of chaos', a 'bully', and a 'coward' who beat his children. He elaborated, ' was the kind of person where, if something goes wrong, they kick you. It was a great lesson in my life-how he'd lull you in, make you feel safe and then, bang! For me, it was like, 'There's something wrong with this guy.
Be careful around him.'' Ĭruise 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. He first became involved in drama in fourth grade, under the tutelage of drama teacher George Steinburg.
