Cruise began acting in the early 1980s and made his breakthrough with leading roles in the comedy film Risky Business (1983) and the action film Top Gun (1986). Critical acclaim came with his roles in the dramas The Color of Money (1986), Rain Man (1988), and Born on the Fourth of July (1989). For his portrayal of Ron Kovic in the latter, he won a Golden Globe Award and received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actor. As a leading Hollywood star in the 1990s, he starred in commercially successful films, including the drama A Few Good Men (1992), the thriller The Firm (1993), the horror film Interview with the Vampire (1994), and the romance Jerry Maguire (1996). For the latter, he won a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor and received a second Academy Award nomination. Cruise's performance as a motivational speaker in the drama Magnolia (1999) earned him another Golden Globe Award and a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.
Since then, Cruise has established himself as an action star acting in science fiction and action films, often performing his own risky stunts. He has played Ethan Hunt in the Mission: Impossible film series since 1996. His other notable films in the genre include Vanilla Sky (2001), Minority Report (2002), The Last Samurai (2003), Collateral (2004), War of the Worlds (2005), Knight and Day (2010), Jack Reacher (2012), Oblivion (2013), Edge of Tomorrow (2014), Jack Reacher: Never Go Back (2016), The Mummy (2017), and Top Gun: Maverick (2022), with the last of these being his highest-grossing film.
Cruise was named People's Sexiest Man Alive in 1990, and received the top honor of "Most Beautiful People" in 1997. He has been married to actresses Mimi Rogers, Nicole Kidman, and Katie Holmes. He adopted two children during his marriage to Kidman, and has a biological daughter with Holmes. He has been an outspoken advocate for the Church of Scientology, which he credits with helping him overcome dyslexia.