Tom Cruise

Once considered to be the biggest star in the world, actor Tom Cruise stood atop the Hollywood pecking order for over 20 years, thanks to his onscreen charisma, classic movie star looks, and consistent box office success both domestically and overseas. His road to stardom began with "Risky Business" (1983), in which he famously lip-synched "Old Time Rock and Roll" in his underwear, but he became the industry's biggest draw in the wake of the testosterone-fueled blockbuster, "Top Gun" (1986). Following a compelling turn opposite Paul Newman in "The Color of Money" (1986), Cruise took a misstep with "Cocktail" (1988), but rebounded with two of his finest performances in "Rain Man" (1988) and "Born on the Fourth of July" (1989). Equally compelling was his string of off-screen marriages to famous actresses, starting with Mimi Rogers and followed by a then unknown Aussie actress, Nicole Kidman. It was his marriage to the latter that dominated tabloid coverage for the next decade, making her an overnight star and theirs one of the more celebrated unions in Hollywood. 

During that heady time, Cruise reigned supreme with hits like "The Firm" (1993), "Jerry Maguire"(1996) and "Mission: Impossible" (1996). He had further critical success with an Oscar-nominated supporting turn in "Magnolia" (1999) and his final appearance with Kidman in Stanley Kubrick's last film, "Eyes Wide Shut" (1999). Following his split from Kidman - which resulted in a brief romance with "Vanilla Sky" (2001) co-star Penelope Cruz and an eventual marriage to Katie Holmes - Cruise's career seemed to hit a precarious slide. 

He did have a major hit with "Minority Report" (2002), while turning in a rare villainous performance as an unrelenting hit man in "Collateral" (2004), but the cracks began to show in 2005 when he was criticized for his promotion of Scientology and generated ridicule for his couch-jumping histrionics on Oprah Winfrey's talk show. The following year, Paramount Pictures terminated its 14-year relationship with Cruise's production company, Cruise/Wagner. Never one to back down, Cruise maintained his star status with "Mission: Impossible III" (2006), "Mission Impossible: Ghost Patrol" (2011) and a hilarious supporting role in "Tropic Thunder" (2008) that proved Cruise was certainly made of more durable stuff.