Tom Hanks is an American actor and filmmaker who has been one of the most popular and respected movie stars in the world for more than four decades. Born on July 9, 1956, in Concord, California, Hanks, 70, won two consecutive Academy Awards for Best Actor, for Philadelphia and Forrest Gump, and has starred in some of the most loved films ever made, from Big and Apollo 13 to Saving Private Ryan and the Toy Story films, in which he voices Sheriff Woody.
Quick Facts
| Full Name | Thomas Jeffrey Hanks |
| Age | 70 years old |
| Date of Birth | July 9, 1956 |
| Birthplace | Concord, California, USA |
| Height | 6 ft 0 in (183 cm) |
| Partner | Rita Wilson (wife, married 1988); previously married to Samantha Lewes |
| Net Worth | Approx. $400 million (Celebrity Net Worth, 2025) |
| Known For | Forrest Gump, Philadelphia, Toy Story, Saving Private Ryan, Cast Away |
Who Is Tom Hanks?
Tom Hanks is an American actor and filmmaker, widely regarded as one of the most popular and recognizable film stars of all time and as an American cultural icon. He is the fourth-highest-grossing American film actor of all time, with his films earning more than $9.9 billion worldwide. His awards include two Academy Awards, seven Emmy Awards and four Golden Globe Awards, and he has also received the AFI Life Achievement Award, the Kennedy Center Honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Golden Globe Cecil B. DeMille Award.
Hanks is known for both comedic and dramatic roles, and is often described as “America’s Dad” for the decent, everyman characters he plays. He won back-to-back Academy Awards for Best Actor, for playing a lawyer with AIDS in Philadelphia (1993) and the title character in Forrest Gump (1994), becoming only the second actor to win consecutive Best Actor Oscars. Like Tom Cruise, he has headlined blockbusters for decades, and like Denzel Washington, he is one of the few actors of his generation to have won two acting Oscars.
Early Life & Background
Thomas Jeffrey Hanks was born on July 9, 1956, in Concord, California, to Janet Marylyn, a hospital worker, and Amos “Bud” Hanks, an itinerant cook. His mother was from a Portuguese family, originally named Fraga. His parents divorced in 1960, and Hanks moved often as a child, living in ten different houses by the age of ten. He was, by his own account, a shy and unpopular teenager, but he acted in school plays while attending Skyline High School in Oakland, California.
Hanks studied theatre at Chabot College in Hayward, California, and then transferred to California State University, Sacramento. During his studies he met Vincent Dowling, head of the Great Lakes Theater Festival in Cleveland, Ohio, who suggested he become an intern at the festival. The internship stretched into three years of work on Shakespeare and other productions, and Hanks decided to make acting his career. He moved to New York in 1979 and made his film debut in the low-budget horror film He Knows You’re Alone (1980).
Tom Hanks’s Career
Hanks first became known on television in the sitcom Bosom Buddies (1980-1982), then broke into films with the romantic comedy Splash (1984) and the comedy hits Bachelor Party (1984), The Money Pit (1986) and Big (1988), the last earning him his first Academy Award nomination. After a run of less successful films, he returned to the top with A League of Their Own (1992) and the romantic comedy Sleepless in Seattle (1993), opposite Meg Ryan.
The mid-1990s were the peak of his career: Philadelphia (1993) won him his first Oscar, Forrest Gump (1994) his second, and he followed them with Apollo 13 (1995), the voice of Sheriff Woody in Pixar’s Toy Story (1995), Saving Private Ryan (1998), You’ve Got Mail (1998), The Green Mile (1999) and Cast Away (2000). He also directed and starred in That Thing You Do! (1996) and co-founded the production company Playtone, which produced the acclaimed miniseries Band of Brothers (2001), The Pacific (2010) and Masters of the Air (2024).
Hanks has continued to work steadily in the 2010s and 2020s, with Captain Phillips (2013), Saving Mr. Banks (2013), in which he played Walt Disney, Bridge of Spies (2015), Sully (2016), A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood (2019), in which he played Fred Rogers and earned an Oscar nomination, Elvis (2022), A Man Called Otto (2022) and Here (2024). He returned as the voice of Woody in Toy Story 5 in 2026, and narrated the NBC documentary series The Americas in 2025. He made his Broadway debut in Nora Ephron’s play Lucky Guy in 2013, earning a Tony Award nomination.
Facts About Tom Hanks
- Tom Hanks was born on July 9, 1956, in Concord, California, and is 70 years old.
- He won two consecutive Academy Awards for Best Actor, for Philadelphia and Forrest Gump.
- He has been married to actress Rita Wilson since 1988, and they have two sons together.
- He has voiced Sheriff Woody in the Toy Story franchise since 1995.
- He received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2016 and became an honorary citizen of Greece in 2019.
Frequently Asked Questions
How old is Tom Hanks?
Tom Hanks was born on July 9, 1956. He is 70 years old.
How tall is Tom Hanks?
Tom Hanks is 6 ft 0 in (183 cm) tall.
Who is Tom Hanks’s wife?
Tom Hanks has been married to actress Rita Wilson since April 30, 1988. He was previously married to Samantha Lewes from 1978 to 1987.
What is Tom Hanks’s net worth?
Tom Hanks’s net worth is approx. $400 million, according to Celebrity Net Worth (2025).
What is Tom Hanks best known for?
Tom Hanks is best known for Forrest Gump, Philadelphia, Toy Story, Saving Private Ryan, Cast Away and Apollo 13.
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