Tom Hanks Family: To many he’s Forrest Gump, or Chuck Noland, or even Woody himself, but to Colin, Elizabeth, Chet and Truman, Tom Hanks is just dad.
The beloved actor, 68, first became a dad when he was just 22 years old, and welcomed son Colin, 46, with his then-wife Samantha Lewes, to whom he was married from 1978 to 1987. She passed away aged 49 in 2002 after a battle with bone cancer. The former couple also welcomed daughter Elizabeth, 42, five years after her older brother Colin, who has an almost 20-year age gap with his youngest brother, Truman, 28.
In 1988, the Oscar winner married Rita Wilson, and together they welcomed son Chet, 34, and later Truman. Tom has previously said that though his four kids were raised together with Rita as their loving mom and stepmom, his first two did have quite a different childhood than that of their younger brothers.
Tom Hanks Family: He told The New York Times in 2019 that because of how young he was when he welcomed Colin and Elizabeth, “they remember when their dad was just a guy trying to, you know, make the rent,” whereas his other kids, “they were born after I had established a beachhead in every way. And so their lives were just different.”
Get to know Colin, Elizabeth, Chet and Truman below.
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Tom Hanks Family
Colin, 45
Tom Hanks Family: Colin was born on November 24, 1977, in California. He briefly attended Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, however he left to follow in his father’s acting footsteps. His most notable film credits include The House Bunny, Fargo, Orange County, and Untraceable, plus he has also worked as a comedian.
Since 2010, he has been married to publicist Samantha Bryant, and the pair share two daughters, Olivia Jane, born in 2011, and Charlotte Bryant, born in 2013.
Elizabeth, 42
Tom Hanks Family: Elizabeth was born on May 17, 1982, also in Sacramento like her brother, where they grew up.
Though as a child she appeared in some of her dad’s movies, including as an extra in Forrest Gump, after attending Vassar College, she pursued a writing career, working under the name E.A. Hanks, and has bylines in the New York Times, TIME Magazine, and The Guardian. Little is known about her personal life, and it is understood she does not have children, though she is set to release her debut novel sometime in 2024.
Chet, 34
Tom Hanks Family: Chet, whose full name is Chester, is Tom and Rita’s first child, born on August 4, 1990. He has become a bit of an internet personality for his funny public persona as well as his candor in speaking about his struggles with substance abuse.
In 2014, he went to rehab, and two years later, he revealed for the first time that he had welcomed a daughter with ex Tiffany Miles, Michaia Hanks, who he credits as the inspiration for turning his life around.
Truman, 28
Tom Hanks Family: Truman was born on December 26, 1995. He graduated from Stanford University in 2018, and is the most private of the four Hanks children.
Though he hasn’t pursued an acting career — save for playing his dad’s younger self in 2022’s A Man Called Otto — he has worked in entertainment on the production side of films, and previously interned for J.J. Abrams’ company Bad Robot.
