Tom Hanks’s Daughter Gets Candid About Father’s Fame Affecting Her Mom: ‘His Stature Obliterated…’

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Tom Hanks is recognized as one of the most accomplished actors of his time, having delivered iconic films that solidified his status in the industry. Adored by many, Hanks’ celebrity status, however, presented challenges for his former spouse, Susan Dillingham. In a recent memoir, Tom’s daughter, Elizabeth Anne Hanks, shared her mother’s struggles with dealing with the fame of the renowned Forrest Gump actor. It was revealed that Susan, too, harbored dreams of becoming an actress, but was unable to cope with the limelight that surrounded her husband’s career.

In her memoir “The 10: Family and the Open Road,” Anne explained that the term “catastrophic” aptly reflected her mother’s feelings towards her former husband’s celebrity status.

Elizabeth Anne stated, “She believed that his prominence in the world overshadowed her and any possibility for her to advance her acting career. Furthermore, she mentioned, ‘One of the harsh realities, and there are many in this book, is that she didn’t truly have a career, and her ex-husband’s rise to fame as Tom Hanks felt more like an added injury than a major obstacle.’

After ending his first marriage with his college sweetheart, who was famously portrayed by Tom Hanks in You’ve Got Mail, he went on to wed Rita Wilson. Besides having two children from his previous union, Hanks became a father to two more sons born in 1990 and 1995 with his current spouse.

In her autobiography, Hanks’ daughter asserted that she believed her mother might have had bipolar disorder. Additionally, she expressed that their mother paid less attention to them as children, with her brother primarily visiting Dillingham during the weekend.

Over time, the backyard accumulated an overwhelming amount of dog waste, making it difficult to navigate. The house took on a persistent smell of smoke. The fridge was either empty or filled with spoiled food, and my mother spent increasing amounts of time in her large, four-poster bed, engrossed in the Bible.

She went on saying, “One evening, her emotional aggression turned into physical violence. Consequently, I relocated to Los Angeles, right in the heart of my seventh-grade year.

Susan Dillingham passed away in 2002.

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2025-04-09 21:07