Who is Tom Cruise's sister? Mission Impossible star name drops sibling who quietly lives in shadow of his dazzling career

Daily Mail​

16-05-2025

While the world knows his every on-screen move, Tom Cruise 's siblings lead much more private and quiet lives away from the spotlight.
The cinematic titan, 62 — born Thomas Cruise Mapother IV — has three sisters: Lee Ann Gillotte, Cass Capazorio, and Marian Henry.
Speaking at the BFI Southbank on Sunday, Cruise offered a rare mention about Cass, who shares his avid belief in the church of Scientology.
The actor — who is currently romancing Ben Affleck's ex Ana de Armas — recalled how his younger sister, who was in the audience, had a hand in helping him land his role in the Oscar-winning film Rain Man.
It all happened when Cass spotted Dustin Hoffman at a restaurant ordering takeout in London.
Cass encouraged Tom to go over and introduce himself, with the actor recalling her words to the crowd: 'You love him! And you know his career. You go over and say hello.'
Cass (R) leads a private life and shares Tom's avid belief in the church of Scientology; She is pictured with her and Tom's late mother Mary Lee and his ex-wife Katie Holmes in 2007
Though Tom was skeptical at first, Cass eventually convinced him.
'She doesn't usually do stuff like that and I don't walk up to people and introduce myself, but she was so pushy,' he added.
Cass then told her brother that if he wasn't going to do it, she would walk over to Hoffman herself.
Tom worried that Hoffman wouldn't know who he is, joking, 'This is like going to be really humiliating.'
But after enough pestering from Cass, he finally approached Hoffman.
'He had his hat on and he was ordering takeout. I stood next to him and said, "Excuse me, Mr Hoffman, I'm sorry…" and he looked at me and said, "Cruise!"'
'And I went "f**k,"' Tom joked, a he released a sigh of relief, happy that the encounter didn't end up being awkward.
Hoffman then invited Cruise to come see him on Broadway in Death of a Salesman, and Cruise ended up bringing Cass with him.
He recalled: 'As I was leaving, he said, "I want to make a movie with you," and I said, "That would be nice."'
After their meeting, Hoffman sent him the script for Rain Man a year later. The 1988 movie marked a breakthrough for Cruise, earning four Academy Award wins, including best actor for Hoffman; they are seen in a still
'A year later he sent Rain Man to me.'
The 1988 film marked a breakthrough for Cruise, earning eight Academy Award nominations and four wins, including best picture and a best actor Oscar for Hoffman.
Though she helped her brother nab the iconic role, Cass has stayed away from the spotlight herself.
She is a director of a company that helps run courses in the religion of Scientology, sometimes referred to as a cult, that was born in America during the 1950s.
Though Cruise is not often seen with his siblings, they reportedly share a very close bond.
His father, electrical engineer Thomas Cruise Mapother III - dubbed a 'bully and a coward' by the multi-millionaire - left his mother, special education teacher Mary Lee Pfeiffer, in the 1970s, with Tom quickly taking on the role of man of the house, looking after his three sisters.
As a result the siblings formed a tight-knit bond, with Tom even declaring a few years ago: 'I would live with all of my sisters if I could. We have always been very close, my sisters and me.'
And it appears now that dream has come true, with his family reported to have moved into a luxury Scientology building in Florida just a stones throw away from the church's global headquarters.
Tom's other sister, Lee Anne, is a former publicist who now works managing the luxury Skyview building where the quartet live and being treasurer of the he 'Skyview Condominium Association Inc'.
According to The Sun, his third sister Marian, her son Cal and daughter-in-law Marjorye, are also all Scientologists.
His brother in law Greg, who is married to Cass, is also said to be the head of another company that helps to rehabilitate prisoners using Scientology techniques.
It is perhaps unsurprising that Tom has remained close to his siblings after he dedicated much of his younger years to helping raise his sisters as they endured a tough childhood at the hands of their abusive father Thomas.
Reflecting on the abuse he endured from his father in a 2006 interview with Parade magazine, he said Thomas 'was a bully and a coward... the kind of person where, if something goes wrong, they kick you'.
'It was a great lesson in my life - how he'd lull you in, make you feel safe and then, bang,' he added.
'For me, there's something wrong with this guy. Don't trust him. Be careful around him. There's that anxiety.'
On the other hand, he described his mother Mary Lee with love and care, calling her a 'very warm, charismatic woman, very kind, very generous'.
At the age of 11, Tom and his family moved to Kentucky after his mother split from Thomas in 1974.
As a result of the split, his mother was forced to take up three jobs to be able to support her four children, depending on her caring and dependable son who began working himself.
The superstar took up a morning paper round, mowed the lawns for his neighbors and even took up cleaning jobs to help his family stay afloat.
One of his neighbours Bill Lewis previously revealed: 'No job was too dirty or difficult for Tommy, as long as it paid money to help his mom out.'
Lewis added that when his mother slipped a disk in her back from all the work, the star supposedly told him: 'My mom could have sat there every morning and cried and cried.'
'She didn't. My mom was very proud. She had dignity. She's going to work hard.'
In light of her injury, one of Mary's friend had to move in with them to help with the workload while the family also lived on food stamps for a period of time.
John later divorced Mary in 2012 and he passed away in 2015 at age 89 after a battle with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, while Mary died in 2017.
She went on to move to New Jersey and marry John 'Jack' South in 1978, when Tom was 16.
Both Mary and her husband were supportive of Tom's dreams to become an actor.
Mary previously explained how he told them of his ambitions after he starred in a high-school production of Guys And Dolls.
She said: 'After the show, Tom came home and said he wanted to have a talk with my husband and me.'
'He asked for 10 years to give show business a try. Meanwhile, my husband's thinking, "What's this gonna cost me? Ten years of what?"'
'Tom said, "I really feel that this is what I want to do."'
'And we both wholeheartedly agreed, because we both felt it was a God-given talent, and he should explore it because he was so enthused about it.'