Tom Hanks is one of Hollywood’s most celebrated and highest-paid stars, with a reported net worth of about $400 million, according to Celebrity Net Worth. His estimated career box office total stands at roughly $11 billion, reflecting decades of success as an actor, director, writer, and producer. With the release of “Toy Story 5” in June 2026, that total is expected to climb even higher.
Born Thomas Jeffrey Hanks in July 1956, Hanks has deep roots in American history and entertainment. He is a distant relative of Nancy Hanks, the mother of President Abraham Lincoln, and is also related to Fred Rogers, whom he portrayed in “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood.” Hanks grew up in the Bay Area and studied theater at Chabot College before transferring to California State University, Sacramento. He left college after meeting Vincent Dowling, who headed the Great Lakes Theater Festival in Cleveland, where Hanks began building his acting career. His early stage work earned him the Cleveland Critics Circle Award for Best Actor in 1978 for his role in Shakespeare’s “The Two Gentlemen of Verona.”
Hanks moved to New York City in 1979 and made his first film appearance in “He Knows You’re Not Alone” in 1980. Two years later, he starred in the television movie “Mazes and Monsters” and later appeared in the ABC sitcom “Bosom Buddies.” His breakthrough in film came with “Big” in 1988, which earned him his first Academy Award nomination. He followed that success with “A League of Their Own” and “Sleepless in Seattle,” then won his first Oscar for “Philadelphia,” where he played a lawyer diagnosed with AIDS who sues his firm for discrimination.
His fame reached new heights with “Forrest Gump,” which won him a second Best Actor Oscar and became one of his signature roles. He also starred in “Apollo 13” and became the voice of Sheriff Woody in Pixar’s “Toy Story” franchise, one of the most successful animated series in movie history. Other major credits include “Saving Private Ryan,” “You’ve Got Mail,” “The Green Mile,” “Cast Away,” “The Terminal,” and “The Polar Express.”
Over the years, Hanks has earned two Academy Awards, seven Emmy Awards, four Golden Globes, a Tony Award nomination, and five BAFTA nominations. He has also received major honors including the AFI Life Achievement Award, the Kennedy Center Honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and the Golden Globe Cecil B. DeMille Award.
On the personal side, Hanks married actress Samantha Lewes in 1978, and they had two children, Colin and Elizabeth, before divorcing in 1987. Lewes died in 2002. In 1988, Hanks married actress Rita Wilson after meeting her on the set of “Bosom Buddies.” They have two sons, Chet and Truman. Beyond acting, Hanks is known for his love of manual typewriters, which inspired his iOS app “Hanx Writer” and his short story collection “Uncommon Type.”
