His is one of the most recognizable smiles on the planet, not to mention that defined jawline and striking profile.
So when Tom Cruise’s daughter Suri was in New York last weekend for her 18th birthday, it was truly surprising to see how much she looked like her famous father.
However, while his daughter with actress Katie Holmes celebrated, her A-list dad was 3,500 miles away, filming in London.
You would imagine that most parents would go out of their way to celebrate such a historic date in person with their daughter.
But the last time Cruise was photographed in the company of Suri was almost 12 years ago, in July 2012, when she was only six years old.
Tom Cruise’s daughter Suri, photographed in New York on her 18th birthday, looks strikingly similar to her famous father.
The last time Cruise was photographed in the company of Suri was almost 12 years ago, in July 2012, when she was just six years old while they visited Disney World Florida.
It was a tumultuous time: she had just divorced Holmes and was enjoying a custodial visit to Disney World Florida. Suri, dressed as the Little Mermaid, took her father’s hand.
Many people, some of them former friends of Cruise, say they have not seen their daughter in person since then.
Could this be true?
The question of what kind of relationship Cruise has with Suri (he also has two grown children, Bella and Connor, adopted during his marriage to Nicole Kidman) is a riddle wrapped in an enigma, and there is no clear answer.
Calls and emails to Amanda Lundberg, his publicist, and his lawyer, asking if he had seen Suri, go unanswered.
It’s even more disconcerting because Cruise was so effusive about the importance of spending time with his daughter. Just think of Vanity Fair’s 22-page portfolio from 2006, in which Suri first appeared.
“I always told myself that my kids could depend on me and that I would always be there for them and love them,” Cruise proudly told the magazine.
Now, however, that pride seems a world away, and the sweet bond between father and daughter seems to be ancient history.
Last summer a source close to the actor told this newspaper that he maintained contact with his daughter through Zoom and phone calls, and denied that they were estranged.
However, others doubt this and cite Scientology, the controversial religion followed by Cruise, as the possible cause of any schism.
When she was married to Cruise, Holmes received training in Scientology and Suri must have been raised as a Scientologist.
However, after their separation, she returned to her Roman Catholic faith and was said to be interested in steering Suri away from Scientology.
Interestingly, there are questions about whether the rift between Cruise and Suri is due to Holmes protecting his daughter, or Cruise interrupting her at the behest of his religion.
In fact, Scientology is famous for discouraging believers from maintaining relationships with those outside the religion and has routinely been blamed for distancing its devotees from non-believers, some of whom are nicknamed “Suppressor People.”
Former prominent Scientologist Karen De La Carriere, once married to the religion’s president, tells me she’s sure Scientology is at the root of the rift.
Before her parents’ divorce, Suri was photographed incessantly, almost always hugged by her father. And then as soon as the split was announced in 2012, that ended.
There are questions about whether the rift between Cruise and Suri is due to Katie Holmes protecting her daughter, or Cruise cutting her off at the behest of Scientology, the controversial religion he follows.
She said: ‘Katie was considered a repressive person and Suri, by extension, a potential source of trouble. Tom is unable to interact or connect with his own daughter. In Scientology, it’s Scientology first, family priorities are last in the order.’
Brendan Tighe, who worked on Cruise’s security team and was a Scientologist, told me this week: ‘Basically, when it comes to Scientology thinking, there is a policy of disengagement. When applied rigorously, there is no room for emotion.
“As long as Suri is on her mother’s side, there will be no contact with her father.”
Mike Rinder, once Scientology’s number three, knew Cruise and his family firsthand for years. Since he left the religion, he has spoken out against it and recently published an autobiography One Billion Years.
Rinder tells me that his older children, who are still believers, do not speak to him because he has abandoned religion. He says that he is sure this is the reason for the apparent breakup between Cruise and Suri.
‘Because Katie took the initiative to obtain a divorce, giving a ‘surprise’ to the most well-known Scientologist on Earth, she committed a ‘repressive act.’ Therefore, Tom couldn’t be connected to her,” he says.
Wouldn’t this bother Cruise? Rinder says no, adding, “Scientologists believe that everyone is a spiritual being who lives many lives.” The being who is your mother in this life could have been your daughter in a previous life… and this diminishes the importance of family ties.’
Cruise might disagree with this, especially since it’s all coming from former Scientologists who have animosity toward their religion.
A Scientology spokesperson did not respond to a request to discuss specific details about what the situation between Suri and Cruise might be. However, the church has said in the past that it never “commands” its followers to disconnect from anyone, and that the practice has nothing to do with “former members or people who criticize the Church.”
However, the truth is that the happy family future that Cruise imagined for himself, Suri and his older brothers, who are still Scientologists, has not materialized.
In fact, some say a similar dynamic can be seen after Cruise’s divorce from Nicole Kidman, who no longer follows Scientology and has seen very little of her children, Bella, 31, and Conor, now 29, since so.
Before her parents’ divorce, Suri was photographed incessantly, almost always hugged by her father. And then as soon as the split was announced in 2012, that ended. Holmes moved to New York and worked to keep her son out of the public eye.
The issue of Suri’s relationship with her father became explosively public in September 2013, when Cruise took legal action against two magazines that said he had “abandoned” his daughter.
The lawsuit was settled out of court and it was clear that Cruise was angry about the accusation. During a deposition, he admitted that he had not seen the six-year-old boy for 110 days during the previous summer, just after the divorce.
He said he and Suri kept in touch by phone, while he was busy filming: “I tell wonderful stories… I’ve gotten pretty good at communicating.”
He added that the agreements with Holmes were complicated.
He said, ‘Listen, when there’s a divorce… it’s more complicated. Things change.
He added: “Certainly what doesn’t change is the love I have for my daughter and the fact that I didn’t abandon her emotionally, physically or otherwise.”
One can only hope he says the same today.