Tom Hanks’ Children: Meet The ‘Toy Story’ Star’s 4 Kids and His Wife Rita Wilson
From actor Colin to author E.A. — here's everything to know about Tom Hanks' family life
Key Takeaways
- Tom Hanks has four children—two with Rita Wilson and two with Samantha Lewes.
- Hanks and Rita Wilson met in 1981 and have been married since 1988.
- Daughter E.A. Hanks wrote a 2025 memoir about her difficult childhood.
Everyone knows that Tom Hanks is one of the nicest guys in Hollywood. He’s funny, warm, genuine and just an all-around favorite. But when it comes to who loves him most, it’s not his millions of fans, his costars, his directors or even Andy and Bonnie from Toy Story. It’s his wife Rita Wilson and their children. Want to know more about the family behind Hollywood’s favorite leading man? Keep reading.
Get to know Tom Hanks’ wife Rita Wilson
Hanks and Wilson, both age 69, first met on the set of Bosom Buddies in 1981 and, according to her, “they got along instantly.”
“First of all, I love a good storyteller,” she continued during a 2020 appearance on The Kelly Clarkson Show. “So anybody who could tell a good story, I’m down with that. … I love that. He makes me laugh all the time. He’s a great storyteller.”
Following that initial meeting, the two worked on the 1985 film Volunteers, before eventually making their red carpet debut the following year. Now, at the time of that debut, Hanks was still married to Samantha Lewes, but they were separated, their divorce going through the following year.
A year after that, Hanks and Wilson tied the knot, and they’ve been happily married ever since.
“The success of our relationship was a matter of timing, maturity and our willingness to have an intimate connection,” Hanks said, per People magazine. “When I married Rita, I thought, ‘This is going to require some change on my part.’ I won’t deny that providence was part of us finding each other, but our relationship isn’t magic—the way it’s shown in movies.”
He added, “In real life, our connection is as concrete as me sitting here. Not that marriage doesn’t come close to being hell in a handbasket sometimes. But we both know that no matter what, we’ll be with each other—and we’ll get through it.”
Tom Hanks best marriage advice
While being friends and having a connection is key, according to Hanks that’s not the only thing that matters in a marriage. While attending the Toy Story 5 premiere, the actor took the time to reveal the marriage advice he gave to Taylor Swift—who’s engaged to Kansas City Chiefs star Travis Kelce.
“The man must make the waffles on Sunday,” Hanks told E! News.
We love that!
Tom Hanks children
Hanks has four children: two with Lewes and two with Wilson.
His oldest son, Colin Lewes Hanks, was born in November 1977. He is currently married to publicist Samantha Bryant, and the couple has two children. Like his dad, Colin works as an actor and credits their close relationship as an important influence in his career.
“When I was starting off I was sort of lovingly naive, thinking that [being Tom Hanks’ son] wasn’t as big a deal as it is that I would get the benefit of the doubt that I was my own person,” Colin said, per People magazine, “And that doesn’t happen.”
Next up is Elizabeth Ann “E.A.” Hanks. She was born in May 1982 and worked as a writer for a while, penning the 2025 book The 10: A Memoir of Family and the Open Road. In it she claimed that her mother, Lewes, was abusive towards her and her brother.
“Saying that my mother was mentally ill, that she was possibly ‘bipolar with episodes of extreme paranoia and delusion,’ makes sense of the nights sitting with her on a blanket in the driveway, my mother sobbing and convinced there were men inside the house, bugging the walls, waiting for us in our bedrooms,” Elizabeth Ann wrote. “The fridge was bare or full of expired food more often than not, and my mother spent more and more time in her big four-poster bed, poring over the Bible. One night, her emotional violence became physical violence, and in the aftermath I moved to Los Angeles, right smack in the middle of the seventh grade.”
According to Elizabeth Ann, her book was published with the support of her father. Hanks himself even commented on the tome, telling Access Hollywood in 2025, “I’m not surprised that my daughter had the wherewithal as well as the curiosity to examine this thing that I think she was incredibly honest about.”
Hanks’ third child is named Chester “Chet” Marlon Hanks. He was born in August 1990 and was Hank’s first child with Wilson. Chet, who is the father of a daughter, has spoken up about what being raised by Hanks and Wilson was really like.
“I’m very privileged, but I wasn’t spoiled,” he said, per People. “My parents didn’t spoil me; I was never just given money or an allowance. I had to work and earn everything that I’ve made, and it’s been that way for my entire life.”
Finally, Hanks and Wilson welcomed son Truman Theodore Hanks into the world in December 1995. He studied at Stanford and unlike his siblings prefers to keep a low profile.
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