NEW YORK, NY - APRIL 01: (L-R) Samantha Bryant, actor Colin Hanks, Elizabeth Hanks, and actress Rita Wilson attend the "Lucky Guy" Broadway Opening Night at The Broadhurst Theatre on April 1, 2013 in New York City. (Photo by Stephen Lovekin/Getty Images)
The 2020 Golden Globes honored actor Tom Hanks with the Cecil B. DeMille Award. The award is given to one recipient annually, by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, for “outstanding contributions to the world of entertainment.”
In addition to being a renowned actor and filmmaker, Hanks is also a husband, grandfather, and father of four adult children. Hanks’ four kids are named Colin, Elizabeth, Chet, and Truman. Elizabeth is 37 years old and was born on May 17, 1982 in Los Angeles, California.
Hanks’s whole family was present at the Golden Globes to support him as he received his honor. After the memorable night, Elizabeth took to Instagram to reflect on her relationship with her father, writing “Team Hanks is proud. I am proud and more than that, lucky to have a father who has taught me to tell the truth. To move forward. That the hang is the best part of circus life, and that to make art is a gift from the Gods.”
Here’s what you need to know about Tom Hanks’s daughter, Elizabeth Ann Hanks:
1. Elizabeth Is Tom Hanks’s Second Child & Only Daughter
Hanks had his oldest two children, Colin and Elizabeth, with his first wife Samantha Lewes, whom he divorced in 1987. Lewes passed away in 2002. After marrying actress and singer Rita Wilson in 1988, he had two more children, Chester “Chet” Hanks and Truman Theodore Hanks.
In an interview with The New York Times, Hanks opened up about how his children, born at different points of his life and career, were brought up differently. Hanks, who became a father for the first time when he was 21 years old, said “My son [Colin] was born when I was very young. As well as my daughter,” adding “We have this gestalt understanding because [Colin and Elizabeth] remember when their dad was just a guy trying to, you know, make the rent. My other kids, they were born after I had established a beachhead in every way. And so their lives were just different.”
2. Elizabeth Appeared as an Actress in 2 of Hanks’s Beloved Films
Although Elizabeth did not pursue an acting career like her father and late mother, she does have a small handful of professional credits on her IMDb profile. In 1994, she played “school bus girl” in Forrest Gump; in 1996, she is credited as playing the role of “bored girl in dress shop” in That Thing You Do!.
Hanks won the Oscar for “Best Actor in a Leading Role” for the work he did playing the title character in Forrest Gump. Tom Hanks wrote and directed That Thing You Do!.
3. Elizabeth Is a Book Writer & Has Written for Publications Including Buzzfeed & the New York Times
While she did pursue a career in the entertainment industry like other members of her famous family, Elizabeth instead chose writing as her profession. As a writer, she goes by the pen name EA Hanks, which is also her name on both her Twitter and Instagram accounts.
Her Twitter bio reads “Bylines: Guardian, NYT, Buzzfeed, Time. Currently at work on a book about a thing for a publisher.” Her website bio is brief, but it does reveal that “She graduated from Vassar College with a Bachelor of Arts. She has written for The Awl, Jezebel, The New York Times, The Guardian, Vanity Fair and Time Magazine.”
4. Elizabeth Lives in Los Angeles, California
Tom Hanks was born in Concord, California; as an in-demand Hollywood actor, it makes sense that he raised his family on the West coast. According to Elizabeth’s website bio, she chose to continue living in her home city as an adult – it reveals she is “based in Los Angeles.”
While Los Angeles is her home base, Hanks’s Instagram profile shows that she is a regular traveler. She visited Alabama and the Florida panhandle in July 2019, Austin, Texas in May, and New Mexico in April.
5. Elizabeth Does Not Have Any Children, but Enjoys Being an Aunt
Elizabeth’s older brother Colin has two children, Charlotte and Olivia; her half brother Chet has a daughter named Michaiah, who was born in 2016. Since Hanks says he has three grandchildren, it does not appear that Elizabeth currently has any children of her own.
Nevertheless, her Twitter account indicates that she is a loving aunt and enjoys spending time with her nieces. In one tweet, she wrote “If you have kids from 5-10, I have been laughing hysterically through ‘The Who Was Show,’ with my niece. It is truly funny and smart and the kid digs it. ‘I remember it like it was the next sketch…'”
Tom and Rita told ET that they’re the “cool grandparents,” proving they’re an active part of the lives of their children’s children. Hanks told the publication “When you have grandkids, if you’re with one of them — or all three of them – look, there’s no book, no radio, no TV. You’re going to be entertained by them every moment that you’re there. Sit back and watch the show!”
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Elizabeth Ann Hanks, Tom Hanks’ Daughter: 5 Fast Facts