Who Are Tom Hanks' Kids? All About Colin, Elizabeth, Chet and Truman Hanks

Get to know Tom Hanks’ four children: Colin, Elizabeth, Chet and Truman Hanks

While many see Tom Hanks as America's dad, the actor has four children of his own.

He welcomed his first child, son Colin, 45, with his first wife Samantha Lewes in 1977. Five years later, Hanks' second child and only daughter, Elizabeth Ann, 41, was born. After Hanks and Lewes divorced in 1987, he went on to marry actress Rita Wilson, and the couple had two more children: sons Chet, 33, and Truman, 28.

"My son Colin was born when I was very young. As well as my daughter," Hanks told the New York Times ahead of the 2019 premiere of A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood. "They 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."

Hanks also touched on his parenting philosophy with the Times, saying, "Somewhere along the line, I figured out, the only thing ... a parent can do is say, 'I love you, there's nothing you can do wrong, you cannot hurt my feelings, I hope you will forgive me on occasion and what do you need me to do?' You offer up that to them: 'I will do anything I can possibly do in order to keep you safe.' That's it. Offer that up and then just love them."

All four of his kids — plus Colin's wife, Samantha Bryant, whom Hanks thinks of "as a daughter" — were present to watch their father accept the prestigious Cecil B. DeMille award at the Golden Globes in early 2020, and Hanks got emotional talking about his family during his speech.

"A man is blessed with a family sitting down front like that," he said. "A wife who is fantastic in every way, who has taught me what love is. Five kids who are braver, stronger, and wiser than their old man is, a loving group of people who have put [up] with me being away for months and months and months at a time. ... I can't tell you how much your love means to me."

In January 2023, the Oscar-winning actor weighed in on the Hollywood nepotism debate, calling the entertainment industry a "family business," explaining, "This is what we've been doing forever. It's what all of our kids grew up in." He added, "The thing that doesn't change no matter what happens, no matter what your last name is, is whether it works or not. ... Doesn't matter what our last names are. We have to do the work in order to make that a true and authentic experience for the audience."

Here's everything to know about Tom Hanks' kids: Colin, Elizabeth, Chet and Truman.

Colin Lewes Hanks, 45

Colin Lewes Hanks, the first child of Hanks and actress Samantha Lewes, was born on Nov. 24, 1977, in Sacramento, California. He attended Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles but left before earning his degree to begin an acting career.

The eldest Hanks child, who resembles his famous father, has appeared on TV and in movies, most notably in the '90s series Roswell, the cult classics Orange County and The House Bunny and the highly lauded Fargo TV series, for which he received an Emmy nomination. He appeared on Drunk History as Mister Rogers shortly before his father played the icon in the 2019 biopic. Colin is also a director and voiceover actor.

Colin married publicist Samantha Bryant in May 2010. The couple have two young daughters: Olivia Jane, born in 2011, and Charlotte Bryant, born in 2013. Colin also founded a line of handkerchiefs called Hanks Kerchiefs.

The actor is well aware of how much he looks like his dad, even joking about the constant comparisons. Colin spoke to Dax Shepard on Armchair Expert about being the son of a famous actor while trying to carve out a career for himself.

"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. And that doesn't happen," he said.

Elizabeth Ann Hanks, 41

Hank and Lewes' second child, Elizabeth Ann Hanks, was born on May 17, 1982, and grew up in Sacramento. As a child, she appeared as an extra in Forrest Gump and That Thing You Do! with her dad. After graduating from Vassar College, she began working as a writer under the name E.A. Hanks.

Elizabeth has written for several publications, including TIME magazine, The Guardian, The New York Times and Huffington Post. In 2021, she wrote a piece that accompanied a published version of the screenplay for Lady Bird, Greta Gerwig's 2017 film set in their shared hometown. "This Sacramento girl wrote an essay ('Notes on Native Daughters') about Sacramento Girls who wrote about Sacramento Girls," Elizabeth announced on Instagram.

Her first novel is set to publish in 2024.

Chester "Chet" Marlon Hanks, 33

After Hanks married actress Rita Wilson in 1988, they welcomed their first child together, Chester "Chet" Marlon Hanks, on Aug. 4, 1990, in Los Angeles.

He began using the stage name Chet Haze while he was a student at Northwestern University to launch a music career.

Chet has done some acting work, most notably on the Fox series Empire. In 2018, he shared that his Oscar-winning dad passed down some advice about acting: "Show up on time, know your lines and be nice to everybody." Chet began the personal training company HanxFit in 2022.

In 2014, Chet went to rehab to treat substance abuse that he had been struggling with since he was 16 years old. Two years later, he shared that he got sober for his daughter Michaiah Hanks, whom he shares with his ex Tiffany Miles.

"I want to share something today because it's about to be shared anyway in the press, which is the fact that I have a daughter," he said in 2016. "I do have a daughter, she's the best thing that's ever happened to me, she's the reason why I turned my life around and got sober. I've been sober for over a year and a half from everything."

Chet has also spoken publicly about growing up with famous parents. He opened up about his upbringing in a YouTube video in early 2022, saying that growing up in Hollywood was a "double-edged sword" and that he's often seen as a "spoiled brat," but he wasn't raised that way.

"I'm very privileged, but I wasn't spoiled," he shared. "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."

Truman Theodore Hanks, 28

The youngest of the Hanks clan, Truman Theodore Hanks, was born on Dec. 26, 1995, in L.A. Truman graduated from Stanford University in 2018 and has since kept a lower profile than his siblings.

While he isn't primarily an actor, Truman has joined the entertainment business, having worked on the production teams of West Side Story (2021), Black Widow (2021) and Atypical (2017).

Truman collaborated with his parents on A Man Called Otto, the 2022 film produced by his mom and starring his dad. He played the younger version of Hanks' character, and they worked together to mold the part.

"I talked [to him] a little bit about some physical gestures and the way to walk when you're pissed off," Tom Hanks said at a screening in December 2022. "The good news is that I looked like him when I was 26. The bad news is he's gonna look like me in another 40 years. He is just gonna have to deal with that."

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