Tom Hanks Reacts to Daughter's Memoir About 'Abusive' Childhood With Late Mom
Tom Hanks is standing by his daughter, E.A. Hanks, after the release of her powerful new memoir, "The 10: A Memoir of Family and The Open Road."
Released in April, the book delves into E.A.'s difficult childhood and personal experiences with her late mother, Samantha Lewes.
In a recent interview at the premiere of "The Phoenician Scheme," Hanks, 68, shared his deep pride in his daughter's courage. "It's a pride because, I think, she shares it with me," Hanks told "Access Hollywood." "She's been very open about what the process is."
E.A. — short for Elizabeth Ann — describes her life growing up with Lewes after her parents' divorce in the 1980s.
She writes that her mother, who struggled with mental health problems, was often physically and emotionally abusive.
"She pushed me, shook me, pulled at my hair, and locked me in a closet once or twice," E.A. recalled in the memoir, PageSix said.
She also wrote about scary moments when her mother warned her that men were hiding in the closet and would come out at night.
Tom Hanks and Samantha Lewes were married from 1978 to 1987 and had two children: Colin and Elizabeth. Lewes, born Susan Dillingham, died of lung cancer in 2002 at the age of 49.
Tom Hanks' daughter from his first marriage has written a book where she describes her abusive mother who would spend all day in bed reading the Bible.
— Real MAGA Housewives of Iowa (@fairfield_iowa) June 4, 2025
The daughter found the mother's journals where she stated she saw her father r*pe, k*ll, and cannabilize a little girl. pic.twitter.com/t00PkKGu9z
Tom Hanks Praises Daughter E.A. for Courageous Memoir
Hanks said he wasn't surprised by his daughter's decision to tell her story. "She had the curiosity and honesty to explore something that was hard to face," he said. "We all come from checked or cracked lives, all of us."
E.A. also shared in her book that her home life was unstable — sometimes there was plenty of food, and sometimes there was none.
She described never being taught basic hygiene like brushing her teeth and said her mother often talked about her miscarriages and even suggested E.A. would "join them in eternal limbo."
According to Parade, at age 12, E.A. moved to Los Angeles to live with her father and stepmother, Rita Wilson, after the abuse turned physical.
She has called Wilson her "other mother" and says she views both Hanks and Wilson as her true parents.
"Anyone who does what she's done is a bold journalistic literary mind," Hanks said of his daughter. "And I'm thrilled I can say the same thing about my daughter."
Married since 1988, Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson are parents to two sons, Chet, 34, and Truman, 29.
