Tom Hanks has spoken out about his daughter E.A. Hanks’ powerful memoir, which sheds light on her “abusive” childhood with her late mother, Samantha Lewes. In an interview with Access Hollywood at the premiere of The Phoenician Scheme, Hanks, 68, praised his daughter’s bravery in sharing her personal story, saying he admired her openness.
“It’s a pride because, I think, she shares it with me,” Hanks remarked. “She’s been very open about what the process is… I’m not surprised that my daughter had the wherewithal to examine this thing that I think she was incredibly honest about.”
Hanks also reflected on the challenges they’ve faced as a family, adding, “We all come from checked or cracked lives… despite the fact that part of it would seem as though she worked for some international well-known firm with a copyrighted last name.”
He continued, “She knows that, and she leans into absolutely everything of it, and I think anyone who does that is a bold journalistic literary mind, and I’m thrilled I can say the same thing about my daughter.”
In the memoir The 10: A Memoir of Family And The Open Road, E.A. Hanks, 43, opens up about her childhood experiences after her parents’ divorce in 1987. She recalls the emotional and physical abuse she endured at the hands of her mother, Lewes, who struggled with mental health issues.
E.A. writes about disturbing moments, such as being locked in a closet and told horrific stories about men hiding inside, waiting to harm her. She also recalls the chaotic living conditions, with little guidance or stability, and her mother discussing lost pregnancies and making dark statements about the afterlife.
After E.A. moved to Los Angeles in seventh grade to live with her father, Tom Hanks, she found stability and support. At that time, Hanks had remarried his current wife, Rita Wilson, in 1988, and E.A. expressed her deep connection with Wilson, saying, “Rita’s not really a stepmother, she’s my other mother.”
Tom Hanks shares two children with Lewes, E.A. and son Colin Hanks, 47. Lewes passed away in 2002 from lung cancer at the age of 49. Hanks and Wilson have two sons together, Chet, 34, and Truman, 29.
