Why Tom Cruise may view his daughter Suri as a 'potential trouble source': Amid ... trends now
His is one of the most recognisable smiles on the planet — not to mention that defined jawline and striking profile.
So when Tom Cruise's daughter, Suri, stepped out last weekend in New York on her 18th birthday, it was truly surprising to see just how much she looked like her famous father.
Yet while his daughter with actress Katie Holmes celebrated, her A-list father was 3,500 miles away, filming in London.
You might imagine most fathers would endeavour to mark such a landmark date in person with their daughter.
But the last time Cruise was pictured in Suri's company was nearly 12 years ago, in July 2012, when she was just six.
Tom Cruise's daughter Suri, pictured in New York on her 18th birthday, looks strikingly similar to her famous father
The last time Cruise was pictured in Suri's company was nearly 12 years ago, in July 2012, when she was just six as they visited Disney World Florida
It was a tumultuous time: he had just settled his divorce to Holmes and was enjoying a custody visit to Disney World Florida. Suri — dressed as the Little Mermaid — clutched her father's hand.
Many people — some of them Cruise's former friends — claim he hasn't seen his daughter in person since then.
Could this possibly be true?
The question of what sort of relationship Cruise has with Suri — he also has two older children, Bella and Connor, adopted during his marriage to Nicole Kidman — is a riddle wrapped in an enigma and there is no clear answer.
Calls and emails to Amanda Lundberg, his publicist, and to his lawyer, asking whether he has seen Suri, go unanswered.
It's all the more perplexing because Cruise was so effusive about the importance of spending time with his daughter. Just think back to the 22-page portfolio in Vanity Fair in 2006, which pictured Suri for the first time.
'I always said to myself that my children would be able to depend on me, and I would always be there for them and love them,' a proud Cruise told the magazine.
Now, though, that pride seems a world away — and the sweet bond between father and daughter looks to be ancient history.
Last summer a source close to the actor told this newspaper he kept in touch with his daughter via Zoom and phone calls, and denied they were estranged.
Yet others doubt this — and cite Scientology, the controversial religion followed by Cruise, as the possible cause of any schism.
When she was married to Cruise, Holmes received instruction in Scientology, and Suri was to have been raised a Scientologist.
However, after their split, she returned to her Roman Catholic faith and was said to be keen to get Suri away from Scientology.
Fascinatingly, there's some question over whether the divide between Cruise and Suri is down to Holmes being protective of her daughter — or Cruise cutting her off at the behest of his religion.
Indeed, Scientology is infamous for discouraging believers from maintaining relationships with those outside the religion and has been routinely blamed for estranging its devotees from non-believers, some of whom they dub 'Suppressive Persons'.
Former leading Scientologist Karen De La Carriere — once married to the religion's president — tells me she's sure Scientology is at the root of the rift.
