Hanks was born in Concord, California, in 1956. After his parents divorced when he was a toddler, Hanks lived with his father, a cook. He studied acting in high school and played with a Shakespeare festival for three years. He appeared in a horror flick, He Knows You’re Alone, in 1980, then made a splash with Splash in 1984, followed by a huge success with Big in 1988, for which he was nominated for an Oscar. After several quiet years, his career took off again with Sleepless in Seattle (1993); he is now considered one of the top box office draws alive. He won the Best Actor Oscar twice, for Philadelphia in 1993 and Forrest Gump in 1994.