Tom Hanks Addresses Daughter Elizabeth Hanks’ Claims of Abuse in Her New Memoir

Tom Hanks and his daughter, E.A. Hanks, are in the spotlight following the release of her memoir detailing childhood abuse. The book, which includes claims about her late mother, Samantha Lewes, has sparked public interest in the family’s past. Now, Tom Hanks has spoken about the memoir and his daughter’s decision to share her story.

Here’s what Hanks said about how his daughter described her upbringing, and what the memoir reveals about their family dynamic.

Tom Hanks opens up about daughter’s memoir detailing childhood abuse

Tom Hanks recently addressed the release of his daughter E.A. Hanks’ memoir, The 10: A Memoir of Family and the Open Road, which details allegations of emotional and physical abuse by her mother, Samantha Lewes.

Speaking to Access Hollywood at the red carpet premiere of The Phoenician Scheme in May 2025, Hanks said, “I’m not surprised that my daughter had the wherewithal as well as the curiosity…to examine this thing that I think she was incredibly honest about.” He added, “We all come from checkered, cracked lives, all of us.”

E.A. Hanks, born Elizabeth Anne, released the memoir on April 8. She wrote that her mother, Susan Dillingham (known professionally as Samantha Lewes), inflicted emotional and physical violence. This included pushing, shaking, pulling her hair, and locking her in closets.

E.A. claimed, “My custody arrangement basically switched now I lived in L.A. and visited Sacramento on the weekends and in the summer.” (via People)

Hanks and Lewes exchanged wedding vows in 1978 and divorced in 1987. After their separation, Lewes received primary custody of E.A. and her brother Colin. E.A. said she moved in with Hanks during seventh grade after one violent incident. She described a home with expired food, dog waste in the yard, and her mother often bedridden with a Bible.

About his daughter, Tom Hanks said, “She’s a knockout, always has been,” and described recognizing her kids’ personalities from six weeks old. He shares E.A. and Colin Hanks with Lewes, who died in 2002 from lung cancer. Earlier, E.A. told PEOPLE, “Rita’s not really a stepmother, she’s my other mother,” referring to Hanks’ wife Rita Wilson, whom he married in 1988. Hanks and Wilson have two sons, Chet and Truman.

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