Tom Hanks reacts to daughter’s memoir claim that mother was emotionally and physically abusive

E.A. Hanks’s memoir hit shelves in April

Tom Hanks has opened up about claims made in his daughter E.A. Hanks’s memoir.

E.A. — which stands for Elizabeth Anne — was the daughter of the Forrest Gump actor’s first wife, Susan Dillingham. In her memoir, The 10: A Memoir of Family And The Open Road, which was published back in April, she claimed her mother was both verbally and physically abusive.

Despite her mother never receiving a formal diagnosis, E.A. assumed that her mother was bipolar with episodes of extreme paranoia and delusion.

Her father weighed in on the claims while speaking to Access Hollywood on during the red carpet for the premiere of Wes Anderson’s new movie, The Phoenician Scheme.

“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,” Tom said. “We all come from checkered, cracked lives, all of us.”

E.A. Hanks and Tom Hanks discussed her book, ‘The 10: A Memoir Of Family And The Open Road,’ at a New York event in April (Getty Images for ABA)

“She’s a knockout, always has been,” he added. “If you’ve had kids, you realize that you see who they are when they’re about 6 weeks old.”

Dillingham and Hanks were married from 1978 to 1987, with Dillingham receiving primary custody of both of their children. However, one day, E.A.’s mother spontaneously decided to move her and her older brother Colin from Sacramento, California, to Los Angeles without informing Tom.

“My dad came to pick us up from school and we’re not there,” E.A. said. “And it turns out we haven't been there for two weeks and he has to track us down.”

Hanks went on to marry Rita Wilson in 1988, and they welcomed two sons: Chet in 1990 and Truman in 1995.

The Cast Away actor has previously opened up about the differences between his two sets of children in a 2019 interview with The New York Times. “My son [Colin] was born when I was very young. As well as my daughter [Elizabeth],” he said.

He explained that after being a parent as long as he has, the best thing a mother or father can say to their children is, “I love you, there's nothing you can do wrong, you cannot hurt my feelings, I hope you will forgive me on occasion, and what do you need me to do?”

“You offer up that to them,” Tom continued. “‘I will do anything I can possibly do in order to keep you safe.’ That's it. Offer that up and then just love them.”