Actress Samantha Lewis: biography, personal life, filmography

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

Susan Jane Dillingham was an American actress, commonly known by her stage name Samantha Lewis. She mainly specialized as a theater actress (while working in theaters and took on a pseudonym), but she also made two film appearances in the 1980s, including with her future husband, Tom Hanks.

Career Brief

The biography of Samantha Lewis is not as long as it is with famous screen stars. She just wasn't a star. Samantha was born on November 29, 1952 in San Diego, California, USA. Despite some satisfying acting career, she is better known for her relationship with her first husband Tom Hanks, and as the mother of Colin Hanks and Elizabeth Hanks, who are also established actors.

In 1978, Samantha takes part in the television series Grange Hill. In 1980, she starred with her husband in the series "Bosom Buddies" - Bosom Buddies, but her role there was episodic -a waitress who rarely appeared on the show.

"Bosom Buddies" is a TV series starring Tom Hanks and almost never sees Samantha… Samantha's other screen appearance was as a customer in a TV movie called "Mr. Susses (flashback) friends)", but there are no traces or photographs of this film. As you can see, the filmography of Samantha Lewis consists of 2 films with episodic roles.

Romantic relationship between Samantha and Tom

In the mid-70s, while studying at California State University, Samantha met a young Tom Hanks. At this time he studied at the Faculty of Dramatic Art. She chose Tom precisely because he was not like the offspring of we althy families dreaming of fame and money. She was struck by the game of Tom in the play "The Cherry Orchard". She convinced him to move to New York and make a name for himself there. As a result, they drop out of university and move in together.

Having learned that Samantha was pregnant, Hanks promised her that he would do everything so that his family would not need anything.

As a result of passionate love, young parents have a son, Colin Lewis Dillingham (now famous actor Colin Hanks, born 1977-24-11). A year later, on January 24, 1978, the couple legalized their marriage. After the wedding, Samantha Lewis and Tom Hanks had a daughter - Elizabeth Ann Hanks (born May 17, 1982).

Crack in marriage

While the young people were dating, everything was in their relationshipgreat. Everything in their life began to change from the moment the children appeared in the family. Samantha Lewis was four years older than Tom and, most likely, she was mentally ready for the birth of children. Tom was also not against the appearance of children in the family, but mentally he was not ready to become a father. The burden of responsibility fell on unprepared shoulders. The most difficult test for the young couple was the lack of money at the beginning of their life journey. Tom Hanks was not so famous, but he was a money earner, so he disappeared at work, almost never showing up at home. To provide for his family, he took on any role, as long as it brought money. At one time, the family lived on Hanks' unemployment benefit from Ohio.

The young mother took care of the children. She had to forget about her career. But she blamed her husband for this, although the accusations were by and large absolutely groundless. If you look at her filmography, where there are only one or two films and that's it, she had practically no chances to get on the wide screen and start her career.

Divorce from Tom Hanks

Gradually success began to come to Tom Hanks, he was offered leading roles, his career began to grow. However, it also coincides with the collapse in his personal life. On the surface, Samantha and Tom looked like an exemplary couple, they were very close in the eyes of the public. Their friends thought that their family life would never crack. However, it happened. Something broke in their relationship. While her husband was away at work for days on end, Samantha began to look at him as a machine that makes money.

Samantha, tired of lack of money, her husband's inattention to her and her children, accused Tom Hanks of being a bad father and husband, even providing for his family financially. All these moods in Samantha were from the fact that her career failed. She took the children and did not even want to hear her husband's voice on the phone. She also turned the children against her father, finally deleting her husband from her life and from the life of her children. This happened in 1984. At that time, the son was seven years old, and the daughter was 2 years old. The moment came when Tom felt that he had become a stranger in the family and at work, as he tried to avoid noisy companies.

Tom threw himself into work, feeling even more alone than when he was a child. While auditioning for another film, he met actress Rita Wilson. And in 1987, Samantha Lewis and Tom Hanks were divorced. After the divorce, her husband Tom Hanks married Rita Wilson, Samantha chose not to marry anyone, but to take care of her children.

Samantha after divorce

Divorce was perceived differently by former spouses. Tom found him happy, as he did not hear reproaches from his new wife. But Samantha endured it very hard, although, in fact, she was its initiator. She began to get sick for a long time. Her life literally juggled between work and he alth. Samantha began to regularly examine her body. During one of the regular examinations, she was diagnosed with bone cancer. Her ex-husband, Tom Hanks, helped find world-class doctors and paid for Samantha Lewis's treatment, but nothing could stopillness and only brought the day of the ex-wife's departure closer. The cancer began to metastasize to her lungs and possibly to her brain. Samantha took her last breath on March 12, 2002 in Sacramento, California. According to doctors, the cause of death of Samantha Lewis was bone cancer and metastasis to important vital organs.

Children of Samantha Lewis

Children of actress Samantha Lewis and Tom Hanks, like their parents, are actors who currently have several films. Colin Hanks has been in the film industry since 1996 and is known for his performances in Orange County and The Good Guys. He is also known for his role as Talking Tom in the animated series Talking Tom and Friends. He has been married to Samantha Bryant since 2010 and has two children with her. If Samantha still lived, she would see her beautiful granddaughters Olivia Jane Hanks and Charlotte Bryant Hanks.

As for Elizabeth Hanks, she is an actress playing minor roles in movies. But known for her popular work in Forrest Gump (1994), That Thing You Do! (1996) and Anchoraged (2015).