Who is Tom Hanks’ only daughter, the writer Elizabeth Ann Hanks? The low-key 42-year-old was in Forrest Gump with her dad, and has shared a photo of herself hanging out with Paris Hilton as a child

Jan 28 , 2025

Actor Tom Hanks and his daughter Elizabeth Ann Hanks are both writers. Photo: Getty Images

Elizabeth Hanks is the daughter of Tom Hanks and the actress Samantha Lewes, and she has 3 brothers – Colin, Chet and Truman Hanks

Tom Hanks knows a thing or two about parenting – he is a father of four children, after all.

Elizabeth Ann Hanks is 42 years old. Photo: @eahanks/Instagram

Last October, he opened up about his role as a dad in an episode of On Purpose with Jay Shetty. He explained how growing up, his parents were very preoccupied with their own lives and he was forced to move around a lot. When asked whether he had tried to parent differently from his own upbringing, he said: “I try to, but I made every mistake. You know, you scar the kids somehow in the same exact way,” Hanks admitted. “And as they get older, you come back around and [say], ‘Hey, can I talk about what a knothead I was with you for all those years?’ And [they say], ‘Yeah, sure, dad. Yeah, I’ve been kind of waiting for this. Why don’t you unload.’”

Elizabeth Ann Hanks at California Pride in 2023. Photo: @eahanks/Instagram

When it comes to his four children, each have very different personalities. “How different they all are. They are not the same type of human being ever,” said the Forrest Gump star.

Here’s what we know about his only daughter:

Who are Elizabeth Ann Hanks’ parents?

Tom Hanks, son Chester Hanks and Rita Wilson. Photo: /FilmMagic

Elizabeth was born to Tom Hanks and his late ex-wife Samantha Lewes on May 17, 1982, in Sacramento, where she grew up.

Hanks was still very young when Elizabeth and her older brother Colin were born. “My son Colin was born when I was very young. As well as my daughter,” the Cast Away actor told The New York Times. “They remember when their dad was just a guy trying to, you know, make the rent. My other kids, they were born after I had established a beachhead in every way. And so their lives were just different.”

What does Elizabeth Ann Hanks do for a living?

Elizabeth Ann Hanks is a writer. Photo: @eahanks/Instagram

As a child, Elizabeth joined her dad on numerous occasions to make minor appearances in his films. She went on to intern at Vanity Fair while Graydon Carter was working as editor and became a writer under the name E.A. Hanks. She has since written for publications including Time, The Guardian, The New York Times and Huffington Post, per People magazine.