EA Hanks's Memoir Reveals Impact of Fame on Family

In her memoir, The 10: A Memoir of Family and The Open Road, E.A. Hanks, daughter of Tom Hanks, reveals the profound impact of her father's fame on her mother, Susan Dillingham. She describes Dillingham as a 'would-be actress' who never recovered from Hanks's rise to stardom in the 1980s, characterizing the situation as 'catastrophic.' E.A. explains that her mother's struggles with mental health, which she suspects included undiagnosed bipolar disorder, led to a chaotic home environment after Hanks and Dillingham divorced. The memoir also highlights E.A.'s close bond with her stepmother, Rita Wilson, and explores the emotional toll that celebrity culture can have on families. E.A. emphasizes that her mother's feelings of insignificance in the shadow of Hanks's fame contributed to a complex and painful childhood. This narrative serves as a poignant reflection on the personal costs of stardom, even for those closest to the celebrity.