Tom Cruise And His Hottest Romances

Just a few weeks back, Tom Cruise enlivened the silver screen with his scintillating portrayal of a long-haired, torso-baring rock icon in the musical, Rock of Ages.

And today, he turns a dashing 50 with his miraculously preserved good looks.

While there's no doubting his international superstardom with numerous blockbusters, including the fourth and latest addition in the Mission Impossible franchise, to his credit, it's not exactly a celebratory time for one of the most recognised faces on this planet.

Last week, his actress wife of five and half years, Katie Holmes filed for divorce from Cruise leading to tremendous surprise and intense speculation. Hopefully, both the concerned individuals will find the strength to get over this painful chapter of their respective lives and move on with dignity for the sake of their six-year old daughter, Suri.

For better or worse, our birthday boy has dated or committed to some of the hottest ladies in Hollywood. Take a look.

Katie Holmes

It all began like a perfect 'fairy tale romance' setting. 

Dubbed TomKat by the paparazzi, the duo despite a 16-years age gap appeared to be crazy about each other. Within three months of dating, he proposed to her on the Eiffel Tower with an irresistible rock followed by a dream wedding in an Italian castle.

The next few years the handsome couple along with their pretty daughter and lovey-dovey quotes to magazines appeared to be a picture of familial bliss. The pressure of being Mrs Tom Cruise and following her illustrious husband's obsession with Scientology, however, seems to be the cause of TomKat's shocking split.

Cruise and Spanish beauty, Penelope Cruz hit it off while shooting for the Cameron Crowe's Vanilla Sky (2001). Their combined star status and glamorous red carpet appearances ensured the pair enjoys a lot of coverage in the media.

Long work schedules apart from each other played truant and the couple grew apart, calling it quits after nearly three years of being together.

After Cruz and before Holmes, not many are aware that Modern Family's Sofia Vergera played Cruise's love interest for a brief period.

The Columbian seductress and Top Gun star hooped up at Will Smith's party and dated for a bit before Cruise's reported attempt to initiate her into Scientology compelled her to put a lid on it.

Considered one of the rare, rock solid marriages of Hollywood, theirs was a split that genuinely saddened fans worldwide.

Cruise met Nicole Kidman on the sets of their film, Days of Thunder (1990). Within a year, the adorable duo had turned man and wife, adopting two children -- Isabella and Connor.

They continued to work together in films like Far and Away along with Stanley Kubrick's last film, Eyes Wide Shut, an erotic thriller, which is said to have cast an enormous strain on their personal equation.

The separation worked out fabulously for Kidman with her career hitting an all-time high through memorable films like Moulin Rouge, The Others, The Hours and a deserving Oscar victory.

In a bizarre coincidence, like Holmes and Kidman, Mimi Rogers too was all of 33 when she decided to break it off with Cruise in 1990.

Being Cruise's Scientology counselor, the six-year old senior actress' interactions fuelled a romantic relationship leading to the altar.

But after three years of togetherness and rumours of intimacy issues, things came to a halt even though the couple continue to be on amicable terms.

The idea of Tom Cruise and Cher being romantically involved just screams 'odd.' Believe it or not, the MI star and the husky diva used to be a number long, long ago.

While we rarely ever hear Cruise speak out on his past relationships, Cher admits it was fun while it lasted but probably cannot relate to the superstar he's become today.

Both Rebecca De Mornay and Tom Cruise share one thing in common. Their breakthrough film: 1983's Risky Business.

Perhaps all the sizzling love-making scenes ignited passion within the co-stars who dated and lived-in for a good two years before realising they aren't 'forever' material and went on their separate ways.

Soap queen Heather Locklear of Dynasty and Melrose Place fame found a toy boy in 18-year-old Cruise long before he was anywhere close to stardom. 'He called me Ma'am,' she says.

Accompanying him to parties and a short-lived flirtation was as far as it could get.

A typical teenybopper romance, child star and actress Melissa Gilbert couldn't get enough of dreamboat Cruise. And although they didn't get too far as a couple Gilbert continues to speak in a supportive tone about her old crush.

When grapevine buzzed over Cruise's sexuality, Gilbert revealed how the star of The Last Samurai gave her 'butterflies in my tummy, and there was a lot of making out on the couch in my mom's living room.'