Rebecca De Mornay became a rising celebrity in Hollywood because to her role in Risky Business. Her future appeared bright, and her brilliance was apparent.
De Mornay’s career took a different direction, one that few could have anticipated, while her co-star Tom Cruise shot to international fame.
Strange upbringing
1959 saw the birth of Rebecca De Mornay in Santa Rosa, California. Many people have characterized her upbringing as unusual, even chaotic.
Breakthrough
De Mornay relocated to Los Angeles in 1980 and began studying acting at the renowned Lee Strasberg Institute.
Although De Mornay had a brief part in Francis Ford Coppola’s 1981 picture One from the Heart, it was her breakout performance in Risky Business, which came out just two years later, that really made her famous.
A passionate relationship with Tom Cruise
De Mornay had no idea that Risky Business would lead to a new romance, but she felt it was bound to be a hi:t. She and Tom Cruise fell in love throughout the production in addition to having a professional connection. There was no denying their on-screen chemistry, and the sparks kept flying off-camera.
“It’s no secret that Tom engaged in an intense affa:ir during the shooting with De Mornay,” Curtis Armstrong, who costarred in Risky Business alongside Tom and Rebecca, recalled in his 2017 memoir.
At the time, De Mornay was seeing actor Harry Dean Stanton, whom she had met while filming One from the Heart in the early 1980s. However, as soon as she and Cruise started falling for one another, their romance swiftly ended.
At this point, De Mornay was ecstatic. She was incredibly in love and one of Hollywood’s most attractive names. Looking back on their quick ascent to popularity, De Mornay said it was an exhilarating and overwhelming experience.
However, De Mornay’s momentum slowed and the business lost interest in her, while Cruise soared to become one of the most successful performers in movie history.
“I was a more complicated, mysterious presence, innately than Tom,” she told The Wrap in 2023. “His presence is more like, I would say, a major chord, [thinking] in music terms, and I’m more of a minor chord…America really, really loves the major chords.”
The husband of Rebecca De Mornay
She decided to put her family first after meeting actor-turned-sportscaster Patrick O’Neal in 1995. Sophia, born on November 16, 1997, and Veronica, born on March 31, 2001, were the two girls they raised together.
“I’m not really sure how some of these well-known actresses manage to have children. Perhaps they can multitask well? She told The Wrap, “I’m not.”
In 2002, De Mornay and O’Neal split up.
