Tom Cruise Sends Dakota Fanning This Bizarre Gift On Her Birthday Every Year

Dakota Fanning has been in the spotlight since she melted hearts as little Lucy Dawson in 2001's "I Am Sam" alongside Sean Penn. Not only has the child-actor-turned-acclaimed-movie-star built an extensive list of credits in the industry over the past decades, but Fanning has also apparently collected quite a shoe collection along with her success. According to the actor, it is all thanks to her former co-star, Tom Cruise.

It is known that Cruise sends an annual sweet treat to everyone on his list during the holidays, but he has purportedly been specifically generous to Fanning — who played his daughter in the 2005 film "War of the Worlds" — sending her a pair of shoes on her birthday every year. "It's really as simple as that. He's just always given me shoes," she told Brittany Snow and Andy Cohen on "Watch What Happens Live" in November 2025, leaving many wondering the peculiar reason.

Fanning elaborated on the "Today" show days after her "WWHL" appearance. "It's a tradition that started, I think, on my 12th birthday," said the "Vicious" actor, who was filming "War of the Worlds" when she passed the tween milestone. Fanning explained how, at the time, she was obsessed with footwear and had just grown out of the kids' size. "And so for that birthday, he gave me a pair of shoes, and he has kept the tradition going for 20 years," she said, noting that they tend to be "nice" pairs, after Craig Melvin asked if they were designer.

Tom Cruise's birthday tradition with Dakota Fanning didn't start on her 12th birthday. Indeed, the "Top Gun" star gifted his young co-star a lavish present on her special day the year before. "I turned 11 on 'War of the Worlds' when we worked together, and he gave me my first cellphone for that birthday," Fanning revealed on "The Kelly Clarkson Show" in June 2024. "It was a Motorola Razr ... I didn't have anyone to call, but I just wanted a Razr so bad."

Fanning has also admitted her surprise that the tradition has lasted as long as it has. She told Entertainment Tonight in 2024 that she figured Cruise would stop sending her a gift every year after her 18th or 21st birthday, but was shocked when the presents kept coming. According to Fanning, Cruise gave her a reason a few years back. "He said a few years ago that he liked, sort of, that moment of checking in once a year, and it's just so thoughtful." Given Cruise's rocky relationship with his daughter, Suri, it seems like the Hollywood legend is focusing his dad energy on his on-screen daughter instead. Nonetheless, his sweet gesture to Fanning spotlights their unbreakable bond.