Samantha Lewes is often introduced through her marriage to Tom Hanks, but that description captures only part of her story. Born Susan Jane Dillingham, she used the name Samantha Lewes professionally and had a small acting career of her own. She was also the mother of Colin Hanks and E.A. Hanks, who later built public careers in acting, filmmaking, and writing.
Interest in Lewes has continued long after her death, partly because of Hanks’ extraordinary career and, more recently, because E.A. Hanks has written about her mother and their family history. A careful profile therefore needs more than dates. It also needs to separate well-documented facts from later recollections and uncertain details.
Quick Bio: Samantha Lewes
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Professional name | Samantha Lewes |
| Birth name | Susan Jane Dillingham |
| Date of birth | November 29, 1952 |
| Birthplace | San Diego, California |
| Profession | Actress |
| Known for | Bosom Buddies, Mr. Success |
| Former husband | Tom Hanks |
| Children | Colin Hanks, E.A. Hanks |
| Date of death | March 12, 2002 |
| Age at death | 49 |
These core biographical details are supported by her documented acting record and established family reporting.
From Susan Dillingham to Samantha Lewes
Lewes was born Susan Jane Dillingham in San Diego in 1952. She later became known professionally as Samantha Lewes, the name attached to her acting work. Public information about her early childhood is limited, so a reliable biography should avoid filling that gap with unsupported stories.
Her life became closely connected with theater as a young adult. She and Tom Hanks met in the Sacramento theater community during the 1970s, when both were far from the level of fame Hanks would later achieve. That shared interest in performance helps place Lewes within the creative world she entered on her own terms.
Her Acting Career Was Small but Real
Lewes is sometimes described in a way that makes her sound like a major Hollywood performer. The documented record is more modest. She appeared in an episode of the television comedy Bosom Buddies in 1981 and later received a credit in the 1984 television movie Mr. Success.
Those credits show that she did act professionally, even though her screen résumé was brief. Her public identity later became much more closely tied to her family than to a long-running acting career, and a balanced biography should make that distinction clear rather than inflate her work.
Marriage to Tom Hanks
Lewes and Tom Hanks married in 1978, while Hanks was still at the beginning of his career. Their son, Colin Hanks, had been born in 1977, before the marriage. Their daughter, Elizabeth Hanks, now widely known as E.A. Hanks, was born in 1982.
Their marriage came years before films such as Big, Philadelphia, and Forrest Gump made Hanks one of Hollywood’s best-known actors. Lewes was part of an earlier stage of his life, when the family was dealing with young parenthood and an uncertain acting career rather than later celebrity.
The couple separated in the mid-1980s and finalized their divorce in 1987. Hanks has spoken publicly about how young he was when he became a husband and father and about the pressures of that period. Lewes remained far more private, and reliable public information about her romantic life after the divorce is limited.
Samantha Lewes as a Mother
Lewes’ children became notable in different fields. Colin Hanks built a career in film and television, while E.A. Hanks became a writer and journalist.
Family is central to why interest in Samantha Lewes has lasted. She was not only Tom Hanks’ first wife; she was the mother of his two eldest children and part of a family story that began before his international fame. Responsible coverage, however, should not turn later family difficulties into entertainment.
E.A. Hanks explored her relationship with her mother in the 2025 memoir The 10: A Memoir of Family and the Open Road. The book uses a road journey to examine memory, family history, and the author’s effort to understand her late mother. It adds an important personal perspective, but it remains a daughter’s memoir rather than an independent record of every event discussed.
Her Death and the Question of Cause
Samantha Lewes died in Sacramento, California, on March 12, 2002, at the age of 49. Cancer is consistently associated with her death, but published accounts differ over the specific diagnosis. Some recent reports identify lung cancer, while entertainment databases and older profiles list bone cancer.
Because those accounts conflict, the most responsible approach is not to present one cancer type as unquestionably established. What can be stated with confidence is that Lewes died from cancer at 49. This is a useful example of why careful celebrity biographies should acknowledge uncertainty instead of repeating a claim simply because it appears online.
Why Samantha Lewes Still Draws Interest
Lewes never developed the kind of public career that would normally keep a performer in the spotlight for decades. Her continued relevance comes from several parts of her life: her early acting work, her marriage to Tom Hanks, her role as the mother of Colin and E.A. Hanks, and her daughter’s later effort to understand their family history.
That combination is also why her story is easy to oversimplify. Calling her only “Tom Hanks’ first wife” leaves out her own identity, while presenting her as a major actress overstates a limited screen career. A balanced profile sits between those extremes.
Conclusion
Samantha Lewes lived much of her life outside the intense fame that later surrounded Tom Hanks and their children. Her documented acting work was brief, but it belonged to her own creative life, and her years with Hanks came during a formative period before he became a global film star.
Today, her story is best understood through verified facts and careful context. She was Susan Jane Dillingham, professionally known as Samantha Lewes, an actress, former wife of Tom Hanks, and mother of Colin and E.A. Hanks. E.A. Hanks’ memoir adds another layer to that story, but it should be handled as personal recollection rather than an invitation to speculate about Lewes’ private life.
FAQs
Who was Samantha Lewes?
Samantha Lewes was the professional name of Susan Jane Dillingham, an actress best known publicly as Tom Hanks’ first wife and the mother of Colin and E.A. Hanks.
Was Samantha Lewes an actress?
Yes. Her documented screen credits include Bosom Buddies and the television movie Mr. Success, although her acting career was brief.
How many children did Samantha Lewes have?
She had two children with Tom Hanks: Colin Hanks and E.A. Hanks.
When did Samantha Lewes and Tom Hanks divorce?
Their divorce was finalized in 1987, after they married in 1978.
When did Samantha Lewes die?
She died on March 12, 2002, in Sacramento, California, at the age of 49.
What was Samantha Lewes’ cause of death?
Cancer is widely reported as the cause, but published accounts differ on the exact type. The precise diagnosis should therefore be treated cautiously.
Also, Read: Rodd Elizondo
