Isabella Bella Cruise Today: The Life Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman’s Daughter Built Beyond the Spotlight
Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman became first-time parents in 1992, adopting Isabella Bella Jane Cruise after her birth mother, unable to support a third child, left her with the Church of Scientology.
Here is the short version up top: Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman adopted their first child, Isabella 'Bella' Jane Cruise, in 1992. The family story that followed has all the inside-baseball you would expect when you mix two megastars, a high-profile divorce, and the Church of Scientology. Bella, now an artist living well outside the Hollywood spotlight, has kept her life relatively private, but the history is complicated and, at times, frankly wild.
How Bella came into the picture
Bella was born in 1992, reportedly weighing 9 pounds. Cruise and Kidman met her within hours and adopted her soon after. Multiple outlets have reported that her biological mother left the baby in the care of the Church of Scientology because she could not afford to raise a third child; through that connection, Bella ended up with Cruise and Kidman.
Kidman has said she wanted kids from the minute she married Cruise. After the couple suffered a traumatic pregnancy loss early on, they turned to adoption.
'When I held Bella in my arms, that was the pregnancy, that was everything. I look into those eyes and that crazy love happens. It opens up a part of your heart you didn’t even know was there.'
Divorce, distance, and the Scientology factor
Cruise and Kidman split when Bella was 8 and her younger brother, Connor, was 6. What followed was years of travel and a messy custody back-and-forth. Kidman missed stretches of time with the kids because she was working overseas (including a long shoot in Romania). By the time she returned, Cruise had sent Bella and Connor to a Scientology summer camp, and the children ultimately lived with Cruise full-time after the custody fight ended.
According to reporting at the time, Scientology loomed large over the family dynamics. Vanity Fair sources alleged Cruise considered Kidman a 'Suppressive Person' — the church’s term for someone to be avoided — and told Bella to keep her distance from her mom. John Brousseau, who has ties to the church leadership, claimed that Connor once said: 'Our mom’s an S.P. We hate going and seeing her.'
Kidman, for her part, has chosen to take the high road publicly.
'They have made choices to be Scientologists. It’s our job as a parent to always offer unconditional love.'
The 2015 wedding that neither parent attended
Bella married IT consultant Max Parker in 2015 in a small, private ceremony in London. Neither Cruise nor Kidman was there, and outlets reported Kidman did not even know it was happening. A source described it as a Scientology ceremony. Despite all the awkward optics, Bella pushed back on the idea of a total family rift the following year.
'Of course [we talk], they’re my parents. Anyone who says otherwise is full of sh*t.'
Where things stand with Kidman now
There has been tension, but nothing seems permanently broken. Earlier this year, Kidman posted a Mother’s Day photo with her mom and her two daughters with Keith Urban — Bella and Connor were not in the post — and Bella still liked it. So, not warm and fuzzy, but not nuclear either.
What Bella does now
Bella has largely avoided Hollywood, focusing instead on visual art and design. She studied at the Delmar Academy of Make-up and Hair in West London, then interned at Holmes & Yang, the clothing line run by her then-stepmom Katie Holmes and her partner. Cruise once described Bella as an artist finding her footing in fashion and design. Eventually she launched her own label, BKC (Bella Kidman Cruise), which sells tote bags, tees, and other pieces featuring her illustrations. The brand’s site notes she has been drawing since she could hold a pen, and her Instagram is mostly art posts rather than personal updates.
She remains affiliated with Scientology and has reportedly completed training as an auditor. On the family side, she appears supportive of her half-sister Sunday Rose, often liking posts tied to Sunday’s modeling work.
- Born: 1992; adopted by Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman shortly after birth
- Sibling snapshot: Younger brother Connor (also adopted); younger half-sisters Sunday Rose and Faith Margaret (Kidman/Urban)
- Church ties: Active Scientologist; completed auditor training
- Marriage: Max Parker, 2015, in a small ceremony with no parents present
- Career: Trained in makeup/hair; interned at Holmes & Yang; launched BKC art/fashion line; active on Instagram sharing her artwork
- Family status report: Relationship with Kidman has been strained at times, but there is still contact; she publicly shut down rumors of a total break
It is a very Hollywood story with some very un-Hollywood choices: a famous last name, a low-profile life, and a family history that never stops being a little jaw-dropping when you lay it all out.