Tom Cruise Gifts Dakota Fanning a Pair Shoes for Her Birthday Every Year 

Dakota Fanning has a seemingly endless selection of footwear thanks to Tom Cruise. 

Fanning, 30, revealed during the Wednesday, June 5, episode of The Kelly Clarkson Show that Cruise, 61, has been sending her a pair of shoes for her birthday every year since they starred in the 2005 film War of the Worlds.

The gift-giving started when Fanning turned 11 and Cruise presented her with her first-ever cell phone: a Motorola Razr. “I wanted a Razr so bad. I must have been talking about it a lot,” Fanning told Clarkson, 42. 

Following her Razr obsession, Fanning turned her attention to fashion. “I loved shoes when I was little,” Fanning explained. “I started to be able to fit into really small adult shoes during the War of the Worlds press tour, so I was very excited about them. From that birthday on, he always sends me shoes.” 

Cruise has kept up the tradition, sending Fanning shoes for her 30th birthday in February. 

Aside from talking about her bond with Cruise, Fanning appeared on the show to promote her new film The Watchers, the first horror film she’s starred in as an adult. The eerie movie follows Fanning’s Mina — a young artist who gets stranded in a forest in western Ireland, per IMDb. 

Throughout the press tour, Fanning has proved the power of a good strappy sandal. For her appearance on The Kelly Clarkson Show, she teamed a delicate floral dress by Prada with open-toe metallic heels. For a Tuesday, June 4, appearance on CBS Mornings, she rocked a mint-colored frock with a different pair of shimmering sandals. 

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Fanning praised the film during her CBS Mornings visit, telling host Gayle King, it’s “suspenseful” and she was drawn to the project as it marks Ishana Night Shyamalan’s directorial debut. Ishana is the daughter of M. Night Shyamalan, who directed Split (2016), Unbreakable (2000), The Sixth Sense (1999) and more. 

The Watchers premieres on Friday, June 7.