Samantha Lewes lived most of her adult life away from the public eye. She wasn’t a household name, and she seemed to prefer it that way. But her death in 2002 at just 49 years old, combined with recent attention from her daughter’s memoir, has brought renewed interest in who she really was.
This article covers the confirmed details of her death, the conflicting reports about her cancer diagnosis, her marriage to Tom Hanks, her children, and the small but real acting career she had before stepping out of the spotlight.
Who Samantha Lewes Actually Was
Most people know the name Samantha Lewes only because of her connection to Tom Hanks. But that wasn’t her real name. She was born Susan Jane Dillingham on November 29, 1952, in San Diego, California. Her parents were John Raymond Dillingham and Harriet Hall Dillingham.
She adopted the stage name Samantha Lewes when she began pursuing acting. It’s the name that stuck in public records, media coverage, and her IMDb profile — even though friends and family likely knew her as Susan.
Outside of her ties to Hanks and her children, very little is publicly known about her upbringing or personal life. She was consistently described by those who covered her story as a private person who deliberately stayed out of the celebrity world, even after her marriage to one of Hollywood’s biggest stars.
Her acting career was modest. She appeared in Bosom Buddies in 1980 and Mr. Success in 1984. These were small credits, and she never built a profile that stood on its own. That’s part of why so much of what’s written about her centers on Tom Hanks rather than her own work.
How She Died and Why Sources Disagree on the Cancer Type
Samantha Lewes died on March 12, 2002, in Sacramento, California. She was 49 years old. She is buried at East Lawn Memorial Park in Sacramento, according to Find A Grave records.
The cause of death was cancer. But if you look across different sources, the descriptions don’t quite match — and that’s worth explaining honestly.
Bone Cancer vs. Lung Cancer: Where the Confusion Comes From
IMDb and several entertainment sites list the cause of death as bone cancer. People magazine and the South China Morning Post describe it as lung cancer. Both groups of sources are referring to the same person and the same illness — so why the difference?
The most likely explanation is metastasis. Tuko reports that her cancer was discovered around 2001 after a routine checkup and had already spread to her lungs and brain by the time it was found. When cancer starts in one place and spreads to others, different sources sometimes name different parts of the illness.
One person might remember it as bone cancer because that was the primary diagnosis. Another might describe it as lung cancer because that’s where the disease had advanced or where it was most discussed. Neither account is necessarily wrong — they may simply be describing different stages or aspects of the same condition.
What is clear across all sources is this: she was diagnosed with cancer in 2001 that had already spread to multiple organs, and she died in March 2002 at age 49. Reports suggest she had only a few months to live from the time the cancer was discovered.
Her Marriage to Tom Hanks and the Divorce
Samantha Lewes and Tom Hanks met as theater students at California State University, Sacramento — also known as Sacramento State. They were both young and relatively unknown at the time, just two people studying acting in Northern California.
Their son Colin Hanks was born in 1977, before the two married. They wed in January 1978. At the time, Hanks was around 22 and Lewes was around 26. Their daughter Elizabeth Anne Hanks — known publicly as E.A. Hanks — was born in 1982.
The marriage lasted roughly nine years. They separated around 1985, and the divorce was finalized in 1987. After the split, Lewes reportedly retained primary custody of both Colin and Elizabeth.
During those years, Hanks’ career grew significantly. By the mid-1980s, he was gaining real Hollywood momentum with films like Splash and Big on the horizon. Lewes, by contrast, remained largely out of public view before, during, and after the marriage.
No documented source explains the specific reasons behind their separation, and this article won’t speculate on that. What’s confirmed is that they divorced in 1987, and Hanks went on to marry actress Rita Wilson in 1988.
Her Two Children and Their Lives Today
Samantha Lewes had two children with Tom Hanks, and both have gone on to build careers of their own.
Colin Hanks
Colin Hanks was born in 1977. He followed his parents into acting and has had a substantial career. He’s appeared in films and television series and is probably best known to audiences from shows like Fargo and The Good Guys. He was around 24 when his mother passed away in 2002.
E.A. Hanks and the 2025 Memoir
Elizabeth Anne Hanks, who goes by E.A. Hanks, was born in 1982. She works as a writer and editor and has been far less public-facing than her brother.
In 2025, E.A. published a memoir titled “The 10: A Memoir of Family and the Open Road.” The book brought renewed media attention to Samantha Lewes, because it includes E.A.’s personal account of growing up with her mother.
In the memoir, E.A. alleges that her mother was emotionally and physically abusive. The accounts she describes include pushing, shaking, pulling hair, and being locked in a closet. She also suggests her mother struggled with mental illness.
It’s important to be clear about what these claims are and aren’t. They are E.A. Hanks’ personal allegations in a memoir. They represent her experience and perspective. They have not been independently verified or legally established. Samantha Lewes died in 2002 and cannot respond.
That doesn’t mean E.A.’s account should be dismissed — memoirs are a legitimate way for people to process complicated family histories. But readers should understand that they are reading one person’s account, not a documented or confirmed record of events.
The memoir’s publication in 2025 is the main reason searches about Samantha Lewes have picked up again. People are trying to understand who she was, what her relationship with her daughter was like, and how her early death fits into the larger story of the Hanks family.
A Life Mostly Lived Out of the Public Eye
There’s a certain sadness to Samantha Lewes’ story. She was young when she got married, became a mother quickly, and found herself tied to a man who would become one of the most famous actors in the world. She didn’t chase that spotlight herself.
After the divorce, she raised her children in Sacramento while Tom Hanks’ career soared. She got sick in 2001, and she was gone within a year. She was 49.
For readers interested in more celebrity profiles and background stories like this one, Weekly Business Mag covers a wide range of topics in the celebrity and entertainment space.
What we know about her life comes mostly through other people — her ex-husband’s fame, her son’s career, her daughter’s memoir. The woman herself left few public traces, which may have been exactly what she wanted.
Quick Summary of Key Facts
- Real name: Susan Jane Dillingham
- Born: November 29, 1952, in San Diego, California
- Died: March 12, 2002, in Sacramento, California, age 49
- Cause of death: Cancer diagnosed in 2001, reported by some sources as bone cancer, others as lung cancer; had spread to lungs and brain
- Married to Tom Hanks: January 1978 to 1987
- Children: Colin Hanks (born 1977) and E.A. Hanks (born 1982)
- Buried at: East Lawn Memorial Park, Sacramento
Samantha Lewes was not a famous person in her own right. But she was a real person — a mother, a former actress, someone who shaped a family that the public has followed for decades. Her story deserves to be told accurately, and with care for the complexity it holds.
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