People.com Entertainment Movies Rosie O'Donnell Talks Friendship with 'Classy' Tom Cruise and Why She 'Will Always Love' Him "He is the only person who never misses my birthday," Rosie O'Donnell said of Tom Cruise By Benjamin VanHoose Benjamin VanHoose Twitter Benjamin VanHoose is an Associate Editor on the Movies team at PEOPLE. He's worked at PEOPLE for over three years as a writer and reporter across our Entertainment, Lifestyle and News teams, covering everything from the Johnny Depp v. Amber Heard trial to the Oscars. He regularly covers red carpet events and has interviewed stars like Drew Barrymore, Ryan Reynolds and Kirsten Dunst. He previously worked as a copy editor at Topix Media Lab. People Editorial Guidelines Published on June 25, 2021 10:32 AM Share Tweet Pin Email Rosie O'Donnell is opening up about her decades-long friendship with "classy" Tom Cruise. During her appearance on SiriusXM's The Jess Cagle Show this week, O'Donnell, 59, spoke about why she'll "always love" the Mission: Impossible actor, 58, even if she does not "understand" his Scientology beliefs. "He is the only person who never misses my birthday. In knowing him for 25 years now, he has never missed my birthday or an event in my life," said O'Donnell. "Now, I don't know him enough to go, 'Hey, Tommy, it's Ro, the Scientology thing -- can we chat?' Like, that's not my relationship with Tom Cruise. I don't have his home phone number." "I know people think in Hollywood and celebrity [that] everybody knows each other, but I know him in the way that I did in that time 25 years ago," she added. "But every year, I think what a classy guy he is that he never has forgotten my birthday." Continuing, she said, "A lot of people say to me it's just his secretary, but I don't believe that. I think he knows in early March, 'Oh, it's Rosie's birthday coming up,' and he sends me something. Every single year for 25 years." Nicole Kidman Says She Was 'Happily Married' to Tom Cruise While Making Eyes Wide Shut Together Bruce Glikas/WireImage; Ethan Miller/Getty Want to get the biggest stories from PEOPLE every weekday? Subscribe to our new podcast, PEOPLE Every Day, to get the essential celebrity, entertainment and human interest news stories Monday through Friday. "I love Tom Cruise and I will always love Tom Cruise. I do not understand, you know, the Scientology religion," O'Donnell added during the interview, also calling the controversial church "scary." She went on to praise former Scientology member Leah Remini, who is now one of its most vocal critics. Tom Cruise and Rosie O'Donnell in 2001. Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic SGranitz/WireImage RELATED GALLERY: Celebs You Didn't Know Were Friends In December, O'Donnell shared a photo on Instagram of a Christmas gift she received from Cruise. The gold-decorated gift had a message that read, "To: Rosie O'Donnell. Warmest wishes to you this Holiday Season --Tom Cruise." She captioned the photo, "Christmas is here when tommy's gift shows up #holidayseason." Cruise previously appeared as a guest on The Rosie O'Donnell Show, which ended in 2002, bringing her a bouquet of flowers and hugging the talk show host when he was promoting his movie Vanilla Sky back in 2001. She told him in that TV interview, "I enjoy you a lot. I know you know it."