Serial Killer Andrew Cunanan's Hollywood Target List Revealed on 28 Year Anniversary of Gianni Versace Murder
July 15 2025, Published 4:47 p.m. ET
Gianni Versace was brutally murdered outside his Miami, Florida, home by Andrew Cunanan 28 years ago on July 15, 1997, but he wasn't the only high-profile target on the serial killer's list.
RadarOnline.com can reveal Cunanan's fascination with Tom Cruise and how Lisa Kudrow was "cornered" by the killer weeks before he opened fire on the fashion designer.
Cunanan's Obsession
Cunanan's former friend said he had a 'Cruise gauge' for 'rating other guys.'
A former friend of Cunanan, who worked as a sex worker before he went on his killing spree, revealed his unhealthy obsession with Tom Cruise after Versace's murder.
Michael O'Brien recalled: "Andrew was consumed with Tom. He lusted after him sexually. He had a Cruise gauge or meter when it came to rating other guys.
"If somebody said to him a guy on the street was cute, Andrew would said, 'Oh, he's OK, but he's no Tom Cruise. No guy is as cute as my Tom.'"
At the time of Versace's murder, Cunanan was just a four-hour drive away from Cruise's Florida home.
Delusional
The friend said Cunanan stalked Hollywood hotspots 'in hopes of running into' Cruise.
According to O'Brien, Cunanan's lust for Cruise went beyond mere physical appreciation – and the delusional killer "really believed" he would end up with the Risky Business star one day.
O'Brien shared: "Andrew wanted to be Tom Cruise and often emulated him. He'd go to Hollywood and hit the best places and drive around in a rented BMW in the hopes of running into his hero.
"He had a vast collection of leather jackets, but his favorite was the bomber jacket that looked exactly like the one Cruise wore in Top Gun. Andrew would look in the mirror and pretend to be the characters Tom played in the movies."
The former friend added: "He really believed that one day he and Tom might actually be together. That's how crazy he was about the whole thing."
Dinner Party
Kurdrow told a friend Cunanan gave her 'the creeps' and wouldn't leave her alone at a dinner party weeks before Versace's murder.
While Cruise and Cunanan's paths luckily never crossed, the killer managed to meet sitcom star Kudrow at a Hollywood dinner party weeks before he murdered Versace – and the eerie encounter made a lasting impression on the actress.
A source close to Kudrow said: "Lisa told me, 'This guy really gave me the creeps! He cornered me and wouldn't go away! He was this intense, strange person who wouldn't leave me alone.'"
Kudrow's friend said she described the "wild look" in Cunanan's eyes as he rambled about his Hollywood ambitions.
'Wild Look in His Eyes'
Kudrow told her pal Cunanan had a 'wild look in his eyes.'
The close friend recalled the actress saying: "He had this wild look in his eyes – and he kept talking and talking about himself.
"He told me what a great actor he would be, and he dropped name after name. I was so uncomfortable.
"I was trying to think of anything to say to get away from him. And when no one came over to rescue me, I decided to say I had to go to the bathroom – just so I had a reason to get up and get out of there."
Writer and director Tom Haynes also recalled Cunanan trapping Kudrow in conversation at the party – and how the killer attended the party with his boyfriend and future victim, David Madson.
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'He Looked Furious'
Haynes said: "Cunanan immediately focused on (Kudrow), sat by her side and wouldn't leave. The more she tried to get away, the more irritated he would become.
"When she finally walked away, he looked furious."
The director noted Madson took a photo of Cunanan and Kudrow together at the party. Police later said the photograph was missing when they found Madson's body.
Before fatally shooting Versace, Cunanan killed four other men in a three month span, beginning with the murder of his friend Jeff Trail on April 27, 1997.
Eight days after the fashion designer's body was discovered at his mansion, Cunanan took his own life on a luxury Miami houseboat with a pistol stolen from Trail and used in the murders of Versace, Madson and William Reese.
