Editor’s note: This article was first published in April 2015. “Currently” the most famous members, Tom Cruise and John Travolta, refers to 2015. Several people mentioned have since died, including Lisa Marie Presley in 2023.
HBO’s controversial documentary Going Clear has touched a raw nerve among followers of the Church of Scientology. Director Alex Gibney is particularly critical of Scientology’s most famous current members, the actors Tom Cruise and John Travolta.
But the list of actors and celebrities who have been involved in Scientology in some way seems to be longer than anyone first imagined. Of course, some of them only took a few classes, while others are accused of having recruited people into the church.
According to a roundup by Business Insider, these are some of the celebrities who took part in Scientology, later decided to leave, and lost their fear of talking about it.
Lisa Marie Presley
Elvis Presley’s daughter left the church in May 2012, at which point she decided to remove any trace of her membership in Scientology from her website. She even took the opportunity to put some lyrics on an album that had nothing kind to say about the church.
Paul Haggis
The film director and screenwriter, whose credits include Million Dollar Baby and Crash, publicly announced that he was leaving Scientology in 2009, saying that what he saw there horrified him. In his words, everyone else could see it, and he didn’t know why he couldn’t.
Haggis witnessed physical violence committed by church members, although what finally pushed him to leave Scientology for good was when the church backed the ban on same-sex marriage in California.
Jeffrey Tambor
In 2007 The New York Times reported that the Arrested Development actor was a member of Scientology. The actor acknowledged it, but said he had only taken a few classes and did not follow the religion.
“I took some Scientology classes and studied Scientology for a while, but not anymore. I have nothing against it, but I’m no longer a Scientologist.”
Christopher Reeve
The most famous Superman actor admitted in 2004 that when he was 22 he spent time at the Church of Scientology’s New York headquarters. After a while, however, his scepticism began to take over from his “faith” in the church, and in the end he decided to leave.
Jeff Conaway
The Grease co-star said in March 2008 that Scientology had saved him from his drug addiction. Conaway said it was John Travolta himself who brought him into the church, where he remained involved until his death in 2011.
Will Smith
Will Smith is one of the strangest cases. In 2008 the New York Daily News reported that the actor was actively recruiting members for the church, suspicions or rumours that seemed to be confirmed when he and his wife began supporting a private school in Los Angeles that uses this religion’s teaching techniques.
The actor later acknowledged that he had taken classes from the church, saying that you can take the parts of the teaching you like, but that he is not a Scientologist.
Will Smith is estimated to have donated a total of $125,500 to Scientology.
Other celebrities who have belonged to the church include Leah Remini, Jason Beghe, Sonny Bono, Diana Canova, Candice Bergen, Michael Fairman, Larry Anderson and Don Simpson.
Celebrities who explored Scientology but never joined
Ricky Martin: In 1999 the singer said he had explored Scientology, along with Catholicism, Judaism, Hinduism and Buddhism.
Patrick Swayze: The late star of Dirty Dancing said that after looking into several religions to find his place, he tried Scientology, though in the end he turned to Buddhism.
Russell Crowe: The star of Gladiator says he came close to joining Scientology, but eventually realised that the church is really aimed at people who need to be brought back down to earth. He sees nothing wrong with it, but it wasn’t for someone like him.
Two celebrities Scientology actively pursued
Brad Pitt was a big prize for Scientology, an actor they wanted to bring into their ranks at all costs. His girlfriend at the time, Juliette Lewis, persuaded him to take several Scientology courses in 1991 and 1993, but Brad quickly said he wanted no part of it, which was apparently why he broke up with her.
Elvis Presley was one of the celebrities Scientology pursued most, given how famous he was. On one occasion, the story goes, they put him in a limousine and drove him to the Scientology centre. But it didn’t take Elvis long to tell them something along the lines of “f you, there’s no way I’m joining this s.” I imagine Elvis was more of a “god” than the founder of Scientology himself.
Further reading
- Rich and famous people who succeeded after living on the streets
- 5 celebrities who were swindled by their investment advisers
Featured image: Rick Hall, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
