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10 Popular Child Stars Who Grew Up In Disturbing Cults

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by Factionary 8 months ago3 months ago

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The problem with celebrities is they have too much money and a lot of free time, which leads them to join all sorts of ‘enlightened’ cults whose leaders promise to have all the answers in the world.

There’s a reason sects go to great lengths to welcome famous people into their folds, as this move offers them a lot of exposure.

Plus, they can use their high-profile followers as cash-cows. Here are ten celebrities who spent part of their lives in obscure cults.

10 Michelle Pfieffer

Hollywood stars are famous for promoting all sorts of diets and surviving on a salad leaf a day, but Michelle Pfieffer took it to the next level when she joined a breatharian cult.

You guessed it; breatharianism is a movement that maintains that people can survive on air and sunshine alone.

They cannot live without money, and Michelle Pfeiffer later said the cult was continually asking her to pay for the privilege of being a member.

9 Jaden Smith

For Jaden Smith, the secret to happiness is in magic crystals, who protect their owner by eliminating negative energy. The son of Will Smith claimed his little sister Willow is also a member of the Orgonite Society.

All the cult members carry around a so-called Orgone pyramid, which is supposed to surround them with positive vibes.

8 Jayne Mansfield

Who do you turn to when your career is waning? No, Harvey Weinstein wasn’t a big shot in the 60s, so actress Jayne Mansfield sought Satan’s help.

Or at least his representative on Earth, Anton LaVey, author of the Satanic Bible. She appeared in some very creepy Satanic rituals involving horns and gallons of fake blood, but that did not help her one bit. Mansfield died in 1967 in a car accident.

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7 Allison Mack

Allison Mack of Smallville fame was heavily featured in the news during the 2020 trial of NXIVM cult leader Keith Raniere.

Mack was revealed as a senior member in the organization that prayed on rich and vulnerable women who were turned into sex slaves and branded with Raniere’s initials.

The actress who personally oversaw recruitment efforts has pleaded guilty to racketeering and is still awaiting sentencing as of November 2020.

6 Glenn Close

It took Glenn Close many years of anguish to overcome the psychological damage of growing up in a cult that relied heavily on controlling every aspect of its members’ lives.

Her parents joined the Moral Re-Armament (MRA) group when the actress was seven, and she only found the courage to leave when she was 22.

The MRA believes the world could be at peace if people went through a spiritual awakening, which is all very nice, except for the fact its members weren’t allowed to do anything and were frequently criticized for not trying hard enough to repress their ‘unnatural desires.’

5 Tony Braxton

Famous American singer Tony Braxton also had a rough start in life because her parents moved from one religious group to another.

The hardest part of her childhood was when her parents joined the Pillar of Truth organization, which excelled at repressing women.

According to Braxton, women were told to cover their nakedness, which meant all of their body even in summer. As they waited for the rapture, kids in the cult were not allowed innocent pastimes like watching movies or skating.

4 Joaquin Phoenix

Joaquin Phoenix had a narrow escape when his parents decided to leave the Children of God sect when only three. Soon after that, the cult was involved in a massive scandal over allegations of sexual abuse against children.

Joaquin’s older brother, the late River Phoenix, once claimed in an interview that he was raped at the age of four while living with the Children of God. However, Joaquin Phoenix said his brother was joking at the time.

3 Andrew Keegan

The actor who rose to fame with his performance in 10 Things I Hate About You started his spiritual organization, the California-based Full Circle; he claimed that all the group members could reach enlightenment through meditation, healing crystals, and a lot of hand-holding and spooning.

That didn’t work out, especially after the police raided their following compound information.

The awakening rituals involved lots of kombuchas, a fermented drink which the group was not licensed to distribute. The Full Circle closed soon after that.

2 Keira Maguire

Bachelor in Paradise star Keira Maguire grew up without knowing who her mother was, although she had many. Her father was the founder of a polygamous cult called The Seaside Sect and lorded over his nine wives and 64 children.

The children were raised communally and were not allowed such frivolities as celebrating birthdays and cuddling with their Mum. Fortunately, her mother left the cult by the time Keira was 7.

1 Rosanna Arquette

Born in 1959, the eldest of the Arquette acting family spent her childhood in a commune in Bentonville, Virginia. Life in the commune founded by her father was harsh, with no running water or electricity. Her younger siblings were more or less spared the hardships of this sort of life.

Initially, the commune was more of a spiritual movement aimed at building a better world. However, instead of a paradise on Earth, the Arquette children had to deal with their father’s drug habit and violent outbursts.