Celebs Who Left Hollywood to Join Controversial Religious Movements

Hollywood history is filled with stars who walked away from fame to pursue spiritual paths. While some joined mainstream faiths, others aligned themselves with controversial religious movements or high-control groups that demanded a total departure from the entertainment industry. These decisions often shocked fans and resulted in the abrupt end of promising careers. The following list explores the stories of celebrities who traded the spotlight for strict religious devotion.

Allison Mack

Best known for her role as Chloe Sullivan in ‘Smallville’, Allison Mack became a high-ranking member of NXIVM. This multi-level marketing organization was later exposed as a cult involved in racketeering and sex trafficking. Mack recruited women into a secret sorority within the group where members were branded and forced into servitude. Her involvement led to her arrest and a prison sentence. She completely abandoned her acting career to dedicate her life to the teachings of the group’s leader Keith Raniere.

Jeremy Spencer

A founding member of the legendary rock band Fleetwood Mac, Jeremy Spencer disappeared during a 1971 tour in Los Angeles. He left the hotel to buy a magazine and never returned to the band. Days later, he was found with the Children of God, a controversial religious group that later faced numerous allegations of abuse. Spencer renounced his rock star lifestyle to travel and perform music exclusively for the organization. He remains a member of the group, which is now known as The Family International.

Angus T. Jones

Angus T. Jones became the highest-paid child actor on television for his role in ‘Two and a Half Men’. He shocked the public in 2012 when he appeared in a video for the Forerunner Chronicles, a ministry associated with the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Jones called his own show filth and urged viewers to stop watching it because it conflicted with his newfound religious beliefs. He eventually left the series to attend college and work with the church. Although he later stepped back from the ministry, his departure from Hollywood was swift and public.

Vanity

Denise Matthews, known professionally as Vanity, was a protégé of Prince and fronted the group Vanity 6. She lived a fast-paced life of stardom and excess until a near-fatal overdose in 1994 changed her trajectory. She renounced her stage name and converted to born-again Christianity. Matthews threw away her music tapes and severed ties with the entertainment industry to become an evangelist. She spent the rest of her life preaching until her death in 2016.

Dolores Hart

Dolores Hart was a rising star in the late 1950s who famously gave Elvis Presley his first on-screen kiss in ‘Loving You’. She stunned Hollywood in 1963 by breaking off her engagement and leaving her acting career to enter the Abbey of Regina Laudis. Hart became a Roman Catholic Benedictine nun and completely withdrew from public life for decades. She eventually became the Prioress of the monastery. Her departure remains one of the most famous examples of an actor leaving fame for faith.

Cat Stevens

Singer-songwriter Cat Stevens was at the height of his musical success in the 1970s with hits like ‘Wild World’. After a near-drowning experience, he began a spiritual search that led him to convert to Islam in 1977. He adopted the name Yusuf Islam and auctioned off his guitars to devote himself to education and philanthropy. For nearly three decades, he refused to perform secular music or participate in the music industry. He eventually returned to music with a focus on spiritual themes.

Nicki Clyne

Actress Nicki Clyne, known for her role in the reimagined ‘Battlestar Galactica’, left acting to deepen her involvement with NXIVM. She became a committed member of the inner circle surrounding leader Keith Raniere. Clyne married fellow member Allison Mack in a union that prosecutors alleged was a sham to evade immigration laws. She remained loyal to the group even after its leaders were indicted and the organization collapsed. Her acting career effectively ended due to her dedication to the movement.

Little Richard

The architect of rock and roll, Little Richard, famously abandoned the genre in 1957 at the peak of his fame. He interpreted the launch of Sputnik and a plane malfunction as signs from God to change his life. He enrolled in a Bible college and became a Seventh-day Adventist minister. Although he eventually returned to rock music, he oscillated between secular performance and preaching throughout his life. He frequently denounced his rock and roll lifestyle during his religious periods.

Al Green

Soul singer Al Green was one of the biggest stars of the 1970s until a traumatic incident involving a girlfriend led him to reevaluate his life. He purchased a church in Memphis and became an ordained pastor. Green decided to stop singing secular soul music to focus exclusively on gospel music and his ministry. He refused to perform his classic hits for years as he felt they contradicted his spiritual calling. He continues to preach at his church today.

Montell Jordan

Montell Jordan was a massive R&B star in the 1990s known for the hit ‘This Is How We Do It’. He retired from the music industry in 2010 to become a worship leader at a megachurch in Georgia. Jordan stated that the lifestyle of a music star was incompatible with his faith and marriage. He turned down opportunities to tour and record secular albums to focus on ministry. His transition marked a complete exit from the secular entertainment world.

Mase

Rapper Mase was a top artist on the Bad Boy Records label when he abruptly retired in 1999. He announced that he was following a calling from God and could no longer rap about money and violence. Mase became an ordained minister and founded a church in Atlanta. He spent five years away from the music industry to preach and study theology. Although he later returned to rap, his initial departure was a major shock to the hip-hop community.

Loon

Chauncey Hawkins, known as the rapper Loon, was another Bad Boy Records artist who left the industry. He converted to Islam in 2008 and changed his name to Amir Junaid Muhadith. He quit music to travel and educate people about his new faith. His career was permanently halted when he was arrested and imprisoned for drug offenses, but he maintained his religious devotion throughout. He has since been released and focuses on community work.

Napoleon

Mutah Beale, known as Napoleon from the rap group Outlawz, was a close associate of Tupac Shakur. He witnessed the violence of the rap industry firsthand and eventually sought a different path. Beale converted to Islam and decided that hip-hop was forbidden by his faith. He moved to Saudi Arabia to study and run a business. He now speaks publicly about his transition from gangsta rap to a strict religious life.

Brian ‘Head’ Welch

Guitarist Brian Welch was a founding member of the nu-metal band Korn. In 2005, he quit the band and the $23 million contract they were negotiating to dedicate his life to Christianity. Welch stated that he needed to leave the rock lifestyle to save himself and be a better father. He released solo Christian music and wrote books about his conversion. He eventually rejoined Korn but maintained his religious convictions.

Kirk Cameron

Kirk Cameron was a teen heartthrob on the sitcom ‘Growing Pains’ before becoming a born-again Christian. His conversion caused tension on the set as he demanded script changes to align with his values. After the show ended, he largely left mainstream Hollywood to focus on religious independent films. He founded an evangelistic ministry and produces content exclusively for Christian audiences. Cameron frequently speaks out against secular Hollywood culture.

Stephen Baldwin

The youngest of the Baldwin brothers, Stephen Baldwin was a working actor in films like ‘The Usual Suspects’. He became a born-again Christian after the September 11 attacks and shifted his focus away from mainstream roles. Baldwin began directing and starring in faith-based films and reality television. He became an outspoken evangelist and often criticized the moral decay of the entertainment industry. His career shifted entirely to projects that supported his ministry.

Andrew Keegan

Andrew Keegan was a popular teen actor in the 1990s famously known for ’10 Things I Hate About You’. He stepped away from acting to found a spiritual community center in Venice Beach called Full Circle. The group was described by some media outlets as a new religion or cult, though Keegan denied these labels. Full Circle held spiritual gatherings until it closed due to financial issues. Keegan acted in fewer roles during this period to manage the organization.

June Haver

June Haver was a popular musical star at 20th Century Fox in the 1940s often groomed as the next Betty Grable. After the death of her fiancé, she sought solace in religion. In 1953, she terminated her contract with the studio to join a convent in Kansas. She stayed with the Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth for several months before deciding the life was not for her. Although she returned to private life, she never resumed her film career.

Colleen Townsend

Colleen Townsend was a rising actress featured on the cover of Life magazine in 1948. Despite a promising future, she felt unfulfilled by the superficiality of Hollywood. She quit acting in 1950 to devote herself to religious work with the Presbyterian church. Townsend married a minister and spent her life working in Christian ministry and humanitarian aid. She famously appeared in a Billy Graham film about her decision to leave the industry.

Betty Hutton

Betty Hutton was a top box-office draw in the 1940s and 50s known for her high energy in musicals like ‘Annie Get Your Gun’. After a series of personal struggles and a decline in her career, she converted to Roman Catholicism. She eventually worked as a cook and housekeeper at a rectory in Rhode Island. Hutton lived a quiet life serving the priests and rarely spoke of her Hollywood past. Her conversion brought her a sense of peace that stardom never did.

Joe Tex

Soul singer Joe Tex was a chart-topping rival of James Brown in the 1960s. He converted to the Nation of Islam and changed his name to Yusuf Hazziez. In 1972, he abandoned his music career to travel as a spiritual lecturer for the movement. He returned to music briefly to release the hit ‘Ain’t Gonna Bump No More’ but retired again to his ranch. He remained a devout follower until his death.

Lisa Whelchel

Lisa Whelchel gained fame as the wealthy Blair Warner on the sitcom ‘The Facts of Life’. During the height of her fame, she became a devout Christian. After the show ended, she turned down roles that did not align with her morals, including the role of Rachel on ‘Friends’. Whelchel left acting to become a pastor’s wife, author, and homeschooling advocate. She returned to television only for reality shows like ‘Survivor’.

Susan Atkins

Susan Atkins was an aspiring dancer and drifting figure in the Hollywood scene before meeting Charles Manson. She joined the Manson Family, a cult that operated on the fringes of the entertainment industry. Atkins participated in the brutal Tate-LaBianca murders that terrorized Hollywood. Her involvement in the cult completely destroyed her life and any chance of a legitimate career. She died in prison after serving decades for her crimes.

Bobby Beausoleil

Bobby Beausoleil was a musician and actor who appeared in underground films in the 1960s. He became associated with the Manson Family and was eventually convicted of murder carried out under Manson’s influence. His potential as an artist was cut short by his devotion to the cult’s violent ideology. Beausoleil has spent the vast majority of his life in prison. He continues to record music from behind bars.

Patricia Krenwinkel

Patricia Krenwinkel was a secretary in Los Angeles who abandoned her life to join the Manson Family. She participated in the infamous murders that targeted Hollywood’s elite. Krenwinkel traded her freedom for life in a desert commune that believed in an impending race war. She became the longest-serving female inmate in the California penal system. Her connection to the cult remains the defining aspect of her life.

What do you think about these celebrities’ decisions to leave fame for faith? Share your thoughts in the comments.