28 Celebrities Who Left Scientology

For decades, Scientology has been tightly linked with Hollywood. Glossy “Celebrity Centres,” promises of
personal power, and a built-in supportive community made it attractive to actors, musicians, and directors
trying to survive the industry spotlight. At the same time, a growing number of stars have decided
that the Church of Scientology is no longer for them and have walked awaysometimes quietly, sometimes
in a blaze of very public interviews and documentaries.

If you add up the high-profile roundups from major outlets like Business Insider, Newsweek,
BuzzFeed, and The Hollywood Reporter, you get a pool of roughly 28 well-known celebrities who
have, at one point or another, publicly distanced themselves from the Church or said they no longer
practice Scientology.
This article doesn’t list every single name in that combined tally, but it does
walk through some of the most visible departures, why they happened, and what those stories reveal about
faith, identity, and life after a controversial religion.

Before we dive in, an important note: many of these accounts come from the celebrities themselves,
from interviews, memoirs, and documentaries. The Church of Scientology strongly disputes many of the
allegations made by ex-members and maintains that it is a legitimate religion unfairly maligned by critics.

Scientology, Hollywood, and the Power of Celebrity

Scientology’s connection to celebrities isn’t an accident. Church founder L. Ron Hubbard encouraged
recruiting “opinion leaders” as early as the 1950s, and internal policy documents emphasized that
celebrities could help spread Scientology’s message far more effectively than average members.
Dedicated Celebrity Centres in places like Hollywood and New York offer tailored services and a bit of VIP
treatment for actors, musicians, and entertainment insiders.

Sociologists who study new religious movements point out that Scientology’s emphasis on individual power,
success, and spiritual status fits neatly with the ambitions of performers in high-pressure industries.
When the religion promises that your fame isn’t a problem but actually proof of spiritual advancement,
it’s not hard to see the appeal.

The flip side? When famous members leave, their stories also carry enormous weightand can inspire others
to question their own involvement.

Why So Many Celebrities Eventually Walk Away

The public reasons given for leaving Scientology vary from person to person, but common themes show up
again and again in interviews, memoirs, and documentaries:

• Family pressure and disconnection. Some ex-members say they feared losing loved ones
  if they questioned the church, or left specifically to protect their children from becoming more deeply involved.
• Concerns about LGBTQ+ rights. A few high-profile figures have said they left after
  feeling the Church’s stance on LGBTQ+ issues clashed with their values.
• Financial strain. Critics, including former members, often point to the cost of courses
  and auditing as a major source of stress.
• Control and transparency. Some describe a moment when they felt they were rationalizing
  things they no longer believed in or felt scared to ask basic questions.
• Evolving spiritual beliefs. Others say they simply moved ontoward other religious
  traditions, meditation, therapy, or a more undefined personal spirituality.

With that backdrop, let’s look at some of the celebrities whose exits from Scientology have made headlines
and what their stories reveal.

Celebrity Stories Behind the Headlines

Leah Remini: From Sitcom Star to Full-Time Critic

Leah Remini might be the most famous former Scientologist in the world at this point. Raised in the church
from childhood, she left in 2013 after about three decades of involvement.
Remini has said that questioning church practices, including the policy of “disconnection” from
perceived enemies, pushed her to a breaking point.

Since leaving, she has:

• Published a memoir, Troublemaker: Surviving Hollywood and Scientology, detailing her life in
  and out of the Church.
• Produced and co-hosted the Emmy-winning docu-series
  Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath, which gave other ex-members a platform to tell
  their stories.
• Launched a podcast with former senior executive Mike Rinder, continuing her advocacy work.

In interviews, Remini has said that leaving felt like giving up everything she had ever knownbut that
it also allowed her to reclaim her sense of self. She frames her activism not as “revenge” but as a way
to help others who feel trapped.

Laura Prepon: A Quiet Exit and a Shift to Meditation

Orange Is the New Black star Laura Prepon once spoke publicly about practicing Scientology,
but in a 2021 interview she revealed that she hadn’t been involved for about five years and no longer
considered it part of her life.
Instead, she said, she and her husband, actor Ben Foster, had embraced daily meditation and were
rethinking their routines after becoming parents.

Prepon’s story stands out because of its relatively low-drama tone. She didn’t release an explosive
memoir or docu-series; she simply explained that her life evolved, and she moved on. For many people,
that quieter exit feels more relatable than a dramatic break.

Lisa Marie Presley: “They Were Taking My Soul”

Singer-songwriter Lisa Marie Presley, daughter of Elvis Presley, spent decades connected to Scientology
before leaving in the 2010s. In later interviews and coverage, she was quoted as saying the organization
had taken “everything” from her, including her sense of self.

Friends like Leah Remini publicly supported her decision to leave, and after Presley’s death, Remini
spoke about how difficult her life had been and how brave she felt Presley was for stepping away.

Katie Holmes: Protecting a Child’s Future

Actress Katie Holmes rarely talks directly about Scientology, and legal agreements around her 2012
divorce from Tom Cruise likely limit what she can say. However, multiple reports from journalists and
former insiders have long suggested that she left the Church around the time of the divorce, in part
out of concern for how deeply their daughter Suri might become involved.

Holmes has focused since on her career, independent projects, and raising Suri largely outside the
public eye. For many observers, her story became a symbol of a parent drawing a firm boundary around
their child’s religious environmenteven if she herself almost never says the word “Scientology” in
public.

Nicole Kidman: Distance and Silence

Nicole Kidman, who was married to Tom Cruise from 1990 to 2001, is listed among former Scientology
members in several reputable summaries.
She has generally remained quiet about the Church, rarely speaking about it directly. Former members have
alleged that she was labeled a “suppressive person” after the divorce and that the couple’s children
were encouraged to distance themselves from her because of her skepticism.

Whether or not every detail of those claims is accurate, Kidman’s approachsilence, boundaries, and an
almost total refusal to discuss Scientologyshows another way celebrities handle leaving: by simply
living elsewhere, emotionally and spiritually.

Paul Haggis: Leaving Over LGBTQ+ Rights

Oscar-winning screenwriter and director Paul Haggis spent about 35 years in Scientology before leaving
in 2009. He has said that he finally quit after learning that the Church’s official organizations had
backed campaigns against same-sex marriage in California, which clashed with his support for LGBTQ+ rights.

Haggis wrote a widely circulated resignation letter outlining his concerns and later participated in
the book and documentary Going Clear, which explored the Church’s history, beliefs, and
controversies.
His story often illustrates the tension between long-time loyalty to a community and the moment when
a core ethical line is crossed.

Nazanin Boniadi: From “Chosen Girlfriend” to Human-Rights Advocate

Actor and activist Nazanin Boniadi joined Scientology in the mid-2000s and later said she was selected
by church officials to date Tom Cruise, according to reporting based on her FBI testimony and later
interviews.
When the relationship ended, she described being punished with humiliating tasksstories she later
shared with investigators and the press.

Boniadi left Scientology in 2017 and has since become known for her human-rights work, including
speaking out about abuses in Iran and advocating for people leaving controlling organizations.
Her journey shows how leaving a high-control group can sometimes supercharge a person’s activism and
sense of mission.

Beck: Clearing Up a “Misconception”

Grammy-winning musician Beck was long associated with Scientology, partly because his father was a
long-time member and he had been seen around church circles. In a 2019 interview, however, Beck said
there was a “misconception” that he was a Scientologist and stated that he had no current affiliation
with the Church, instead describing himself as Jewish.

His comments were widely interpreted as a quiet but clear exitone that reflected how some celebrities
prefer to step away without rehashing every detail of their involvement.

Jerry Seinfeld: A Course, Then a Hard Pass

Jerry Seinfeld has said he took a Scientology course in the mid-1970s and found parts of it interesting,
especially the emphasis on ethics, but decided not to pursue the religion further.
He has emphasized that he never became a full-on Scientologist and that he quickly moved on.

Technically, that still lands him in the “involved, then out” column, which is why he often appears in
lists of celebrities who left Scientology. It’s also an example of how a brief spiritual experiment can
turn into a lifetime of being linked to a movementeven if you only stuck around for a couple of classes.

Jason Lee and Jason Beghe: TV Regulars Who Walked Away

My Name Is Earl star Jason Lee was once an open Scientologist, but he later told a local Texas
newspaper that he and his wife were “no longer practicing Scientology” and had no plans to open a
Scientology center in their new town, confirming his exit.

Actor Jason Beghe, known for roles in shows like Chicago P.D., has been an outspoken critic
since leaving. He has spoken in interviews and documentaries about his concerns over the Church’s
practices and the pressure he felt as a member.

Together, they represent a cluster of working TV actors who were drawn in during career ups and downs,
then left after deciding the costemotional, financial, or bothwas too high.

Juliette Lewis and Mimi Rogers: Reframing Identity

Juliette Lewis, once a well-known Scientologist, has more recently described herself as a spiritualist
and said she no longer identifies as a member of the Church.
In interviews, she’s talked about wanting to protect her freedom of belief and being tired of people
defining her primarily by Scientology.

Mimi Rogersactor and Tom Cruise’s first wifeis also listed among former members.
She has been linked to bringing Cruise into Scientology originally, which makes her later distance from
the Church particularly striking in retrospective coverage.

Jeffrey Tambor, Sonny Bono, and Other “Once-Involved” Stars

Actor Jeffrey Tambor has said he took Scientology classes for a time but ultimately left, later describing
his exit as abrupt and tied partly to pressure on his personal life.

The late singer and congressman Sonny Bono took Scientology courses as well. After his death, his widow
Mary Bono said he had tried to break away from the Church and that it was difficult for him to do so,
although the Church denied any estrangement.

Business-press and entertainment-press roundups also mention figures like Christopher Reeve, who reportedly
explored Scientology briefly before rejecting it, and others who dabbled and then moved on.
Not all of them became long-term members, but they still ended up as part of the larger conversation about
celebrities and the Church.

What Life Looks Like After Leaving Scientology

One of the most fascinating patterns in these stories is what happens after a celebrity leaves.
The outcomes vary widely:

• Some become high-profile critics. Leah Remini and Paul Haggis are the most obvious
  examples, turning their exits into platforms for advocacy and investigative work.
• Some quietly rebuild. People like Laura Prepon, Beck, and Jason Lee seem more
  interested in living new lives than in relitigating their old ones in public.
• Some simply rebrand their spirituality. Juliette Lewis and others have framed their
  journey as shifting toward broader “spiritual” beliefs instead of formal religious labels.
• Some stay almost entirely silent. Nicole Kidman and Katie Holmes are regularly linked
  to Scientology in media coverage, but they say very little about it themselves.

Another recurring theme is social fallout. Former members have talked about losing friends, business
connections, and even family members through disconnection policies.
On the other hand, many also describe a sense of relief, a feeling of finally aligning their public persona
with their private beliefs.

What We Can Learn from These 28 Celebrity Journeys

When journalists tally up all these namesactors, musicians, directors, writersthey land on a group
of roughly 28 recognizable figures who were in Scientology at some point and later left.
Taken together, their stories highlight a few big lessons:

• Fame doesn’t make hard decisions easier. Even people with money, lawyers, and publicists
  describe leaving as terrifying.
• Values eventually outrun branding. When someone’s core ethics clash with an institution’s
  actions, even decades of loyalty can unravel quickly.
• Identity is allowed to change. Many of these celebrities talk about “evolving” rather
  than simply “quitting” a religion. The emphasis is on growth, not just escape.
• Public narratives are incomplete. Fans often want a simple hero–villain story, but most
  ex-members describe a long, messy, complicated path out.

Extended Reflections: Experiences Around Leaving Scientology

If you zoom out from individual headlines, patterns in ex-Scientology storiescelebrity or notstart to
look surprisingly similar. Former members often describe a journey that moves through four rough stages:
enchantment, friction, disillusionment, and reconstruction.

In the enchantment phase, people talk about feeling seen for the first time. For actors
and musicians, that might mean being told that their drive, ambition, and hunger for success are actually
signs of spiritual potential rather than vanity. Classes and auditing sessions can feel like intense
self-development workshops: someone is finally taking your inner life as seriously as you do. For a
struggling performer, that can be intoxicating.

Then comes friction. Former members often say the first cracks appeared when basic
questions suddenly felt dangerous to ask. Why is this so expensive? Why can’t I talk to that person?
Why are critics treated as enemies instead of people to be answered? In celebrities’ stories, friction
also shows up as pressure: pressure to recruit, to keep quiet about doubts, or to publicly support positions
(like opposition to same-sex marriage) that clash with their values.

Disillusionment is usually less dramatic from the inside than it looks from the outside.
Many ex-members describe it as a series of small moments rather than one big explosion. A leader they
admired disappoints them. A family member gets “disconnected.” A financial sacrifice feels like one step
too far. Individually, these things are survivable. Together, they build a quiet, gnawing sense that
“this doesn’t feel right anymore.”

The scariest part is often the jump. Leaving a tight-knit, high-commitment organization
means losing more than a set of beliefs. It can mean losing your entire support system, your social world,
and, for celebrities, part of your brand. That’s one reason people like Leah Remini or Nazanin Boniadi
emphasize how lonely those first months felt, even though they later became outspoken critics and
organizers.

Finally comes reconstruction: the slow process of building a new life, new community,
and sometimes a new spiritual language. Some ex-members lean into activism, trying to make sure no one
else feels as trapped as they did. Others prioritize privacy, choosing not to be “the ex-Scientologist”
forever. They take up meditation, therapy, other faith traditions, or simply decide to live without any
formal religious label at all.

For readers who have never been in a high-control group, it’s easy to wonder, “Why didn’t they just leave
sooner?” The combined experiences of these roughly 28 celebrities offer a different perspective: when your
community, your work, your identity, and your belief system are all braided together, leaving isn’t just
about changing your mind. It’s about rebuilding your entire life.

That’s why so many of these stories, despite the tabloid headlines, feel less like gossip and more like
case studies in human resilience. Whether you agree with their choices or not, the celebrities who walked
away from Scientology show that even under intense pressuresocial, financial, or spiritualpeople can
still choose a different path.

Conclusion

The full roster of celebrities who have left Scientology is constantly evolving as new stories emerge,
old affiliations are clarified, and some people choose to speak out while others quietly move on. What
remains consistent is the pattern: powerful institutions attract powerful personalitiesbut those same
personalities sometimes decide that true power means walking away.

From Leah Remini’s highly public break to Laura Prepon’s understated shift to meditation, from Paul Haggis’s
protest over LGBTQ+ rights to Nazanin Boniadi’s transformation into a human-rights advocate, the journeys
of these former Scientology celebrities highlight a simple truth: even in Hollywood, the hardest and most
important rebrand you’ll ever do is the one you perform on your own life.

For fans, these stories can be more than celebrity gossip. They can be reminders to ask questions, to listen
carefully when people say they’re uncomfortable, and to respect the courage it takes to leave any community
that once felt like home.

SEO Details

meta_title: 28 Celebrities Who Left Scientology

meta_description:
Discover why dozens of stars left Scientology, from Leah Remini to Laura Prepon, and how their lives changed after walking away.

sapo:
Hollywood and Scientology have been entangled for decades, but a growing wave of stars has chosen to cut ties with the Church.
This in-depth guide explores roughly 28 celebrity journeysfrom Leah Remini, Laura Prepon, and Lisa Marie Presley to Paul Haggis,
Nazanin Boniadi, and Beckshowing why they walked away, what they’ve said about their experiences, and how their careers and
spiritual lives evolved afterward. Along the way, you’ll see recurring themes of family, identity, ethics, and personal freedom,
plus broader lessons about what it really takes to leave a high-control religious movement behind.

keywords:
celebrities who left Scientology, former Scientologists in Hollywood, Leah Remini Scientology, Laura Prepon left Scientology, Paul Haggis ex Scientologist, Nazanin Boniadi Scientology story, Beck no longer Scientologist