Some stars out there were born poor, they went from rags to a great deal of riches.
But other stars emerged from an even more challenging childhood in order to become successful singers, actors or actresses.
These stars were raised in cults. Yes, actual cults! Did you have any idea whatsoever?!?
Joaquin Phoenix
Until he was four years old, Phoenix was raised in the California-based religious group Children of God. After abandoning the cult, his parents adopted the last name “Phoenix” to symbolize a new beginning for the family.
Glenn Close
The veteran star’s parents joined the Moral Re-Armament (MRA) cult, an extreme conservative group, when Close was 7 years old. They remained there for 15 years, living in several communal centers. Reports say the cult’s practices and beliefs were centered on four absolutes: absolute honesty, absolute purity, absolute unselfishness and absolute love. Close actually credits the group for helping her acting career because she grew up having to act like she agreed with everything the cult taught.
Winona Ryder
At the age of seven, Winona Ryder and her family moved to the Rainbow commune in California. They resided there for three years with seven other families and had no electricity on their 300-acre property.
David Arquette
The actor was born in the Skymont Subud commune in Virginia. He lived there (along with the rest of his family) until the late 1970s. This nonsectarian spiritual “social experiment” was meant to be a type of utopia… yet there were no bathrooms, no electricity, and no running water.
Michelle Pfeiffer
At 20 years old, Michelle Pfeiffer got involved with a couple who believed in breatharianism, which is the ability to live without food or water because sunlight will provide all the nourishment one needs. It took the meeting of her first husband, Peter Horton, for Pfeiffer to realize she was actually in a cult.
Rose McGowan
Born in Italy, the actress grew up in a chapter of Children of God that was actually run by her dad. As a kid, she traveled to many other communes in Europe. The group encouraged members to have intercourse at a young age, but McGowan and her family got out before she had to engage in any sexual activity.
River Phoenix
Until he was 8 years old, River Phoenix was also brought up in the Children of God. He and his sister, Rain, lived in poverty while they were involved with the cult, receiving no financial support from the group’s wealthy leader.
Patricia Arquette
Patricia Arquette is the sister of David Arquette. So she was also raised in Skymont Subud commune, lacking no bathrooms, electricity and or running water as a child. Her father was a drug addict, abusive toward the family’s five children, according to sources.
Susan Cagle
Musician Susan Cagle was born Susan Justice. Her family was a member of the Children of God cult. They often worked as street performers, traveling around the world doing missionary work.
Emily Schromm
Emily Schromm was a cast member on the D.C. season of The Real World. She grew up in a fundamentalist Christian cult in Columbia, Missouri. The reality star now identifies as bisexual and enjoys extreme sports such as CrossFit.
Angel Haze
Until the age of 16, Angel Haze is a rapper/singer who was raised in a community of the Greater Apostolic Faith, a Pentecostal Christian denomination. We’ll let her describe it to you: “We all lived in the same community, within 10 minutes of each other. You weren’t allowed to talk to anyone outside of that. You weren’t allowed to wear jewelry, listen to music, to eat certain things, to date people… You weren’t allowed to do pretty much anything.”
All the Duggar Children
You know it’s true.