25 celebrities who have been linked to Scientology

• Scientology was founded in the 1950s by L. Ron Hubbard.

• Those who follow the religion believe "man is an immortal spiritual being" and claim it's empowering. Critics say it's a cult.

• Many celebrities have left the church in the past decade. Here are past and present Scientologists.

Amy Daire contributed to a previous version of this article.

Danny Masterson is a long practicing Scientologist.

Masterson has a long history with the church, as his family practiced Scientology. He's been outspoken about it too, defending Tom Cruise when his Scientology video leaked in 2008, and explaining the religion to curious reporters.

"The definition of Scientology is 'the study of knowledge,'" Masterson said in an interview with Paper magazine. "Obviously, the more knowledge you have in a given field, such as life, the more confident you are as a person."

Masterson was sentenced to 30 years to life after being found guilty of two counts of rape in May.

His wife, Bijou Phillips, is also a member of the church.

His wife, model, actor, and daughter of the "Mamas and Papas" singer John Phillips, is also a practicing Scientologist.

The two started dating in 2004, frequenting Scientology events, and have been married since 2011.

Masterson's siblings, including "The Walking Dead" star Alanna Masterson, also have ties to the church.

The Daily Mail reported in 2015 that Masterson's half-sister, Alanna, who starred on "The Walking Dead" is also a Scientologist.

Former Scientologist Joe Reaiche told The Daily Mail that his four kids — Danny Masterson, Alanna Masterson, Jordan Masterson, and Chris Masterson — were "brainwashed" into believing he was a "threat to their faith" after quitting the church himself.

John Travolta has practiced Scientology since the '70s.

"Grease" alum John Travolta has been a practicing Scientologist since the 1970s and is one of the church's most prized members.

In a 2001 appearance on "Friday Night With Jonathan Ross," Travolta said Scientology has "given me all the tools to survive in life that I need."

When the HBO documentary "Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief" aired, he defended the church and offered his own opinions about it all.

"I've been so happy with my [Scientology] experience in the last 40 years that I really don't have anything to say that would shed light on [a documentary] so decidedly negative," he said to the Tampa Bay Times in 2015. "I've been brought through storms that were insurmountable, and [Scientology has] been so beautiful for me, that I can't even imagine attacking it."

Travolta reportedly was breaking away from the church following the death of his wife and fellow Scientologist Kelly Preston in July 2020.

His wife, Kelly Preston, said Scientology helped her grieve the death of her son before her own death.

Travolta's wife, Preston, has said that Scientology is the reason she's been able to cope with the sudden death of her teenage son, Jett, who died from a seizure in 2009.

"In Scientology, we have what's called 'auditing,' and that helps you to address things in your life and to strip them away," she said during a guest appearance on TV's "The Conversation." "Through that, the people at my church literally held my hand and got me through... I will forever be indebted."

Preston died in July 2020 after a two-year battle with breast cancer.

Kirstie Alley was a big backer of the church until her death in 2022.

Alley, who was a member of the church for over 30 years before her death in 2022 from cancer, claimed that Scientology helped her get past her cocaine addiction.

The actor was quick to stand up for the church and Cruise.

"I think that probably all religions sound bizarre to the people who are not the practitioners of them. To me it's so normal, and probably 90% of the crazy stuff I hear isn't true. I've been a Scientologist for over 30 years. I think a lot of things are sensationalized," she told Entertainment Tonight in 2012.

In 2018, Alley told Scientology magazine "Freewinds" that she was promoted to "Operating Thetan Level Eight," reportedly the highest ranking a Scientologist can hold.

Jenna Elfman has credited Scientology with keeping her relationship going.

Elfman, best known for her role in "Dharma and Greg," once compared Scientologists to Christians who were persecuted in the Roman Age.

"If someone starts talking to me negatively about something they've never actually studied the actual text of, I don't really admire them very much because it shows they don't have much integrity, so I just kind of ignore them. I'm not going to listen to gossip and hearsay about something that's affected my life so tremendously in such a tremendously positive way," Elfman told AAP in Sydney.

In 2018, Elfman credited her 28 years as a Scientologist to keeping her communication and relationship going with her husband Bodhi Elfman.

"We've never cheated on each other, we've never broken up. We hang in there," Elfman said.

"I use it every single day of my life and it keeps me energized and vivacious and happy," Elfman added. "Why am I going to go: 'You know, let me put some negativity in my life. Let me go see who's being a bigot.'"

"The Simpsons" actor Nancy Cartwright is a megadonor to the church.

Cartwright, the woman behind Bart Simpson's voice, has gotten into some hot water over her religion in the past.

A recording of her using Bart's voice to encourage people to come to a Scientology event in LA back in 2009 was leaked to the public. The recording was only meant to be heard by Scientologists.

The actor was reportedly given the title "Patron Excalibur With Honors" at a 2023 Scientology event in Florida for donating over $20 million to the church.

According to The Daily Mail, Cartwright referred to the honor as "the most beautiful acknowledgment I have ever received in my entire life" in Scientology's Impact magazine.

Doug E. Fresh proudly revealed his involvement with the church in 2009.

Hip-hop legend Doug E. Fresh revealed his association with the church in 2009 during an interview with Essence, and urged others to "check it out."

"It is not just for white people. Scientology is not written with disrespect toward God. It doesn't worship something that is evil. It is scientific, mathematical, and spiritual. The black community has to check it out and see what's there. I'm not saying it's for everyone, but you have to take a look," he told Essence.

Fresh's songs "The Joy of Creation" and "We're Going Up While the World Goes Down" were reportedly made to be a part of a 2001 Scientology album.

"The Handmaid's Tale" star Elisabeth Moss has practiced Scientology since she was a child.

According to an interview with The Telegraph, Moss' parents introduced "The Handmaid's Tale" actor to the religion as a child, and she maintains that it has helped her remain calm and level-headed.

In April 2022, Moss spoke at length about her relationship with Scientology and how it helped her become a skilled communicator with The New Yorker's Michael Schulman.

"It's not really a closed-off religion," Moss said. "It's a place that is very open to, like, welcoming in somebody who wants to learn more about it. I think that's the thing that is probably the most misunderstood."

The New Yorker reported Moss studied Scientology as far back as the age of 8, and said the actor took the "Hubbard Key to Life Course" at that age.

"South Park" actor Issac Hayes left the animated show in 2006 after the series joked about the religion.

The voice of Chef on "South Park," Hayes reportedly resigned from his role in 2006 after the Comedy Central series began airing episodes ridiculing Scientology.

"South Park" cocreator Matt Stone told Fox News that Hayes was pressured to leave the hit show.

"He said he was under great pressure from Scientology, and if we didn't stop poking at them, he'd have to leave," said Stone.

Hayes' son told The Hollywood Reporter in 2016 that "someone quit 'South Park'" on Hayes' behalf.

"In January 2006 my dad had a stroke and lost the ability to speak," Isaac Hayes III said at the time. "He was in no position to resign under his own knowledge. At the time, everybody around my father was involved in Scientology — his assistants, the core group of people."

Hayes died in 2008 following a stroke.

Michael Pe?a says Scientology made him a better actor.

The "Ant-Man" actor became a member of the church in 2000, telling The Guardian the religion's Study Tech program made him more confident, saying it "made me a better actor because I felt like it helped my understanding of scripts."

At the time, Pe?a said he avoided reading the controversy around the organization.

"Fatal Attraction" star Anne Archer has been a longtime member.

During an interview with The Guardian in 2014, Archer said "Scientology has been very meaningful in my life. It's taught me a lot of good information. A lot of sanity. It's a lot about responsibility and it's very smart stuff that has helped me in my life."

Her son, Tommy Davis, was a former Church of Scientology spokesman.

Erika Christensen was raised as a Scientologist.

Christensen, whose parents raised her as a Scientologist, has been a lifelong member of the church.

"It's a huge of part of my life because it's a study. It's an applied philosophy. But it's also understanding the way life works and being able to use that," she explained in Joy Bryant's web series in 2013 denouncing those who thought it was a Hollywood religion that worshipped rabbits.

The actor spoke with Dax Shepard on his "Armchair Expert" podcast in 2018 about the religion, saying it's "something that you do, it's not something that you believe."

"I definitely cannot speak for every Scientologist about anything because everybody has their own beliefs and comes at it from even other religions and all kinds of stuff," Christensen said. "However, I don't believe this is the first time I have lived on this planet and I basically think I've probably done absolutely everything before."

Tom Cruise is basically the face of Scientology.

Cruise often speaks at their conferences and events and has even been in videos promoting the religion.

In a nine-minute video reportedly shown at a 2004 International Association of Scientologists meeting, according to The Daily Beast, Cruise described being a Scientologist as "a privilege."

"He or she has the ability to create new and better realities and improve conditions. Being a Scientologist, you look at someone and you know absolutely that you can help them," Cruise said of the religion at the time.

Cruise additionally said they are "the authorities on getting people off drugs" and that they have the ability to "rehabilitate criminals" and bring about peace by uniting cultures in the video.

In the past decade, he's spoken once briefly about the impact it's had on his life.

"It's something that has helped me incredibly in my life," he said on the "Jack Reacher" red carpet in 2016. "It's something, you know, without it, I wouldn't be where I am… I'm incredibly proud."

Katie Holmes left the church when she divorced Tom Cruise.

Cruise's ex-wife, on the other hand, wasn't nearly as enamored with the religion.

Holmes, along with Cruise's other ex, Nicole Kidman, left the church after leaving Tom Cruise.

Since then Holmes has been quiet about it all. Some even speculated she signed some sort of NDA.

While she's been reluctant to discuss her experiences in the church, plenty of others have spoken on her behalf.

One of them is Ron Miscavige, whose son is a leader in the church.

He gave an exclusive interview with Daily Mail, saying "She and Tom had big differences about the way life should be lived," he told Daily Mail. "The big issue really was raising Suri as a Scientologist. If that happened, some day it was a possibility that she would disconnect from Katie."

Leah Remini famously left the church in 2013.

Remini made it clear that she is out of the church for good, writing a tell-all book titled "Troublemaker: Surviving Hollywood and Scientology," which became a docu-series called "Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath."

"My mother got involved when we were very young, so it's all we ever really knew. But over time my eyes opened, and I could no longer be affiliated with the organization, and my family felt the same, so we left," she explained to Ellen DeGeneres back in 2013. "We lost friends that can no longer talk to us who are still in the organization."

Remini is currently suing the church and leader, David Miscavige, over harassment, defamation, emotional distress, and more.

Following Masterson's sentencing, Remini claimed the Church of Scientology tried to "cover up Danny's crimes with the help of its intelligence agency, the Office of Special Affairs" and followers.

Jerry Seinfeld previously studied the religion.

In 2007, the comedian told Parade he studied the religion about 30 years ago, and really enjoyed it.

"It was interesting. Believe it or not…it's extremely intellectual and clinical in its approach to problem-solving, which really appealed to me," Seinfeld said.

He added that it even helped him in his career, saying, "In my early years of stand-up it was very helpful. I took a couple of courses… I learned some things about communication that really got my act going."

In 2020, Seinfeld talked about his experience with Scientology again briefly on the "WTF With Marc Maron" podcast, saying he did a Scientology course in New York around 1975 saying, "I found it very interesting, never pursued it."

Beck says he was never a Scientologist.

"I think there's a misconception that I am a Scientologist. I'm not a Scientologist. I don't have any connection or affiliation with it," the musician told the Sydney Morning Herald in 2019.

He continued: "My father has been a Scientologist for a long time, but I've pretty much just focused on my music and my work for most of my life, and tended to do my own thing … I think it's just something people ran with."

Beck formerly declared he was a member of the church as he fumbled through an explanation of Scientology to the Sunday Tribune back in 2005.

"Yeah, I'm a Scientologist, " Beck said. "My father has been a Scientologist for about 35 years, so I grew up in and around it and stuff."

When asked to explain Scientology he said: "What it actually is is just sort of, uh, you know, I think it's about philosophy and sort of, uh, all these kinds of, you know, ideals that are common to a lot of religions."

The singer and songwriter previously held concerts supporting the Scientologist-affiliated program Educating Children International.

Laura Prepon left the church years ago.

Masterson wasn't the only cast member on "That '70s Show" with ties to Scientology.

A former Scientologist, Prepon told People in 2021 that she stopped practicing years ago.

"I've always been very open-minded, even since I was a child. I was raised Catholic and Jewish. I've prayed in churches, meditated in temples. I've studied Chinese meridian theory. I haven't practiced Scientology in close to five years and it's no longer part of my life," Prepon told People.

Juliette Lewis doesn't identify as a Scientologist anymore.

The "Natural Born Killers" actor was previously outspoken about the misconceptions about her religion, which was studied by her parents.

Explaining why Scientologists can celebrate Christmas, she told Vanity Fair, "I think there's so much confusion because people don't understand a religion where you can be another religion, but you can still practice Scientology. That's why it's completely progressive. It's just tools for living."

In a 2021 interview with The New York Times, Lewis said though she studied Scientology she doesn't identify as a Scientologist. Instead, she told the outlet she's "a spiritualist."

Jason Lee was no longer practicing Scientology as of 2016.

According to the actor's ex-wife, Carmen Llewellyn, who gave an interview to the National Enquirer in 2010, Lee was obsessed with the religion, and forced her to join.

However, after moving to Denton, Texas, Lee told local outlet The Dentonite in 2016 that he and his current wife, Ceren Alkac, aren't practicing Scientology.

In 2021, Lee told The Guardian he originally joined the religion because "everybody wants to feel less depressed or less anxious or they want to try to understand some issue that they might have with themselves."

"Ultimately, it was just not for me. That's it," Lee said of why he left. "I wasn't really involved going back many, many years now."

Director Paul Haggis left the church years ago, referring to it as a cult.

Film director and screenwriter, Paul Haggis ("Million Dollar Baby," "Crash") spoke out in The New Yorker about his decision to leave Scientology in 2009 saying it horrified him.

"I was in a cult for 34 years," said Haggis. "Everyone else could see it. I don't know why I couldn't."

Haggis ultimately left Scientology after the church refused to publicly denounce Proposition 8—the ballot that banned same-sex marriage in California. He claimed his youngest daughter, Katy, who is gay, lost a Scientologist friend after outing herself, not because of her sexuality, but, rather because she lied about her sexual preference.

Lisa Marie Presley was a member of Scientology as a child and reportedly helped gather information in HBO's "Going Clear" documentary.

Elvis' daughter reportedly helped gather information from 2007 to 2015 that would appear in Alex Gibney's HBO documentary "Going Clear."

In January 2023, journalist Tony Ortega released an interview he conducted with Presley in 2015 in which she called out current church leader David Miscavige, saying, "Dave was a good friend of mine. Now he's fucking Hitler."

Presley said she started getting into Scientology after her father's death in 1977 and once she turned 25, her relationship with the church changed.

"At 25, after I got the inheritance, they started grooming me to be this person who would go out and get everyone else in," Presley told Ortega of how the church wanted her to recruit other celebrities after acquiring money from her famous father's estate.

Presley also claimed that Scientology drove a wedge between her and Michael Jackson, leading her to file for divorce.

Of leaving the church, she said, "It was bullshit. It was just about control. It was just a way of getting more money."

Presley died at 54 in January 2023 of complications from bariatric surgery.

Jeffrey Tambor also left the church.

In his 2017 memoir, "Are You Anybody?," Tambor wrote of practicing Scientology for two years.

"I was totally willing to accept Scientology — if it would fix me," Tambor said in his book, according to The Hollywood Reporter. "It was me looking for love. I actually had a very good time. And I met a lot of very nice people."

In the book, Tambor claimed he parted ways with the church when he was pressured to leave his second wife.

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