Raised in a religiously split household, with a devout Catholic father in Martin Sheen and a strict Southern Baptist mother, the actor never settled firmly into one faith. After a near-fatal health scare in the late 1990s, he briefly declared himself a born-again Christian, though that phase didn't last long before he drifted back to old habits. In recent years, he's described himself as "God curious," convinced something bigger is out there but still searching rather than committing to any particular religion. | © Warner Bros. Television
Born to a Christian Scientist mother and raised partly by fundamentalist foster families whose faith she never warmed to, the screen icon found something different in Judaism. She converted in 1956 to marry playwright Arthur Miller, studying with a Reform rabbi, and by his own account, it was her heartfelt choice rather than anything Miller required. She was drawn to the religion's emphasis on family and intellect, kept a menorah on her mantle, and stayed committed to the faith even after the marriage ended in 1961. | © MGM
Raised Irish Catholic in Massachusetts, the Hunger Games star embraced Judaism after meeting her husband Max Handelman, her college sweetheart, whose faith meant far more to him than any religion had to her. She went through most of the conversion process, studying with rabbis, but skipped the final mikveh, so by her own cheerful admission she's "technically not converted" while being, as she puts it, as Jewish as she's ever going to be. The couple has raised their two sons in the faith, and Banks practices it fully, mikveh or not. | © CBS
Raised Anglican in Canterbury, the Lord of the Rings star found his true spiritual home in Buddhism as a teenager, after hearing his art mentor chant "Nam-myoho-renge-kyo" before his exams. He formally became a practitioner of Nichiren Buddhism through Soka Gakkai International in 2004, right as Hollywood fame hit, and he's described daily chanting as the anchor that keeps him grounded. He's stayed devoted for two decades, even building his own Buddhist retreat, crediting the practice with giving him the roadmap he always wanted. | © Warner Bros. Pictures
When the actress married art consultant Will Kopelman in 2012, she embraced his Jewish faith, marrying under a chuppah in a traditional ceremony and committing to raise their two daughters Jewish. She spoke warmly about how much the religion's family focus moved her, calling it a beautiful faith she felt honored to be part of. Reports differed on whether she ever completed a formal conversion, and the marriage itself ended in divorce in 2016, though her embrace of the religion during those years was sincere. | © The Drew Barrymore Show / YouTube
Raised Methodist in Perth, where she attended Methodist Ladies' College, the actress took on a new faith out of love. She completed a full conversion to Judaism in 2007 to marry Sacha Baron Cohen, studying for several years, taking the Hebrew name Ayala, and embracing Shabbat and Jewish family traditions. She's spoken fondly of how much she loves the religion's emphasis on family, and though she and Baron Cohen divorced in 2024, her conversion was always its own genuine embrace rather than just a formality. | © New Line Cinema
Raised Roman Catholic, the Grease star found Scientology in 1975 while filming the horror movie The Devil's Rain, introduced to it by a castmate when he was just 21 and on the verge of stardom. He became the religion's first big celebrity face, years before Tom Cruise, and has stayed devoted ever since. He's credited the Church with carrying him through some of the hardest moments of his life, including the loss of loved ones, and has consistently defended it against its critics. | © Miramax Films
Few stars have church-hopped quite like Snoop, who's cycled through several faiths over the years. Raised Baptist, he briefly claimed to convert to Mormonism in 2008, aligned with the Nation of Islam in 2009, then announced he was a Rastafari convert in 2012, renaming himself Snoop Lion and putting out a reggae album after declaring himself a reincarnation of Bob Marley. The journey eventually circled back home, with a 2018 return to his Christian roots on the gospel album Bible of Love and a born-again identity ever since. | © Snoop Dogg / YouTube
Raised Christian, the former heavyweight champion found Islam while serving his prison sentence in the 1990s, introduced to the faith by fellow inmates who he said gave him a sense of peace and structure he'd never had. He took the Muslim name Malik Abdul Aziz and has practiced ever since, even making the pilgrimage to Mecca, once alongside DJ Khaled. He's candid that he's far from a perfect follower, but he's said he wants to die a Muslim, crediting the religion with grounding one of the most chaotic lives in sports. | © PowerfulJRE / YouTube
The King of Queens star spent more than 30 years in Scientology, joining as a kid when her mother did, before a very public break with the Church in 2013. She's since become its most relentless critic, fronting the Emmy-winning exposé Scientology and the Aftermath and later suing the organization. Religion-wise she returned to her roots, reconnecting with the Catholic faith she was baptized into as a baby and describing it as everything Scientology wasn't, no demands, no pressure, just quiet comfort. | © CBS
The Irish singer behind the 1990 classic Nothing Compares 2 U was raised Roman Catholic but spent much of her life as a fierce critic of the Church, especially over its handling of abuse. In October 2018 she announced she had embraced Islam, taking the name Shuhada' Sadaqat and calling it "the natural conclusion of any intelligent theologian's journey," while still performing under her birth name. She remained a devoted Muslim until she died in 2023 at the age of 56. | © Paramount Plus
Raised in a devout Italian-American Catholic family, the pop icon went on one of the most public spiritual journeys in music, landing on Kabbalah in the late 1990s. Through the Los Angeles Kabbalah Centre she took the Hebrew name Esther, wore the red string bracelet, and began observing Shabbat, immersing herself in the Jewish mystical tradition for decades. She's been clear that she never formally converted to Judaism, describing herself as Catholic to the bone while drawn to something she feels runs deeper than any single religion. | © Jay Shetty Podcast / YouTube
Daughter of a Quaker father and a Roman Catholic mother, the New Girl actress was raised in a liberal, non-religious home and long said she didn't tie herself to any one faith. Around the time she married Jewish producer Jacob Pechenik in 2015, she was reported to have converted to Judaism, a shift first attributed to an insider rather than announced by Deschanel herself. The couple went on to have two children before separating a few years later. | © Call Her Daddy / YouTube
Preparing to play the Italian friar in 2022's Padre Pio, the famously immersive actor moved in with a community of Capuchin friars, and what began as research turned into a genuine conversion to Catholicism. He's said the change came during the lowest, darkest stretch of his life, a period that overlapped with a 2020 lawsuit from his ex-girlfriend FKA Twigs alleging abuse, claims he has denied. Raised in an interfaith home with a Jewish mother and a Catholic father, he was confirmed into the Catholic Church on New Year's Eve 2023 and has even spoken about one day becoming a deacon. | © Paramount Pictures
Raised Christian by her dad Lionel Richie and educated for a couple of years at a Christian school, the model took a different spiritual path as an adult. Ahead of her 2023 wedding to music executive Elliot Grainge, she converted to Judaism, sharing the news on Instagram and calling it "one of the greatest experiences of my life." The couple then married in the South of France in a traditional Jewish ceremony, complete with a chuppah and a signed ketubah. | © Vogue / YouTube
Plenty of stars were raised in one tradition only to find something different later in life, whether through marriage, a personal awakening, or a long spiritual search. Some converted quietly, others made headlines. Here are 15 celebrities who changed religions.
