Some celebrities converted to different religions for love and for their personal spiritual growth.
Sofia Richie converted to Judaism in April 2023 before marrying music executive Elliot Graing.
“What a magical day. Richie would like to thank Cantor Nathan Lamb for helping me along this journey of converting to Judaism,” she wrote along with a photo signing the document via her Instagram Story. “It was one of the greatest experiences of my life. Today was that day!!! ✡✡️✡️.”
Meanwhile, comedian Dave Chapelle converted to Islam at the age of 17 after having a conversation with a Muslim employee at a pizza shop.
“I asked him about his religion and the guy was very passionate about it, it was very persuasive,” Chapelle said in October 2020 that my next guest didn’t need to be introduced to David Letterman on his Netflix series.
Continue scrolling to see more famous people who have converted their religion:
Sofia Richie
Although Richie was born a Christian, he converted to Judaism before his marriage in April 2023 and Graing.
Isla Fisher
Although Fischer grew up as a Methodist, he converted to Judaism in 2007 before his wedding to Sacha Baron Cohen. (Twosome tied the knot in 2010 and announced its split in April 2024.)
“I love Judaism, the fact that there’s a lot of emphasis on everything about my family and everything about it,” she told Metro in a 2009 interview. “We’re very observant. We keep the Sabbath, have dinner on Friday nights and celebrate our holiday. I really enjoy being part of that Jewish community.”
Carly Cross
It is unclear how the religion that Cross grew up, but she converted to Judaism before her 2018 wedding to Joshua Kushner.
“Changing some of who you are for someone else can be considered weak,” she told Vogue in the UK in a July 2019 interview. “But what do you know? In fact, if you’ve ever experienced something I’ve experienced, it requires anything but you’re weak. It requires me to be stronger, self-loving and resilient. I really didn’t take this lightly.”
The model noted that her decision to switch was not just a choice she chose to make herself, but also a choice she chose to make herself.
“It has only been for many years that I have studied and spoken about my family, friends and soul searches, then decided to begin planning for the future with a man who has fully embraced Judaism and chose to marry him,” she explained to the outlet.
Dave Chapel
Chapelle grew up in a Christian family, and after talking to employees at a pizza shop, he converted to Islam at the age of 17.
Shia Labeouf
LaBeouf grew up in a Christian family and converted to Catholicism in January 2024 after feeling inspired after filming Padre Pio in 2022. In the film, LaBeouf starred as Padre Pio, an Italian priest who was respected as a saint by the Catholic Church.
“I discovered through Pio that this idea of ’self’ had died…and instead, the Lord was working in my life. That wasn’t pointless! “The actor told the Catholic Registry in a June 2023 interview. “The ego death I experienced when I started this project started feeling like a gift when I looked through another lens. So, what I did for Pio and in general, is hacking me with my suffering, hacks to my pain. I found a way to see self-death, death of ego as the best gift from the best.”
Julia Roberts
Roberts raised Christians, but after filming food, prayer and love in 2010, she shared that she is a Hindu in practice.
“I’m definitely a Hindu in practice. In an interview with Elle in 2011, I’ve been very spoiled with friends and family in this life,” she said. “Next time I want to be something quiet and supportive.”
Leah Remini
After leaving Scientology in 2013, Remini reconnected with her Catholic faith.
“No one asks me for money. She told people in an interview in November 2015. “I light a candle. I sit and listen. … Sometimes I don’t do anything. For me, that’s what religion is supposed to be: beautiful.”
Elizabeth Banks
The bank grew up in a Protestant family, but in 2003, he undertook a process of turning Jewish religion prior to his wedding to Max Handelman.
“My kids go to Jewish kindergarten. We only celebrate Jewish holidays. I love Cedar,” the actress and director told Mark Maron on his “WTF” podcast in January 2013.
Richard Gere
Gere raised Methodist Christians and converted to Buddhism in 1978 following a deep recession.
“(Walter) Evan Swentz’s book on Tibetan Buddhism had a huge impact on me. He told the Lion’s Rooon in an interview in June 2016. “They had all the romances of good novels, so you could really fill yourself up, but at the same time, they offered the possibility that you could live here and be free at the same time. I didn’t think of it as a possibility – I just wanted – the idea that you could be here and come out at the same time was revolutionary.”
Ice Cube
The rapper raised Christians, but converted to Islam in the 1990s.
“Because I call myself, God and me,” he told The Guardian in a 2000 interview. “You know you go to mosques, rituals and traditions. So I don’t do that.”
Zooey Deschanel
Although Deschanel grew up in a Christian family, particularly a Protestant family, she told Weekly in 2015 that the actress converted to Judaism prior to her wedding to her ex-husband Jacob Pechenik before her wedding. (The knot was tied between the two in 2015.
Sharon Stone
The star of basic instincts nurtured Roman Catholicism, but began practicing Buddhism in the 2000s.
“I’m a Buddhist,” she shared her time in January 2018. “I really believe in Yin and Yang practice.”
Kareem Abdul Jabber
The NBA Great grew up in a Roman Catholic family and converted to Islam in 1971 at the age of 24.
“I was born to Lou Arcindor. He wrote in a blog post on his website in March 2015. I used to be Lou Arcindor, but I am pale at what white America had hoped for from me. Now I am Kareem Abdul Jabber, a manifestation of my African history, culture and beliefs.”
Orlando Bloom
Bloom raised Christians, but at the age of 16 he became a Buddhist, working with artists in painting and painting.
“As a philosophy and as a practice, it was definitely the anchor of my life,” the actor shared today in May 2024. And I liked it as a roadmap. I’ve always wanted a roadmap, but in a way, this practice was it for me. ”
Mike Tyson
After the award fighter was arrested in 1992, he was raised as a Christian before converting to Islam.
“I learned in my life that you have to worship someone bigger than you,” he told the PBD podcast in December 2023. That’s who I am and that’s exactly what it is. ”
Jermaine Jackson
Jackson, who came from the family of Jehovah’s Witnesses, became interested in Islam during a trip to the Persian Gulf in the late 1980s and later became a Muslim.
In an interview with Al Arabia in 2010, the singer said that he “didn’t feel connected” until he became a Muslim.
Marilyn Monroe
Monroe raised Christians, but converted to Judaism after marrying playwright Arthur Miller in 1956.
According to an article published in The Jewish Chronicle in September 2022, Monroe told her friend, actress Susan Strasberg, that she could “identify with Jews.”
“No matter what they do, everyone is always trying to get them,” she explained.
Sinead O’Connor
The singer of “Nothing Compares 2 U” was born into a Roman Catholic family and converted to Islam in 2018.
“This is to announce that I am proud to be a Muslim. This is the natural conclusion of the journey of an intellectual theologian,” she wrote in October 2018 via Twitter. This makes all the other Bible redundant. A new name is given. It will be shuhada. ”
Muhammad Ari
The legendary boxer converted to Islam in the 1960s after being raised in a Christian family.
“I went to a Muslim meeting, and as soon as I heard it, I knew this was something I’d been looking for all of my life,” he shared in a 2011 interview.
Ivanka Trump
Trump was born into a Christian family and converted to Judaism in 2009 before his wedding to Jared Kushner.
“We are much more observant than others than others. She told Vogue in February 2015. “It was a really great life decision for me. I’m very modern, but I’m also a traditional person, and I think it’s an interesting juxtaposition of how I grew up. I really found that Judaism creates an amazing blueprint for family connections.”
Tom Cruise
The actor raised Catholicism, but converted to Scientology in 1986 after being introduced by his ex-wife, Mimi Rogers.
“It’s something that has helped me incredibly in my life,” Cruz shared in a 2016 statement.
