15 Celebrities Who Were Raised Mormon: From Ryan Gosling to Chelsea Handler and More

In 2013, Amy Adams opened up about the pros and cons she experienced while growing up Mormon.

“It provides a support system if you embrace it, despite all the controlling and guilting aspects of religion that I grew to resent,” she told The Sun. “What I still feel and rely on from that kind of teaching is how you can bring a lot of joy to the people around you by being positive and hopeful.”

The Disenchanted actress left the church despite its impact on her values.

Brendon Urie was raised Mormon but left when he became an adult. In his interview with Genius in 2016, the Panic! At The Disco singer shared his thoughts about the teachings he learned.

“I still use a lot of good values from growing up in the church, and there was a sense of community. But you were also being heavily judged by people that wanted to look down on you for not being as great as they are," said Urie.

Initially, Chelsea Handler thought her parents were Jewish. However, she later realized her mother was practicing Mormon, and it led her to pick a church at some point.

“We had to choose and I chose Jewish, obviously, because Mormonism is so ridiculous," she said in 2020.

Now a Roman Catholic, Christina Aguilera was raised Mormon by her parents who were serving the Church of Latter-Day Saints.

American Idol alum David Archuleta notably put his career on hold to complete a two-year Mormon mission to Chile. At the time, he spread the Latter Day Saints (LDS) gospel.

In 2022, he told Steve Osunsami how he had a faith crisis after a church leader seemingly invalidated his sexuality after he came out.

"I think three times in that conversation he said, 'Well, maybe we just need to find you a good girl. Maybe you can find a good girl,'" he recalled. "And I'm like, 'That's not the solution.'"

Siblings Derek and Julianne Hough were raised as Mormons, though they decided not to practice the religion anymore.

In Derek's book Taking the Lead: Lessons from a Life in Motion, he said his childhood was "very Mormon."

Meanwhile, Julianne divulged to the New York Post that she was glad she had been raised Mormon even when she was no longer practicing. She also shared the strict rules in their household, including no s-- before marriage, no R-rated movies, no swear words, no smoking, no drinking and no caffeine.

Donny and Marie Osmond still practice their Mormon beliefs, but they reportedly do not talk about them when they perform.

"Our show is not politically based; it's not religious-based. We don't preach to the audience," Donny told Fox News Digital. "We entertain the audience. I think that's the difference between some entertainers and us."

Buffy the Vampire Slayer star Eliza Dushku was raised in the faith but stopped considering herself "very Mormon."

“My problems with the church have to do with its stance on homosexuality, and other things,” she told Intelligencer in April 2012.

At 8 years old, Jewel broke free from Mormonism after her parents filed for divorce.

"I grew up in a very traditional Mormon family. But everything changed when my mom left. My dad started drinking and being physically abusive, so like hitting us, and that's what caused me to move out," she revealed. "He was in a lot of rage and a lot of yelling."

Katherine Heigl honors her Mormon upbringing, although she no longer practices the religion.

"That structure and discipline was really good for me," she told Good Housekeeping in 2014. "I had a childhood that was a childhood. I listened to my parents. I respected the rules."

The late The Fast and the Furious actor Paul Walker grew up Mormon but left the church when he was older. He remained a Christian before his death.

Ryan Gosling grew up in the church as his parents were both devout Mormons. In 2017, he told The Guardian his mother was religious.

“My mother admits it: she says, you were raised by a religious zealot. She’s different now, but at the time, it was a part of everything – what they ate, how they thought," said the Barbie actor.