I know this is juvenile, but I simply was astounded at the Mormon history of these celebs. Did you know that Ryan Gosling grew up in a Mormon family? Did you know 
Aaron Eckhart went on a mission?
Well, I didn’t, and I follow the lives of celebrities quite closely. (That is sarcasm — just the other day I had to ask my teenage daughter who Kim Kardashian is). Anyway, here’s a fun look at celebrities with a Mormon background.
I’m surprised they didn’t include Mireille Enos, the star of AMC’s “The Killing.”
Nitice how many are childeren of divorce? No wonder so many of them are messed up. Parents don’t let your kids grow up to be actors.
Notice how many are childeren of divorce? No wonder so many of them are messed up. Parents don’t let your kids grow up to be actors.
Mireille was in my ward in Brooklyn for a few years. She’s since moved to LA and is now married to Alan Ruck (Cameron from Ferris Bueller’s).
Check out this video of Ryan Gosling at a ward talent show as a kid: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dJQvXCoNDzM
Annoying that they only went for “former Mormon” celebrities. Can we build a better list of active Mormon celebrities?
Sure, if you’re looking at athletes and musicians. As far as actors go (and they seem to be the main focus on this list), the list of active Mormons is not all that great.
There really aren’t that many active Mormon celebrities.
What many members forget is that the Church is a small part of the U.S. population. We tend to excel at business and a few in sports. But, other exceptional achievers tend to be few and far between.
If you think writers, how many major LDS best sellers have there been in the last few decades? The ones that come to mind are Stephanie Meyers, Orson Scott Card, Richard Paul Evans and Steven Covey. Considering there are 20-30 top tier writers a year nationally, it is a pretty small set.
FamousMormons.net has seven pages of Mormon TV actors.
What’s interesting about that list is that writers/producers/directors who are active LDS are a much more notable bunch than the active LDS actors. And they’ve helped create some great movies too. Secret of NIMH, for example (Don Bluth also directed just about every other cartoon movie in the ’80’s that wasn’t Disney).
We do alright with famous authors, especially when it comes to fantasy/sci-fi (most big fans of fantasy and juvenile fantasy have probably read quite a few LDS authors). Dave Wolverton (aka David Farland), Brandon Sanderson (who took over the Wheel of Time series after Robert Jordan died–one of the most well-known fantasy series of all time), Brandon Mull (children’s fantasy). I’m probably missing some here.
The famousmormons.net link Book mentioned is quite interesting.
but the star says she’s too selfish to fully devote herself to the church. “I haven’t been an actively practicing Mormon in years,” she revealed to the Daily Mail. “I satisfy my vices instead of fighting them. I love being a sinner.”
What a quote for the article to have.
Good point, Stephen.
Add Keri Russell to the list. Her mom was my Mia Maid advisor growing up. They were in our ward for a few years in Arizona.
Geoff, I think you should follow the celebrity tabloids more closely. There are many great moral cautionary tales to be gleaned from the Kardashians.
On another note, does anyone regret that former Mormons can no longer self-identify as Mormons because there is not really a strong cultural identity for non-practicing Mormons? This I believe is something Andrew S. and others are trying to change. In the Catholic tradition, you can still be a proud Catholic, even if you don’t believe anything to Pope says.
Would it not be more positive, if these non-practicing Mormons could identify more with positive aspects of the culture, even without belief?
Or does it hurt the church when someone self identifies as Mormon, who doesn’t follow the standards or believe the teachings?
Ricky Schroder is a member of the Church.