Prince was not alone in his Jehovah's Witness faith -- some of the most famous celebrities are or were practicing the faith at some point in their lives.
Kevin Jacobsen
EnStars on Apr 22, 2016
While Prince's status as a Jehovah's Witness may seem out of the ordinary in Hollywood, there are many celebrities who are/were members of the religion.
In the wake of the shocking news of Prince's death, many have learned for the first time about his being a devout Jehovah's Witness. The music superstar converted to the faith in 2001 following the death of his mother.
Here's a list of some of the most famous Jehovah's Witnesses:
Michael Jackson
Jackson was raised a Jehovah's Witness alongside his brothers and sisters. He would ultimately become disassociated from the religion following his worldwide success in the '80s. But a Witness ceremony was performed by Jackson's relatives following his death.
Venus and Serena Williams
The Williams sisters are practicing Jehovah's Witnesses when off the tennis court. Venus spoke about this in an interview: "Well, we believe -- it's just like tennis. You can't just go once a month and expect your game to be on top. You have to reiterate everything. We believe in good association, association with fellow Witnesses, not becoming too involved with people that don't have the same beliefs and same values that we do. We go to meetings three times a week."
George Benson
Benson, known for such hits as "This Masquerade" and his remake of "On Broadway," may be semi-retired but he is still an active member of the Jehovah's Witness community.
Michelle Rodriguez
Rodriguez, who has starred such major film events as Fast and Furious and Avatar, grew up a Jehovah's Witness but has since left the faith. The actress spoke about her faith to Interview Magazine: "I was also raised Jehovah's Witness, so that kind of scarred me for life. So I hated school right away. Religion had a lot to do with it because I felt like everybody was always lying to me."
Luke Evans
Evans had similarly traumatizing experiences as a child, explaining of his faith, "[O]n Saturday mornings you'd be knocking at their doors," he said. "I remember standing there with my mum and dad thinking, 'Oh my God, I know whose door this is, and I'll have to see them on Monday.' It was terrible." He is no longer practicing.
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