‘Fatal Attraction’ star Glenn Close has told New York Magazine that she was well-equipped for a career in acting because she grew up in what she refers to as a ‘cult’ — which gave her the chance to practice pretending to be someone she was not.
Close’s family joined the extremely conservative Moral Re-Armament movement when she was just 7 years old.
The actress told New York Magazine, “It was a cult, where everyone was told to think alike, and that’s devastating.”
She toured the world as part of the group’s musical collective Up With People until she went to college.
According to Wikipedia the documentary film Smile ‘Til It Hurts: The Up with People Story “reveals that the musical group emphasized extreme right wing politics, while participants allege that the troupe rules included aspects of a religious cult, including arranged marriages and control over sex in marriage. In later years, participants discuss changes in the cultish aspects of the organization and how it softened to happy groupthink persona.”