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Joaquin Phoenix’s parents joined Children of God for a short time when he was very young. Phoenix estimated their involvement lasted about two years; he has said he has no memories of that period and described his parents leaving after they realized the group was not what they had expected.
What Joaquin Phoenix has said about his childhood
In a January 2014 interview with Terry Gross on NPR’s Fresh Air, Phoenix described his parents as seeking a community whose ideas seemed to align with their own. He estimated that they were involved with Children of God for “about two years.” He recalled his father concluding that the group’s power structure and reality did not match what the family had imagined.
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Phoenix said, “I have no memories, I was so young.” He also explained that this period was not a major milestone in his family’s life. His account is a retrospective description, not an independently established timeline.
Read the Fresh Air interview transcript.
When did his family leave, and where were they living?
Phoenix and his mother, Heart Phoenix, later described the family as living in Venezuela during this period. CBS’s 2020 60 Minutes report places their return to the United States by 1977. These accounts establish a broad sequence, not an exact departure date.
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CBS News / 60 Minutes: Joaquin Phoenix grants Anderson Cooper a rare interview.
Why did they leave Children of God?
Phoenix’s account on Fresh Air focused on his father’s concern that the group did not match the family’s expectations, including concerns about its power structure. A 2019 Vanity Fair profile reports another detail: a letter from the group’s leader describing “flirty fishing,” a practice the profile characterizes as using sex to recruit followers, contributed to the family’s decision to leave.
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Those accounts emphasize different parts of the story. The profile’s detail should not be treated as Phoenix’s sole explanation: Phoenix himself described a broader mismatch between what his parents expected and what they encountered.
Does Phoenix say he witnessed abuse or the group’s sexual practices?
No. In a 2014 ABC News interview, Phoenix said he did not witness the practices discussed in reporting about Children of God. The fact that allegations or criticism concern an organization does not establish that Phoenix personally experienced abuse. His public account is that he was too young to remember his time with the group.
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ABC’s article summarizes criticism and historical claims about the organization, while keeping Phoenix’s response distinct. It used “religious sect” in its headline and noted that some critics called the group a cult. Calling Phoenix’s childhood “in a cult” is therefore a framing used in coverage and in the question readers may bring—not a definitive label Phoenix himself supplied for his experience. He said groups do not present themselves as cults, but as communities.
Read ABC News’ 2014 interview and report.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What was Children of God, and what is known about its later name?
ABC News reported in 2014 that Children of God was then known as The Family International and included a spokesperson’s account of a 2010 reorganization. That is a contemporaneous historical description, not confirmation of the organization’s present-day name or status.
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