Rose McGowan was born in Florence, Italy and, as a small child, lived in communes throughout Europe before moving to Oregon and finally settling in Seattle, Washington.
McGowan's parents were members of the Children of God, (now called The Family International) a Christian-based cult that had chapters throughout the world in the 1970s and '80s.[1] But McGowan knew early on that she didn't want to be a part of it:
I did not want to be like those women. There were basically there to serve the men sexually.[2]
When McGowan was 10, her parents became disenchanted with the Children of God, which prompted their move to the U.S. McGowan says:
My dad was strong enough to realize that this hippie love had gone south.[3]
Now, it seems McGowan is a woman without a religion. During her years-long relationship with shock-rocker Marilyn Manson–a Satanist–McGowan seemed to have adopted his belief system–even taking it further, saying:
I always thought I was more satanic than Manson.[4]
But it might have been a phase associated with the now-defunct relationship. She no longer appears to be religious.
The Troubles and Liberalism
McGowan, at least politically, fits nicely into the Hollywood starlet stereotype. She's quite liberal and has been a longtime supporter of marriage equality and gay rights. She posed for the NOH8 campaign,[5] and protested California's Prop 8:[6]
It broke my heart the night Prop. 8 passed. I'm out there on Santa Monica Blvd. with crowds of people, and the world is watching…[7]
In Oct/Nov 2012, McGowan's Twitter feed was all about Obama, and when he won a second term, she was tweeting things like:
RT @myeverblue: Best tweet ever! RT @thefaint: I got 99 Problems but Mitt ain't one[8]
And:
I'm proud of us voters![9]
In 2008, McGowan had a role in the film, Fifty Dead Men Walking, about The Troubles in Northern Ireland where the Irish Republican Army attempted to unseat the British occupation–unsuccessfully and with horrifically violent acts of terrorism. The IRA is quite unpopular for their violent ways and after doing the film, McGowan sided with their cause,[10] saying:
I imagine, had I grown up in Belfast, I would 100 per cent have been in the IRA. My heart just broke for the cause. Violence is not to be played out daily and provide an answer to problems, but I understand it.[11]
It was a controversial statement at the time–and even the filmmakers she had been working with distanced themselves from McGowan.[12] Plus, it sort of contradicts her semi-hippie, liberal worldview. But maybe she's just an empathetic person. What do you readers think?
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