List of converts to Buddhism
Notable people who converted to Buddhism
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The following people are all converts to Buddhism.
From Atheism or Agnosticism
| Name | Profession/Background | References |
|---|---|---|
| Akshara Haasan | Indian actress and model | [1][2][3] |
| Brittney Palmer | American actress | [4] |
| Stephen Batchelor | British author and former Tibetan Buddhist monk | [5] |
| E. F. Schumacher | German-British economist and author | |
| Jorge Sassi | Argentine actor | [6][7] |
| Shaila Catherine | American meditation teacher | [8][9] |
| Sister Uppalavanna | German Buddhist nun and violinist | [10] |
| Ludwig Ankenbrand | German Buddhist teacher, journalist, and activist | [11] |
| Sangharakshita | British Buddhist teacher | [12] |
From Abrahamic religions
From Christianity
| Name | Former denomination | Nationality | Notes | Refs. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cher | Armenian Apostolic Church | American | musician and actress | [13][14][15] |
| Nyanatiloka Mahathera (Anton Walther Florus Gueth) | Catholic Church | German | one of the earliest western Buddhist monks and founder of Island Hermitage | [16] |
| Penélope Cruz | Spanish | actress and model | [17] | |
| Eileen Gu | Anglicanism | Chinese-American | freestyle skier | [18][19] |
| Anthony Lee | Baptist | American | actor and activist | [20] |
| Ananda Metteya (Charles Henry Allan Bennett) | Catholic Church | British | one of the earliest western Buddhist monk and established the first Buddhist Mission in the United Kingdom | [21] |
| Chris Evans | American | actor and producer | [22][23] | |
| Thomas William Rhys Davids | Congregationalism | British | scholar of the Pāli language and founder of Pali Text Society | [24] |
| Colonel Henry Steel Olcott | Presbyterianism | American | military officer, lawyer and first well-known American to make a formal conversion to Buddhism | [25] |
| Lokanatha (Salvatore Cioffi) | Catholic Church | Italian | Theravadin Buddhist missionary monk | [26] |
| Roberto Baggio | Catholic Church | Italian | footballer | [27][28] |
| Kotahene Soma Maha Thera | Sri Lankan | Theravadin Buddhist monk, translator and missionary | [29] | |
| Aliana Lohan | American | actress, singer and fashion model | [30][31][32][33][34] | |
| Alanis Morissette | American | singer-songwriter and musician | [35] | |
| Sophia Abrahão | Brazilian | model and actress | [36] | |
| Venerable Gotamī (Martina Catania) | Italian | bhikkuni and author | [37] | |
| Solomon Bandaranaike | Anglicanism | Sri Lankan | former Prime Minister of Sri Lanka and founder of Sri Lanka Freedom Party | [38] |
| Melody Gardot | Dutch Reformed Church | American | singer and model | [39] |
| Catherine Spaak | Protestantism | French | actress and singer | [40] |
| Dewi Lestari | Catholic Church | Indonesian | writer, singer-songwriter | [41] |
| Dayenne Mesquita | Brazilian | actress and model | [42] | |
| Prince Esper Esperovich Ukhtomsky | Russian Orthodox Church | Russian | poet, publisher and Oriental enthusiast | [43] |
| Helena Blavatsky | Russian Orthodox Church | Russian | philosopher, occultist, founder of the Theosophical Society | [44] |
| Richard Tiffany Gere | Methodism | American | actor and producer, co-founder of Tibet House US | [45] |
| Jimmy Barnes | Protestantism | Australian | singer and rapper | [46] |
| Orlando Bloom | Church of England | English | actor and leading man in Hollywood films | [47][48] |
| Ajahn Sumedho (Robert Karr Jackman) | Episcopal Church (United States) | American | the one who introduced Thai Forest Tradition to the West and most senior western disciple of Ajahn Chah | [49] |
| Ajahn Viradhammo (Vitauts Akers) | Lutheranism | Canadian | senior western disciple of Ajahn Chah, founder & abbot of Tisarana Buddhist Monastery | [50] |
| Ajahn Brahm | Not specific | English | senior western disciple of Ajahn Chah and abbot of Bodhinyana Monastery | [51] |
| Ajahn Candasiri | Not specific | Scottish | Theravada Buddhist nun of Thai Forest Tradition and one of the senior monastics in western Buddhist circle | [52][53] |
| Ayya Nirodha (Elizabeth Gorski) | Catholic Church | Austrian, later Australian | Theravada Buddhist nun of Thai Forest Tradition, former Abbess of Santi Forest Monastery | [54] |
| Tara Brach | Unitarianism | American | psychologist and founder of the Insight Meditation Community of Washington, D.C. (IMCW) | [55] |
| Belinda Carlisle | Southern Baptist Convention | American | singer (the Go-Go's), songwriter | [56][57] |
| Houn Jiyu-Kennett | Church of England | English | Soto Zen rōshi and founder of Shasta Abbey | [58] |
| John Daido Loori | Catholic Church | American | Zen Buddhist rōshi, abbot of Zen Mountain Monastery | [59] |
| Ananda Claude Dalenberg | Dutch Reformed Church | American | Zen priest ordained by Shunryū Suzuki | [60] |
| Michael David Zimmerman | Episcopal Church (United States) | American | prominent attorney and former justice of the Utah Supreme Court | [61] |
| William Oliver Stone | Episcopal Church (United States) | American | film director, producer, and screenwriter | [62] |
| Pema Chödrön | Catholic Church | American | Tibetan Buddhist nun | [63] |
| Fabian Fucan | Catholic Church (Society of Jesus) | Japanese | writer of tracts, at first supporting Christianity and then criticizing it | [64] |
| Ko Ye Lwin | Not specific | Burmese | prominent musician, guitarist and peace activist | [65] |
| Alfred Bloom | Evangelicalism | American | professor and dean of the Institute of Buddhist Studies | [66] |
| Seungsahn Haengwon | Presbyterianism | Korean | Seon master and the founder of Kwan Um School of Zen | [67] |
| Junius Richard Jayewardene | Not specific | Sri Lankan | first President of Sri Lanka and former Prime minister | [68] |
| Steve Jobs | Lutheranism | American | co-founder of Apple Computer, Inc. | [69] |
| Charles R. Johnson | African Methodist Episcopal Church | American | political cartoonist, novelist and Buddhist writer | [70] |
| Dewi Lestari | Pentecostalism | Indonesian | singer and writer | [71][72] |
| Tsai Chih Chung | Catholic Church | Taiwanese | famous cartoonist, well known in both Taiwan and mainland China | [73] |
| Leung Man-tao | Chinese | writer, critic and host | [74] | |
| Christine Rankin | New Zealander | politician and former civil servant who served as head of the Ministry of Social Development | [75] | |
| Seta Manoukian | Armenian Apostolic Church | Armenian | Armenian painter | [76] |
| Tina Turner | Baptist | Swiss | singer and actress | [77] |
| Herman Vetterling | Swedenborgianism | American | mystic but he retained elements of Swedenborg thought after his conversion | [78][79] |
| Michael Imperioli | Catholicism | American | actor, writer, director, and musician | [80][81] |
| Sam Lao | Church of the East | Chinese | Rishi, Dalit Buddhist and New Age Scientist | [82][83] |
| Theodor Schultze | Protestantism | German | Civil servant, religious writer | [84] |
| Pamela Ayo Yetunde | Methodist | American | Pastoral counselor, hospice worker, writer and educator | [85] |
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From Islam
- Altan Khan was the leader of the Tümed Mongols[86][87][88] and ruler of the Right Wing, or western tribes, of the Mongols, and the first Ming Shunyi King.
- Anggun, Indonesian-French singer, songwriter, and television personality.[89]
- Princess Mother Sri Sulalai (1770–1837), the consort of Phra Phutthaloetla Naphalai, Rama II of Siam and was the mother of Nangklao, Rama III.
- The Bunnag family, powerful noble family of Mon-Persian descent of the early Rattanakosin Kingdom of Siam, the descendants of Sheikh Ahmad who converted to Buddhism.
- Jongkol Kittikachorn, wife of Field Marshal Thanom Kittikachorn, the 10th Prime Minister of Thailand. She converted to Buddhism in 1930.[90]
- Karim Samlee, Bangladeshi-Thai magician and actor.[91]
- Lee Yaping, Taiwanese singer. She became famous overnight with the song "Wake Up! Lei Mengna" and is very popular in Hong Kong and Southeast Asia.[92]
- Ipshita Shabnam, Bangladeshi model and actress. She converted to Buddhism while marrying Partha Barua in 2007.[93]
- Napapa Tantrakul (1986–), Thai actress who was raised as Muslim and converted to Buddhism in 2016[94]
- Nora Ariffin, Singaporean actress, fashion model and real estate broker.[95]
- Nusaba Punnakan, Thai actress and presenter. She has been acting since 1992 and is the spouse of politician Puttipong Punnakan.[96][97]
- Patumwadi Sosaphan, Thai singer and actress. Born in a Muslim family and converted to Buddhism during marriage in 1966.[98][99]
- Tillakaratne Dilshan (1976–), Sri Lankan cricket player who converted from Islam to Buddhism at the age of 16, previously known as Tuwan Muhammad Dilshan[100]
- Tillakaratne Sampath (1982–), Sri Lankan cricket player who was previously known as Tuwan Mohammad Nishan Sampath
- Suraj Randiv (1985–), Sri Lankan cricket player who was previously known as Mohamed Marshuk Mohamed Suraj
- Pai Hsien-yung (1937–), son of KMT Muslim General Bai Chongxi, a Chinese American writer of Hui descent[101]
- Winai Kraibutr, Thai actor and television personality.[102]
- Wong Ah Kiu (1918–2006), Malay woman born to a Muslim family but raised as Buddhist; her conversion from Islam became a legal issue in Malaysia on her death[103]
From Judaism
- Nyanaponika Mahathera (1901–1994), German-born Theravada monk, co-founder and first president of the Buddhist Publication Society[104]
- Bhikkhu Bodhi (1944–), American Theravada Buddhist monk and scholar, founder of the Buddhist Global Relief[104]
- Ayya Khema (1923–1997), German Buddhist teacher and one of the organizers for the first International Conference on Buddhist Women[105]
- Larry Rosenberg (1932–), American Buddhist teacher who founded the Cambridge Insight Meditation Center[106]
- Peter Coyote (1941–), American actor and author[107]
- Surya Das (1950–), lama who founded Dzogchen Foundation and Centers[108][109]
- Tetsugen Bernard Glassman (1939–2018), American Zen Buddhist roshi and co-founder of the Zen Peacemakers[110]
- Zoketsu Norman Fischer (1946–), American poet, writer, and Soto Zen priest and founded the Everyday Zen Foundation[111]
- Zenkei Blanche Hartman (1926–2016), Soto Zen teacher practicing in the lineage of Shunryu Suzuki.
- Kittisaro, disciple of Ajahn Chah and Ajahn Sumedho; meditation teacher in the Thai Forest Tradition
- Hozan Alan Senauke (1947–), Soto Zen priest, folk musician and poet.
- Jack Kornfield (1945–), teacher in the Vipassana Movement of American Theravada Buddhism[110]
- Sharon Salzberg (1952–), meditation teacher and co-founder of the Insight Meditation Society[110]
- Goldie Jeanne Hawn (1945–), American actress, producer, dancer, and singer.[112]
- Steven Seagal (1952–), American actor, producer, screenwriter, martial artist, and musician who holds American, Serbian, and Russian citizenship.
- Robert Downey Jr. (1965–), American actor and producer[113]
- Philip Glass (1937–), American composer and pianist[114]
From Indian religions
From Hinduism
- B. R. Ambedkar (1891–1956), Chief architect of the Constitution of India[115]
- Jagdish Kashyap (1908–1976), Buddhist monk[116]
- Bhadant Anand Kausalyayan, Buddhist monk, writer, and scholar[117]
- Balachandran Chullikkadu (1957–), Malayalam language poet from Kerala[118]
- Hansika Motwani, indian actress.[119]
- Rahul Sankrityayan (1893–1963), Hindi author and translator[116]
- Iyothee Thass (1845–1914), Siddha practitioner and leader of the Dravidian movement[120]
- Laxman Mane (1949–), Dalit author and social worker[121]
- S. N. Goenka (1924–2013), Vipassanā meditation teacher and founder of Vipassana Research Institute
- Swami Prasad Maurya, politician[122]
- Udit Raj (1958–), prominent Indian social activist and Buddhist polemicist[123]
- Lenin Raghuvanshi (1970–), activist, one of the founding members of People's Vigilance Committee on Human Rights (PVCHR)[124]
- Suresh Bhat (1932–2003), Indian poet and writer[125]
- Pracheen Chauhan, Indian television actor[126]
- Tisca Chopra (1973–), Indian actress, author and film producer[127]
- Vinay Jain, Indian television actor[128]
- Poonam Joshi (1980–), Indian television soap opera actress[129]
- Shibani Kashyap, Indian singer[130][131]
From other or undetermined
- Sister Uppalavannā (Else Buchholtz) (1886–1982), German Theravādin Buddhist nun, first European Buddhist nun in modern history[132]
- U Dhammaloka (Laurence Carroll) (1856–1914), Irish-born migrant worker turned Theravādin Buddhist monk and an active role in the Asian Buddhist revival around the turn of the twentieth century[133]
- Paul Dahlke (1865–1928), German physician and a pioneer of Buddhism in Germany, founder of “Das Buddhistische Haus”[134]
- Sīlācāra (John Frederick S. McKechnie) (1871–1951), former Buddhist monk, lay Buddhist writer and translator
- Ñāṇamoli Bhikkhu (Osbert John S. Moore) (1905–1960), British Theravādin Buddhist monk and translator of Pali literature[135]
- Ñāṇavīra Thera (Harold Edward Musson) (1920–1965), British Theravādin Buddhist monk, the author of Notes on Dhamma[136]
- Sāmanera Bodhesako (Robert Smith) (1939–1988), American Theravādin Buddhist monk who founded Path Press
- Robert Baker Aitken (1917–2010), co-founded the Honolulu Diamond Sangha[137][138]
- Reb Anderson (1943–), Zen teacher [139]
- Alistair Appleton (1970–), British television presenter[140][141][142]
- Stephen Batchelor (1953–), writer[143]
- William Sturgis Bigelow (1850–1926), prominent American collector of Japanese art and converted to Tendai Buddhism[144]
- Orlando Bloom (1977–), actor who played Legolas in Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit[145][146]
- Kate Bosworth (1983–), American actress[147]
- John Cage (1912–1992), American composer[148]
- Arabella Churchill (1949–2007), English charity founder, festival co-founder, and fundraiser[149]
- Chester Carlson (1906–1968), American physicist and inventor, best known for inventing electrophotography[150]
- Leonard Cohen (1934–2016), Canadian singer/songwriter/poet[151]
- John Crook (1930–2011), British ethologist[152]
- Ruth Denison (1922–2015), Vipassana Meditation teacher in United States, one of four Westerners to receive permission to teach from Sayagyi U Ba Khin[153]
- Chris Evans (1981–), American actor and best known for his role as Captain America in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) series of films.[22][154]
- Ernest Fenollosa (1853–1908), American professor of philosophy and political economy at Tokyo Imperial University[155]
- Richard Gere (1949–), actor and activist for Tibetan causes[147]
- Allen Ginsberg (1926–1997), poet[156]
- Natalie Goldberg (1948–), writer [157]
- Herbie Hancock (1940–), jazz pianist who has also released funk and disco albums[147]
- Joseph Jarman (1937–), jazz musician and Jodo Shinshu priest[158][159]
- Miranda Kerr (1983–), model[160]
- k.d. lang (1961–), Canadian singer[161]
- Jet Li (1963–), actor[162]
- Courtney Love, American singer-songwriter[163]
- Menander I (died c. 130 BCE), Greco-Buddhist king (from pre-Christian Hellenistic religion)[164]
- Dennis Genpo Merzel (1944–), abbot of Kanzeon Zen Center[165][166]
- Alanis Morissette, Canadian-American singer [167]
- Ole Nydahl (1941–), lama teacher [168]
- Tenzin Palmo (1943–), nun of Drukpa Kagyu lineage[169]
- Li Gotami Govinda (Ratti Petit) (1906–1988), Indian painter, photographer, writer and composer (from Zoroastrianism)[170]
- Zeena Schreck (formerly LaVey) (1963–), Berlin-based American visual and musical artist, author, the spiritual leader of the Sethian Liberation Movement (SLM), Tantric Tibetan Buddhist yogini and second daughter of the late Church of Satan's founder Anton LaVey.[171][172]
- Wayne Shorter (1933–2023), American jazz saxophonist and composer[173]
- Oliver Stone (1946–), American film director[174]
- Sharon Stone (1958–), American actress, producer, and former fashion model[175]
- Tan-luan (6th to 7th century), Chinese Buddhist monk important to Pure Land Buddhism (from Taoism)[176]
- Thích Thanh Từ (1924–), Vietnamese Zen Buddhist monk (from Caodaism)[177]
- Robert Thurman (1941–2026), Buddhist priest and writer who has been called "the Billy Graham of Buddhism"[178]
- Tina Turner (1939–2023), American singer-songwriter, dancer, and actress who has won eight Grammy Awards[151]
- Philip Whalen (1923–2002), Beat Generation poet and Zen monk[179]
- Sister Vajirā (Hannelore Wolf) (1928–1991), German Buddhist convert and former Ten-Precept nun
- Adam Yauch (1964–2012), aka MCA, American rapper (member of Beastie Boys), songwriter, film director, and human rights activist[180]