Leah Remini's Tragic Life Story

Leah Remini found worldwide fame thanks to her role as Carrie Heffernan in the CBS sitcom "The King of Queens." But despite her success, and strong bond with co-star Kevin James, who she says "ruined her for life" with his great acting chops, the actor hasn't led a totally charmed life. Remini was brought into the complicated world of Scientology when she was just a child and made the difficult decision to leave the church in her adulthood. These days, Remini is largely known as one of the most outspoken critics of the religion, working on anti-Scientology podcasts and TV shows. Taking this path hasn't been easy for the star, who has had to cope with a lot of backlash from strangers, fans, and people she once called friends. 

Besides this, Remini has also faced a lot of personal tragedies over the years. Though we may think the life of a Hollywood icon is relatively smooth sailing, Remini has always been honest about her struggles. Let's take a look at just how turbulent the life of this sitcom alum has been. But be warned: There are no laughs in this story. 

Leah Remini's relationship with her father wasn't exactly copasetic. Though her parents were together when Leah and her siblings were very young, it wasn't built to last. Along with her mother and sisters, Leah moved to Florida to live at the Church of Scientology headquarters in Clearwater, but at that point her parents, Vicki Marshall and George Remini, had already split up. When replying to a tweet in 2017, the actor bluntly said: "My real dad left his wife and young daughters with no care, no child support & was physically and mentally abusive to my sisters. Now what?"

The rift continued over the years, and Leah even voiced the opinion that the Church of Scientology recruited her father after she left, in a bid to use him against her — something the institution firmly denies. When her father died in 2019, Leah shared a photograph of herself and her siblings with her father as kids. In the caption, she claimed that she and her sisters only found out about George's death by accident, a month after it had happened. "A funeral came and went and none of us knew anything about it," she wrote. "We were not able to say goodbye. He was not able to redeem himself, to ask for forgiveness for his failures and hurts, to become a better man to those of us who couldn't help but love him." 

The stunning transformation of Leah Remini didn't happen overnight. Her evolution from an unknown youngster to a successful actor and ex-Scientologist has been a wild ride. For Remini, her path to fame and fortune wasn't a fairytale story. When she was just a child, she moved to Florida without her father, alongside her mom and sisters. Her stepdad was the driving force behind the move, though it's interesting to note that her mom's husband never ended up following the family. She told BuzzFeed in an interview that life got substantially worse when they left New York. 

"We went from a middle-class lifestyle [in Brooklyn, N.Y.] to living in a roach-infested motel with six other girls off a freeway in Clearwater," she explained. "We were separated from our mother. We had to sign billion-year contracts we didn't understand. And we kept saying, 'Why are you doing this to us? Why are we here?'" The actor went on to reveal that the family's new life was no walk in the park. She and her sisters were expected to work for the church instead of attending a conventional school. Eventually, the Reminis moved away from the Scientology headquarters to Los Angeles, though they remained active members of the church.

It took Leah Remini a lot of blood, sweat, and tears to break into Hollywood. She began to take auditions as a teenager and though she had some success in her early years with roles on shows such as "Head of the Class" and "Living Dolls," Remini didn't really hit pay dirt until she landed the iconic role of brassy Carrie Heffernan, wife of Kevin James' character Doug in the sitcom "The King of Queens." Something about the couple struck a chord with audiences and the CBS vehicle became a runaway hit. Despite Remini's fears that the show would be canceled like many of her previous projects, the series was still going strong by 2006. 

However, this time, it wasn't the network that decided the jig was up, but Remini's co-star. James had had enough of playing the character and decided he wanted to leave. Simply put, without him there was no show. Though Remini understood, it dealt a devastating blow. "There are no words to describe it," she told BuzzFeed in her 2014 interview. "Kevin loved the show, but his film career was taking off and he didn't want it to end up being the show that trickled off ... I'm still mourning that loss. I can't really watch the reruns because I still feel that show in my bones." 

Why Leah Remini left "The Talk" may still be difficult for some fans to comprehend, though it's been years since the actor departed the popular show. While some stars who have appeared in the series thoroughly enjoyed their experience, Remini has a slightly different point of view. After "King of Queens" ended, Remini found herself with a potentially good deal on her hands. CBS executives struck her a bargain: be a star on the first season of their new panel show and get to produce your own shows for the network. It was a no-brainer for Remini. However, the show turned out to be vastly different from what Remini expected. 

She told BuzzFeed in 2014, "I get [to 'The Talk'] and I'm thinking, 'It's important to understand why these guests are worth talking to,' but no one else gave a s***." Ultimately, Remini's desire to turn the project into something a little more serious didn't go down well with the other stars, and rumors of high tensions began to circulate in the press. Ultimately, Remini and fellow co-host Holly Robinson Peete were ousted. Even though the situation was less than ideal, Remini says it taught her a lot. In the same interview, she explained, "Sometimes heart and passion don't actually get you far and good intentions are not always rewarded."

Leaving Scientology was important for Leah Remini. In 2013, Page Six broke the news that the actor had finally left the controversial church behind, after coming up against the church's leader David Miscavige. Remini reportedly asked about the whereabouts of Miscavige's wife Shelly. The star's interest ruffled feathers and tensions rose between herself and other members, causing her to exit. As the years ticked by, Remini became a very vocal critic of Scientology practices, even though she received an enormous amount of backlash from others for her departure. Interestingly, Remini said that she first turned to other Scientologists to try and change certain things before she chose to leave, but they opted not to. 

"They only cared that their lives would be disrupted if they stood with me," she told BuzzFeed. "They didn't care about doing the right thing. That showed me everything the Church taught me was a lie." Other high-profile Scientologists took to the media to trash Remini for leaving, and at the time of writing in 2024, she still lives with the repercussions of her decision.

In the same year that Leah Remini left Scientology, she was dealt a devastating blow when her half-sister Stephanie Remini died at the young age of 35. Stephanie was reportedly diagnosed with cancer the year prior, and despite having surgery to remove a tumor, it quickly spread. Another of the star's siblings, Nicole, took to X (then Twitter) to share the sad news, imploring people to donate to Stand Up To Cancer in Stephanie's name. Leah hasn't publicly spoken about the loss of her sister, but in 2018 she captioned an Instagram photograph of herself with her sisters, "Happy Siblings Day. We are a bunch of crazies, but we love each other ;) R.I.P Stephanie." 

In another twist, the pro-Scientology website LeahReminiTheFacts.org ran a report claiming that Stephanie's mother Donna Fiore spoke to them. "[Leah] made a complete mockery and disaster of my daughter Stephani's death," reads the article. "Leah didn't come in to see Stephani. She sent her a frigging blanket and a couple of pictures." Her father's next wife Dana Remini also claimed that Leah refused to pay for Stephanie's medical bills and didn't attend her memorial. Whether these claims are true is unknown, but regardless, it can't have been an easy time for Leah or her family. 

Kirstie Alley's relationship with Scientology is well-documented, and it just so happens that she was friends with Leah Remini. The pair were close when they were both members of the church, but when Remini left Scientology under hostile circumstances in 2013, Alley wasted no time in telling radio DJ Howard Stern how she felt about her former buddy, via Closer Weekly: "I think that is the most repulsive thing that a person can do, is attack another person's faith." Alley went on to rebuff Remini's claims that people from the church had turned their backs on her: "You're not shunned, you're not chased. All that stuff's bullish*t." Not content to leave it there, Alley called Remini a bigot and proudly announced she had blocked her on social media. 

The bitterness between the pair continued when Remini appeared on "Dancing with the Stars" in 2014 and became close with professional dancer Maksim Chmerkovskiy. Alley had been on the show before Remini and also considered Chmerkovskiy a friend, but upon learning he had buddied up with Remini, Alley decided to end her relationship with the dancer. Tensions escalated further when Alley appeared to imply that the Ukraine-Russia conflict was fake, tweeting (via Rolling Stone), "I don't know what's real or what is fake in this war. So I won't be commenting. I'll pray instead." 

Chmerkovskiy was in Ukraine and swiftly replied to Alley telling her to save her prayers, while Remini pointed out that Scientologists don't pray. Alley attacked Remini's intelligence, and the social media argument ended there. Alley's harsh words and public criticism didn't stop Remini from reacting with grace when Alley died from cancer in 2022 at the age of 72.  

Leah Remini's daughter is all grown up, and no one knows that better than Remini. The actor shares her only child Sofia with her now ex-husband Angelo Pagan. The youngster was born in 2004, and in 2022, Remini took to Instagram to post a lengthy caption about how much she was struggling with Sofia leaving the family home and going to college. "Bringing our only child to college for the first time has been the most excruciatingly painful and proudest moment of my life," she wrote, alongside a photograph of herself posing with Sofia as a small child. "I have never cried so much in my life. I am only comforted by meeting other parents at Target who bonded with me over our mutual pain and pride."

Remini went on to convey how letting her daughter go was the most difficult thing she has ever had to do but she was comforted by the fact that she was also studying for a degree at the same time. As it turns out, Sofia's college journey was a little turbulent. The following year, Remini explained to her Instagram followers that Sofia ended up leaving the college she originally chose, and ended up coming home before finding an alternative school to go to. 

"She's back at it now, going through all the things a first-year college student should be going through, and we, her parents, are going through what parents like us go through," she explained. 

Leaving Scientology was so important for Leah Remini and her family for a plethora of reasons, and the decision has heavily impacted her life ever since. In 2023, Remini took the institution to court, filing a lawsuit claiming that she was the victim of vicious attacks. "For 17 years, Scientology and David Miscavige have subjected me to what I believe to be psychological torture, defamation, surveillance, harassment, and intimidation, significantly impacting my life and career," Remini stated in the press release at the time, per Variety. "I believe I am not the first person targeted by Scientology and its operations, but I intend to be the last." Needless to say, the Church of Scientology wasn't impressed by Remini's advance against them, and released their own scathing statement in response, labeling the actor a bigot who had no one else to blame for her career issues than herself. Taking the legal path has proven to be yet another struggle for Remini in her battle against Scientology. 

In 2024, the judge presiding over the case deemed some of the church's behavior simply free speech and not defamation as Remini argued. One of the attacks in question featured images circulated on socials by the organization, where the star was photoshopped to wear T-shirts with "I (heart) rapists" emblazoned on them. "While highly offensive and inappropriate, [the images] can only be deemed parody," explained Judge Hammock, via Variety. "No one viewing those statements could take them literally."

Though Leah Remini is a successful actor, she still faces the same issues as many women her age. In early 2024, the star went to X to share her battle with perimenopause and depression. In the lengthy statement that has been viewed more than 1.2 million times, Remini detailed how deciding to leave the Church of Scientology took its toll on her, forcing her into depression and illness. 

She explained, "On top of my struggles with depression, my body has seemed to change overnight, something women my age (53) go through naturally, but I know it still comes as a shock to so many of us." She went on to say that she was taking the conversation to social media in the hope she may connect with others going through the same thing. " ... I hope to feel less isolated and hope that I can make some of you feel the same."

Remini revealed that going through perimenopause can last many years before hitting menopause, and credited her close friend Michelle Visage and her doctors for making sure she didn't completely lose it during the experience. 

If you or someone you know needs help with mental health, please contact the Crisis Text Line by texting HOME to 741741, call the National Alliance on Mental Illness helpline at 1-800-950-NAMI (6264), or visit the National Institute of Mental Health website.

Despite all of her ups and downs over the years, Leah Remini had been able to rely on her husband Angelo Pagan. The pair spent 21 years happily married and 28 years together, with the relationship withstanding Remini's departure from Scientology and everything else that came with it. News of their divorce surfaced in 2024 when the couple announced their split on Instagram. The post, which shared two photos of them side by side, came with a lengthy caption. "This decision came after a lot of thought and care, and as hard as divorce is, we are approaching this with a positive outlook because we know it's what's best for us," they wrote. "We are proud of how we have worked through this together." 

More than anything, the couple expressed a desire for others to take them as an example that marriages that end aren't necessarily failures. "From our perspective," they explained, "This marriage was a huge success." The pair married in 2003 in a Las Vegas ceremony, going on to welcome their only child, daughter Sofia, the following year. Fans didn't think this split was on the cards, considering all of the storms the couple has weathered.