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Michelle Pfeiffer admits she was in a cult

Los Angeles - Michelle Pfeiffer has revealed she was part of a cult.

The 55 -year-old actress lifted the lid on her time as a member of a "very controlling" organisation which believed humans could live without food or water - a belief known as Breatharianism - and had to adhere by a strict diet during her early career in Hollywood.

Michelle - who moved to Los Angeles at 20-years-old - recalled: "They were very controlling. I wasn't living with them but I was there a lot and they were always telling me I needed to come more. I had to pay for all the time I was there, so it was financially very draining."

Michelle only came to the realisation she was in a cult while helping her ex-husband actor, Peter Horton, research for his role in a movie based on the Moonies - a name given to followers of Rev Moon Sun-Myung's unification church.

She recalled: "We were talking with an ex-Moonie and he was describing the psychological manipulation and it just clicked."

Followers of Breatharianism believe food is unnecessary and sunlight can provide all the nourishment the body needs. The belief has attracted wide criticism and has been linked to a number of deaths.

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