Actress Kimberly Elise Leaves New Age For Jesus: 'God Has Blessed Me'

Actress Kimberly Elise stunned fans when photos of her baptism went viral a few years ago, with "The Manchurian Candidate" star openly sharing her budding Christian faith. Elise, 58, took a journey to Hollywood that was a fulfillment of childhood dreams. She had initially come to faith early in her life, but walked away in her teenage years. "We didn't go to church, we didn't study the Bible," Elise told CBN News. "We were raised with Christian principles. However, I knew at a young age — 'There's something I'm missing.'" And that missing piece started to come together when she was 16, got her driver's license, and started bringing herself to church. "I was going to church and got baptized when I was 16, and, unfortunately, I didn't have the benefit of any discipleship, any development, any real understanding of what it truly meant to be a follower of Jesus," Elise said. "So, I quickly went back into the world like teenagers do, and finished college, met my husband ... at the time, got married, and then that segues into Hollywood and moving to California." Despite not being fervent in her faith while working in Hollywood, Elise said she knew God had blessed her with gifts and that those gifts needed to be used "in a certain way." "I didn't know Jesus, I didn't know the Holy Spirit, but I knew that God had blessed me and given me certain gifts," she said. "And, so, when I went to Hollywood, I just knew there were certain things I would not and could not do because of the gift that God had given me." Elise, who grew up in the suburbs of Minneapolis, Minnesota, recalled having a deep passion for entertainment early on in life — a drive that led her to start working in commercials both locally and nationally when she was in college. Before long, she dove into theater and eventually made her way to Hollywood, where she studied at the American Film Institute before graduating and heading into feature films. And the rest is history. Elise enjoyed a successful career, but in 2019 she said she realized something wasn't quite right in her life. "Different things converged that made me realize I'm not making the choices that I should be making," she said. "I'm not making good choices." Elise continued, "I was very into ... the whole New Age thing. And, again, moved away from God and was like, 'The universe and crystals.'" Watch her explain. Want more news from a Christian Perspective? Choose to support CBN: https://go.cbn.com/ugWBn CBN News. Because Truth Matters™ Download the free CBN News App: http://cbnnews.com/app SUBSCRIBE to the CBN News Channel for more: http://youtube.com/c/CBNnewsonline/?s... SUBSCRIBE to the QuickStart Newsletter by visiting quickstart.news SUBSCRIBE to the Quickstart Podcast. New episodes every morning at 7am: cbn.com/cbnnews/quickstart What's coming up next? Have a look at our program guide: https://www.youtube.com/redirect?q=ht... CBN features 24-hour TV news from a Christian perspective. The CBN News Channel provides independent news programming to an underserved audience to enlighten, entertain and inspire Christians around the world. Comments below do not necessarily reflect the views of CBN. Share this live feed with your friends and family:    / cbnnewsonline   Like us on Facebook:   / cbnnews   Like us on Twitter:   / cbnnews   Follow us on Instagram:   / cbnnews   Contact News Editors: https://www.youtube.com/redirect?q=ht... Questions about other CBN programs: Visit WatchCBNNews.com or call (888) 700-7000. Questions about supporting CBN News? Visit JoinCBNNews.com or call (888) 700-7000 for more information. Questions about Helping the Home Front? Call: 800-700-7000 https://www.youtube.com/redirect?q=ht... #breakingnews #politicalnews #christiannews #christian #christianity #church #breakingnews #cbnnews