Did you know that a lot of these high-profile celebrities are devout Christians? Or that many of them normalized waiting for marriage and serve as role models for other young people who are contemplating the same thing? The concept of virginity is actually much more common in Hollywood than you'd think...
Adriana Lima
In 2006, the Victoria's Secret model told GQ that "sex is for after marriage," and "my boyfriends have to respect that this is my choice." Always one to encourage feminism, she added, "If there's no respect, that means they don't want me."
Adriana and Jarić
At the time of the interview, Lima was dating NBA star Marko Jarić. They married in 2009 and have two children together. Unfortunately, they divorced a few years later.
Ciara and Russell Wilson
A few months after they started dating, singer Ciara and NFL player Russell Wilson said they'd refrain from having sex until they were married. They tied the knot in 2006 and have two children together. She also has a son from her previous marriage.
Focus on Friendship
Of their decision to wait until marriage, Ciara said: “I really believe that when you focus on a friendship, you have the opportunity to build a strong foundation for a relationship—and once you know you’re really great friends and you’re what we call ‘equally yoked,’ where you share the same values or the same outlook on life, it kind of sets the tone."
Jessica Simpson
Jessica Simpson has served as a role model for other girls who wished to stay abstinent until marriage. In 2000, she told People Magazine that "virginity can be cool and sexy." She's always been open about her reasons for waiting.
Mutual Respect
"My virginity is something I stand strong in," she said in an interview. Her boyfriend at the time, Nick Lachey, said, "It's not always easy, but I do respect it." They got married shortly after, but unfortunately, the marriage didn't last and the two have since moved on.
Jordin Sparks
The American Idol alum made a vow to stay abstinent until marriage when she was very young. She was raised in a strict Christian household and grew up upholding those values. She even wore a purity ring to prove how serious she was about it.
Love and Marriage
Sparks has since married Dana Isaiah, after stating that, "I don't want to give bits of my soul away to lots of different guys—I want to give all of myself to the right man on the right night. And the right night is my wedding." The couple now has a baby together!
Julianne Hough
Hough believes that just because she waited to have sex doesn't mean she couldn't explore her sexuality in the meantime. She admitted that she and her now-husband Brooks Laich had lots of steamy phone calls, but she does also admit that she wasn't great at it.
An Individual Choice
In an interview she did before she was married, she said, "I think [the choice] to have sex before marriage is an individual one, but if you’re just with one person, it’s only for one good reason, and [waiting to have sex] will strengthen that relationship. I’m not trying to preach consequences here, but I think when you say no, down the line it will be a better decision.”
Kevin Jonas
The eldest Jonas Brother made it no secret that he was waiting until marriage. In fact, all three brothers did. They all wore purity rings to symbolize how serious they were about it. Now, all three brothers are happily married.
Anticipation
Kevin married Danielle Deleasa in 2009 after dating for two years. She was originally a fan of the band and they met at one of his concerts. Now, they have two adorable daughters together and they even had their own reality show for a time.
Evan Spiegel and Miranda Kerr
The Snapchat founder and model married in 2017 and revealed that they waited until marriage because Spiegel was very traditional. Kerr has a son from her previous marriage to Orlando Bloom, and now Kerr and Spiegel have a child together.
Co-Parenting
After Kerr and Bloom split, ending a six-year relationship and three-year marriage, the two have learned to co-parents along with their significant others, Spiegel and Katy Perry. Now, Bloom and Perry are engaged and expecting a child of their own.
Mariah Carey and Nick Cannon
Because they share similar religious values, Carey suggested that she and Cannon abstain from sex until after they were married. “We both have similar beliefs, and I just thought that it would be so much more special if we waited until after we were married," she told Daily Mirror in an interview in 2008." She said the tradition was and still is important to her.
A Set of Twins
After they were married, Carey and Cannon had a set of twins, Monroe Cannon and Moroccan Scott Cannon. They were born on the couple's third wedding anniversary in 2011. However, they have since gotten divorced.
Sean Lowe
Lowe was jokingly nicknamed "The Virgin Bachelor" during his time on the reality dating show. However, the nickname wasn't exactly true. Though he did have sex while he was single, he chose to wait until marriage with his wife Catherine Giudici.
Finding Himself
"I didn’t have sex in college. And honestly, I don’t even know if I knew at that time why I took that stance. After graduating college, I moved back to Dallas. I was dating other girls and I started having sex, and I would feel extremely guilty afterwards," the former Bachelor star said in an interview. "But after that guilt faded, then I’d start talking to some other girl and go down that same path of destruction…. At the age of 24, I finally became a man. I said, ‘Okay, Jesus, let’s do it again.’
Tamera Mowry-Housley
The former Sister, Sister star married her husband Adam Housley in 2011. When they first started dating, they both chose to honor their faith and remained celibate until they tied the knot. "We felt God wanted us to do it. Whenever you're feeling discouraged just pray together."
A Growing Family
Mowry said that she didn't lose her virginity until she was 29. She and Housley dated for nearly six years before finally getting married in Napa Valley. They have an eight-year-old son and a five-year-old daughter.
Tim Tebow
Former New York Jets quarterback Tim Tebow is a devout Christian who is saving himself for marriage. “It’s about finding a girl who likes me for me, and not because of what I do, or who I am, or the name,” he said in an interview. In 2016, he confirmed that he's still a virgin, and hopeful that God will find the right person for him soon.
Carrie Underwood and Mike Fisher
In 2007, the American Idol winner said to Slate mag that she wouldn't "even entertain the idea of sex" until her wedding day. A year later, she met her now-husband Mike Fisher, and they married in July 2010. The two have been happy and in love ever since.
Hilary Duff
Singer and actress Hilary Duff waited until marriage because "a lot of people don't make [sex] sound that special." She also said, "It's harder having a boyfriend who's older because people just assume. But [virginity] is definitely something I like about myself. It doesn't mean I haven't thought about sex, because everyone I know has had it and you want to fit in," she told Elle magazine in 2006. "But when they talk about it, it doesn't sound special, like you would imagine it to be. It just seems like everybody has slept with each other—you know what I mean?"
Sarah Drew
Drew played Grey's Anatomy character April Kepner, and she could relate to her quite well. Both are devout Christians who avoided pre-marital sex. "For April, the first thing that was revealed was she was a virgin,” explained Drew. “I waited until I was married to have sex so I understood April’s motivations. The writers thought it would be a really cool and interesting story to tell that isn’t seen too often.”
Selena Gomez
Selena Gomez starting wearing a promise ring when she was thirteen, vowing to stay true until marriage. However, when she started dating Justin Bieber, the ring came off and fans criticized her for it. "I'm not embarrassed to say that [I had a promise ring]...I'm also not embarrassed to say that the ring has come off," she said in response.
Yvonne Orji
Though she does film sex scenes for her HBO show, Insecure, Orji is still a virgin in real life. She was inspired by her faith and decided to stay celibate long before she ever starred on the show. "Before any of [the fame] happened, I sat down with myself and with God and thought, when I make it, how do you want me to represent you while I’m here?” Orji said.
Tina Fey
The comedian and actress revealed to David Letterman that she didn't lose her virginity until she was 24. She waited until she married her husband, Jeff Richmond. Letterman had been reading off a list of other celebrities who waited, and when he got to hers, she said "I couldn't give it away. That's just good, Christian values. Or, being homely."
Lisa Kudrow
The Friends star waited until she married her husband, Michael Stern, in 1995. In an interview, she said, "I don't know if you'd characterize me as uptight, but I understood what it is to be so afraid of sex—of your sexuality. For me it was just, 'No, I'm saving myself because I have to make myself worthy of the kind of man I have in mind.'"
Ali Landry
Previously married to Mario Lopez, Ali Landry made sure she wouldn't make the same mistakes twice with her current husband Alejandro Monteverde. they married in 2006, and she said, "I was just treading lightly, and did not want to make any mistakes in this relationship. We abstained from sex until we got married."
Lolo Jones
Track star Lolo Jones didn't let any men fool her while she was on the Olympic circuit. However, she did struggle with remaining celibate. "It’s the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life. Harder than training for the Olympics." She also said that she was always tempted, and men would even tell her that having sex would make her run faster.
Colton Dixon
Since starring on American Idol, Dixon released two Christian albums. His religion is likely why he and his wife Annie didn't sleep in the same bed until they were married in 2016. “It was kind of strange: we checked into the room and realized, ‘We actually get to go to sleep side by side! This is so cool!’” he said. “Anywhere we’ve traveled before, we’ve always gotten two hotel rooms. We wanted to remain pure in that area.” Dixon admitted that it wasn't easy, but he knew he wanted to wait.
DeVon Franklin and Meagan Good
Actress and teacher-slash-film exec Meagan Good and DeVon Franklin were so passionate about abstinence that they wrote a book about it together. "As a man, if you can be disciplined in your sexual life, there's nothing you can't do," Franklin said in the book. "We held each other accountable because we honored the commitment."
Pattie Mallette
Justin Bieber's mom reclaimed her virginity since having her son. "When you lose your purity at such a young age, you start to think that you are not worth it. And when you lose your self-confidence, your self-identity, and your purity, you kind of attract what you believe you were," Mallette said in an interview. She took the vow so seriously that she wrote it down with a witness present.
Jill Duggar and Derick Dillard
The first daughter in the 19 Kids and Counting family to get married, Jill was expected to follow all celibacy rules until marriage. The Duggar parents require their children to "court" their partner and be chaperoned on all dates. Jill and Derick didn't even kiss until their wedding day. We’re just really trying to keep our relationship focused not on the physical but really just more on communication and continuing to learn more about each other. We’re saving our first kiss and things beyond that for our wedding," she said.
Josh and Anna Duggar
Josh Duggar, the oldest son in the 19 Kids and Counting family, is a father of five and has been married to his wife Anna for over a decade. Despite remaining abstinent until marriage, there were several allegations against him for molesting his younger sisters while he was a teen.
Andy Grammer
The singer famous for "Honey, I'm Good" is one of several celebs who is honest about remaining abstinent until marriage. He revealed that he hadn't had sex at all until he married his wife Aijia in 2012. “I actually waited until I was married to have sex. That was not without some porn, unfortunately," Grammer said. He continued to discuss the accessibility of porn on the internet, saying, “I do think that, as a culture, we don’t understand the effects of that. I feel for men right now because it’s never been this easy to do something so destructive to yourself."
Bethany Hamilton
Best known for surviving an infamous shark attack that cost her her arm, Bethany Hamilton has always been outspoken about abstinence. "I think growing up I was blessed to have parents that stayed together, and have that husband and wife image of I want—an awesome husband one day that will love and support me until I die,” she said. She is now a mother of two and still an inspiring surfer.
Kirk Cameron
The Growing Pains star actually grew up to marry his co-star, Chelsea Noble. They were 21 when they tied the knot, and due to his extreme Christian views, he now travels from church to church as a preacher. "Sex within marriage is the only kind that’s truly fun and exciting—the kind that lasts for a lifetime. I’m glad I waited," he said.
Jase and Missy Robertson
The Duck Dynasty stars cite their strict religious views as their reason for remaining celibate until marriage. Though it was difficult, they're both glad they held out. "I've never had anything else in my life requiring that amount of self-discipline and self-control," Jase said.
Brooke Shields
Shields says she didn't have sex until she was 22 due to insecurities about her body, not for religious reasons. "I had the public and all this pressure, and I wish I had just gotten it over with in the beginning when it was sort of OK," she said. "I think I would have been much more in touch with myself." She eventually lost her virginity to her boyfriend at the time, Dean Cain, several years after they started dating.
Zac Hanson
The youngest brother in the band Hanson gave a pretty cringey interview with Howard Stern once. He admitted to the DJ that he and his wife Kate Tucker waited until they were married to have sex. "Everybody’s got their own preference. I’m not telling everybody, 'Don’t have premarital sex,'" he told Stern. "I’m just saying, I didn’t. And that seemed like the right thing to do for me."
Kathie Lee Gifford
Kathie Lee's decision to wait for marriage wasn't necessarily the best decision in hindsight. When she married her first husband, Paul Johnson, the two realized there was 0 chemistry between them. "We saved ourselves for so long and expected it to be so good because we had done it 'right.' It was not passionate, and it was not successful, but it was polite."
Justin Bieber and Hailey Baldwin
After getting married in 2019, the newlyweds revealed that they waited until their marriage was official in order to break their vows of celibacy. “[God] doesn’t ask us not to have sex for him because he wants rules and stuff,” said Bieber. “He’s like, ‘I’m trying to protect you from hurt and pain.’ I think sex can cause a lot of pain. Sometimes people have sex because they don’t feel good enough. Because they lack self-worth. Women do that, and guys do that."
Sherri Shepherd
Thea ctress and talk show host was very honest about her reasons for waiting to have sex. She said that it wasn't easy for her. "I was horny as a loon and I’m chasing [my husband] around the hotel room saying, ‘We can make a mistake!’ And he was like, ‘Jesus is in Grenada too!’ Many, many times I was like, ‘Why did I say this?’"
Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson
Though they didn't wait until marriage, the couple is publically very religious. Hanks has described himself as "a Bible-toting evangelical" in his teenage years. Later he converted to Greek Orthodox before marrying Wilson, and they still frequently attend church.
Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban
Kidman says she and her husband regularly attend church with their children.
"That's how we are raising our family," Kidman told the magazine. "I had a very Catholic grandmother, and I was raised praying, so that had massive impact. I wouldn't say it's absolutism, there's constant questioning."
Chris Pratt
Chris Pratt has been a devout Christian since he was a teen. When he accepted his 2017 Teen Choice award, he said, "I would not be here with the ease and grace I have in my heart without my lord and savior, Jesus Christ." Following his recent marriage to Katherin Schwarzenegger, he said he was "proud to live boldly in faith" with her.
Jane Fonda
The Grace & Frankie star shared her journey into faith in a blog post. She wrote, "Now, as I entered my sixth decade and with much work, I could feel myself becoming whole and I knew: This is what God is."
Mark Wahlberg
The actor told Relevant magazine that he believes he's so successful in Hollywood due to his Christian lifestyle. "My faith and my family are the most important things," he said. "Those things allow me to be successful in all the other things that I’m doing."
Reba McEntire
The country singer has been an open book when it comes to faith. "My faith has helped me tremendously throughout my whole life. I’ve depended on it. I’ve trusted it. It’s guided me, influenced me and given me advice in all ways."
Chip and Joanna Gaines
The Fixer Upper icons have always been open about discussing their family's religious beliefs. They recently invited a local church to host services at their Magnolia Market. In her book, Joanna writes, "I came to think of God as more of a gracious friend who was accompanying me on this journey, a friend who wanted to carry my burdens and speak into my life and shape me into who I really was and who I would become."
Denzel Washington
The Oscar winner has spoken about his faith in several interviews, and has never shied away from the subject. "The fundamental message is in the Bible, which I’ve read three times from front to back, along with some of the Koran and the Torah," he said. "If you don’t practice love, you’re missing the point. I believe in love thy neighbor."
Jackie Joyner-Kersee
THe Olympic medalist says she owes all of her success to God. She has won three gold medals, one silver, and two bronze in the Olympics. "Well Jesus Christ, God … there’s no way I could have accomplished all the things I have been blessed to do because I know it just wasn’t me. And still today, He leads my life," she said.
Faith Hill and Tim McGraw
Faith Hill and Tim McGraw have always been very open about their religious values, and even make a point to implement them into their music. During their Soul2Soul tour, she shared a sweet pic of the two of them taking part in their pre-show ritual. “Tim and I share a quick quiet moment together before hitting the stage. Always praying.”
Brad Paisley
The country singer includes godly messages in most of his songs, including one recently released, "My Miracle." He wrote it for his wife, and the lyrics are deep in his faith. "I wasn't always spiritual / Oh but one thing that's for sure / How could I not have faith / In the God that created her."
Dwayne Johnson
Dwayne Johnson thanks his faith for helping him through his past struggles with depression. He told Oprah Winfrey that he hopes other people struggling can find that same outlet. "Hold onto that fundamental quality of faith. Have faith that on the other side of your pain is something good."
Nick Jonas
Nick and the rest of the Jonas Brothers were raised Christian. When Nick and his wife Priyanka Chopra got married, they had a Hindu wedding and a Christian wedding, officiated by Nick's father. He was a former minister in the Assemblies of God Church while the boys were growing up.
Tom Cruise
Actor Tom Cruise is a known Scientologist, claiming, "it's a beautiful religion." He along with celebs like John Travolta, Christopher Reeve, and Will and Jada Pinkett Smith are some of the top practicers. However, most stars who join the church tend to renounce it. Cruise hasn't yet, though.
Candace Cameron Bure
Like her brother Kirk Cameron, Candace Cameron Bure has always been religious as well. Faith has always played an important role in her upbringing and career, and she and her husband Valeri Bure are also raising their children with religion.