The Untold Truth Of Elisabeth Moss

Elisabeth Moss has managed to live a fairly quiet life despite all her success, even though privacy is hard to come by in Hollywood. Even those who choose to keep their personal lives private often still have to deal with a lot of scrutiny that comes with being in the spotlight.

Moss hasn't been quiet about her desire to keep her personal life to herself, and, while she does have somewhat of a social media influence, she has found a nice balance of what she shares and doesn't share with her followers and the public. Elisabeth Moss certainly seems like a mixed bag to many people, but just because she's more low-key doesn't mean Moss isn't relatable or down to earth. Perhaps because Moss grew up knowing she wanted to act, she has worked hard to shield herself. "You have to be careful," she said in an interview with Harper's Bazaar. "Once the information is out there, you can't take it back." 

Because she keeps to herself, there's a lot about Moss that fans might not know. Here's the untold truth of Elisabeth Moss.

Elisabeth Moss had quite an interesting schooling experience. Likely because Moss' parents were so busy as musicians, the actress wasn't able to complete traditional schooling. According to Moss' 2016 interview with The Guardian, Moss' mom was "a harmonica player in a blues band," and her dad was "a music manager" who often was "on tour with clients." Moss told the publication, "My earliest memories are at the Blue Note here in New York, or backstage at different theatres or different clubs, dressing rooms." So, Moss was homeschooled.

According to Biography, "Moss was home-schooled by a private tutor and managed to graduate from high school two years early, in 1999, at the age of 16." Clearly, Moss has been a go-getter from an early age. With such a fascinating background, it's no wonder that Moss grew up to be the talented actor that she is, playing complex and wonderful characters.

It's no secret that Elisabeth Moss is a Scientologist, as it's really one of the most well-known facts about the actress. The religion is controversial, as members of the church of Scientology go through a so-called auditing process, which involves delving into a lot of personal information, according to CNN.

While many celebrities become Scientologists later in life, Moss actually grew up in the church of Scientology, as reported by Elle Australia. Additionally, the publication reported that Moss "claims that the Church helped her become who she is today." Moss' religion is often the subject of articles and think-pieces, as many wonder how the actor can be a part of such a controversial religion while also advocating for women's rights and other progressive values. However, one source told The Sun, "Elisabeth is a devout member who was born into this ­religion and would never do anything to rock the boat." Additionally, the source explained, "She's a role model within the church..." 

It's clear that Scientology is a big part of Moss' life, and, since she grew up in the church, you can understand why she might stand up for the religion.

Though Elisabeth Moss has been acting since she was a young girl, she definitely scored her breakout role when she starred as Peggy Olson on the period drama "Mad Men." The role practically made Moss' career, and the character Peggy was perfect for the actress.

In an interview with Vogue, Moss explained that she really related to Peggy. "I just felt like I knew that girl," she said. "I felt like I could see Peggy. She was the unwitting feminist, the one that wasn't burning bras or marching, who didn't know the phrase glass ceiling but was banging her head up against it." While the show might have taken place in the 1960s, Moss' Peggy still had very relatable struggles that the women of modern times could understand. Really, "Mad Men" set off Moss' career and launched her name in a way. And Moss played Peggy in a way that surely no one else could have.

Acting and dancing are both obviously important to Elisabeth Moss and have each played a significant role in her life, but she wouldn't be who she is today without the music she listened to as a child. Music played a critical role in Moss' life, and, from the time she was a kid to now, she's appreciated good music.

"My upbringing was not full of the cool music that everyone else at school was listening to," she told Vogue in an interview, "but classical and blues and jazz. It was only more recently that I could identify a Nirvana song, but I could easily name any Gershwin tune from the first few bars." She explained to The Guardian that classical music was a huge part of her childhood and noted that she listened to the likes of Ella Fitzgerald when she was 12.

Basically, everyone knows one very important fact about Elisabeth Moss: She is a Scientologist. Scientology has been such a huge part of Moss' identity that there isn't really an interview with Moss out there that doesn't at least touch on her religion.

In an interview with the Daily Beast, Moss explained that her faith is very personal to her and that she can only vouch for how the religion has worked for her. "The things that I believe in, I can only speak to my personal experience and my personal beliefs," she said. Additionally, in an interview with Advocate, Moss explained that she looks to her church for guidance on social issues. "One of the most important things I take from my church is the idea of personal freedom and our rights as human beings, and that includes the right to date a man or a woman," she said. "Personal freedom is a very important concept in my religion, and I translate that to sexual orientation."

For Moss, Scientology isn't a controversial topic — it's just part of who she is.

Just like the novel by Margaret Atwood on which the show is based, "The Handmaid's Tale" takes place in a dystopian future where many women lose their freedom and become Handmaids. Their only job is to get pregnant and deliver a healthy baby, but they have absolutely no say in what's happening to them. So, while Elisabeth Moss hasn't experienced what it's like to be nothing more than a baby-making machine in real life, she still feels connected to her character on the show, June Osborne, otherwise known as Offred.

In an interview with Vogue, Moss explained why she feels such a kinship to June. "June is a heroine like you are and I am and my mom is," she said. "She's a mother. She's a wife. She's a woman. She's human. I think that's really interesting — the question of, How would you act in her position? What would you do? What kind of hero would you become?" 

Elisabeth Moss is known for playing big, intense roles and is also known for speaking out on social and political issues, but that doesn't mean she's always so serious in real life. In fact, in an interview with Vogue, Moss explained that she's a lot more relaxed than fans might assume. "People meet me and they're thrown because they expect me to be more serious, intense," she said. "I'm just so not."

Additionally, Moss explained that because she films scenes that are difficult on such a regular basis, she likes to unwind with reality TV, specifically the "Real Housewives" franchise. "I mean, I think I do some hard s**t on 'The Handmaid's Tale,' but it was difficult maintaining that level of tension and drama and hyperness and speed," she said. "I think that's why I love my reality TV and my comedies." Moss works hard, so unwinding with some reality television is just what she deserves.

Despite her many roles, Elisabeth Moss is probably best known as the leading character in Hulu's adaptation of Margaret Atwood's "The Handmaid's Tale." The dystopian show has truly been a huge success, but Moss doesn't just act on the series: During Season 4 of the show, she made her directorial debut on the show. Originally, Moss explained that she was supposed to direct one episode of the series before production shut down due to the coronavirus pandemic, but then she wound up directing three total when shooting restarted.  

"So all of the sudden I was the sort of director on hand," Moss explained during an appearance on "The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon." Making your directorial debut on a show as popular and intense as "The Handmaid's Tale" is no small feat, so we imagine Moss was excited to direct those episodes! To host Jimmy Fallon, she went on, "By the end, we were joking that I was just gonna be this journeyman director now, like off to do my ninth episode of 'Law & Order,' clocking in, clocking out."