Michele Miscavige

Career in Scientology

Miscavige is a member of the Sea Org, the organization responsible for the international management of the Church of Scientology and its affiliated entities. From the age of 12, she was a member of the Commodore's Messenger Organization (CMO), the internal Sea Org group responsible for personally servicing Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard aboard his flagship Apollo in the 1970s. She was described as "quiet, petite and younger than most of the other Messengers at the time ... and a bit overshadowed by the older girls." Jim Dincalci, one of her shipmates, says that she was "a sweet, innocent thing thrown into chaos." At the age of 21, in December 1982, she married a fellow CMO member, 22-year-old David Miscavige.

She subsequently joined her husband's group as "COB Assistant," the official assistant to her husband, the Chairman of the Board (COB) of Scientology's Religious Technology Center. According to author Lawrence Wright, she was closely involved in the Church's liaison with its most famous member, Tom Cruise. When Cruise started a three-year relationship with Penélope Cruz, Miscavige supervised Cruz's auditing and helped her through the Church's Purification Rundown program.

After the end of the Cruise-Cruz relationship, Miscavige was reported to have led a Church program to find a new girlfriend for Tom Cruise, which led to him marrying Katie Holmes. Around a hundred young Scientologist actresses were interviewed, though they were not told why. An actress named Nazanin Boniadi was introduced to Cruise and dated him for a few months before he broke off the relationship in January 2005. The search resumed, with more actresses invited to audition for what they thought was a role in a forthcoming Mission: Impossible film, and eventually concluded with Katie Holmes meeting and in due course marrying Cruise. His attorney denies that any Scientology executive set him up with girlfriends. Miscavige subsequently oversaw a project to use Scientology members and contractors to renovate Cruise's nine-bedroom mansion in Beverly Hills, Los Angeles.

Allegations of disappearance

Shelly Miscavige has not appeared in public since August 2007, leading to speculation that she is missing.

In 2006, Shelly's husband, church leader David Miscavige, left the Scientology's international base. Upon her husband's return, Shelly Miscavige was said to have "visibly changed" her mood and to have "looked cowed". Mike Rinder, then the church's chief spokesman, says that she asked him if her husband was still wearing his wedding ring. Shortly afterwards, in June 2006, she no longer made any appearances in public.

She was absent from the November 2006 wedding of Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes. In July 2013, it emerged that actress Leah Remini had left the Church, after reportedly receiving "an unbelievable torrent of attack" for asking fellow Scientologists at the wedding why Shelly Miscavige was not present.

Missing-person reports have been filed with the Los Angeles Police Department concerning Miscavige. At least two such reports have been filed; one is reported by Lawrence Wright, though he does not state who submitted it, while another was filed in August 2013 by the actress Leah Remini. Detective Gus Villanueva, in response to the missing person report, said: "The LAPD has classified the report as unfounded, indicating that Shelly is not missing." In August 2013, the Los Angeles Police Department confirmed they "made contact with" Mrs. Miscavige following a missing-persons report filed by Remini, but would not confirm whether they met with her in person.

The Church of Scientology will not comment on Miscavige's location. In July 2012, responding to press accounts of speculation on Miscavige's whereabouts, two UK newspapers were informed by lawyers indicating they represented Mrs. Miscavige "that she is not missing and devotes her time to the work of the Church of Scientology." Former members of the Sea Org have said that they believe Miscavige is at the compound of the Church of Spiritual Technology – a Scientology corporation – near the mountain town of Running Springs in San Bernardino County, California. According to Noriyuki Matsumaru, who worked for David Miscavige as a finance officer in the Religious Technology Center, her husband sent her a sweater and gloves for Christmas one year.

Family and personal life

Michele's mother, Flo Barnett, was a long-time Scientologist. On September 8, 1985, 52-year-old Flo Barnett was found dead from three "somewhat superficial" rifle shots to the chest and a fatal shot to the head. There was a previous suicide attempt, and there were slash marks on her wrist that were a few days old. The death was ruled a suicide.