Behind The Brave
Marie Claire South Africa|July 2018

In October 2017, ROSE McGOWAN went public with rape allegations against Harvey Weinstein. Now, in an EXTRACT FROM HER MEMOIR, Brave, the actress describes her upbringing in the Children of God cult, her rise to fame – and the attack that almost destroyed her

Rose Mcgowan
Behind The Brave

In a stone barn, in a tiny town in the Italian countryside, delivered by a blind midwife, I came into the world. I suppose some people are earmarked for weirdness from birth, and I think I’m one of those. The barn was on the property of the Duke of Zoagli, who, upon joining the Children of God, had donated his estate and land to the cult. It was beautiful there, in the rolling hills outside Florence, the dark green cypresses and silvery green olive trees, vineyards and orchards, those enormous terracotta jars holding red geraniums. I suppose if you have to be in a cult, it was as good a place as any.

From my earliest memories I recall hearing a lot about a terrifying man named ‘Moses’ David Berg, our fearless leader in the Children of God. He would send his directives out in cartoon pamphlets called ‘Mo Letters’. Whatever Moses David wrote, that’s what was done, as if the ruler of the universe had spoken.

In Rome, where we were taken to busk for the cult, I’d see regular families with kids walking around with gelatos and I’d wonder about their lives at home. Did they have a bed? We had plastic mats and I got cold at night. The girls wore pretty dresses; I had faded brown overalls and Jesus sandals. My hands and feet would get dirty and I’d try to hide them when cleaner children looked at me.

Esta historia es de la edición July 2018 de Marie Claire South Africa.

Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.

Esta historia es de la edición July 2018 de Marie Claire South Africa.

Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.

MÁS HISTORIAS DE MARIE CLAIRE SOUTH AFRICAVer todo
These Women Are Not Real
Marie Claire South Africa

These Women Are Not Real

These women have millions of Instagram followers, front-row seats at fashion week and the latest designer clothes … but they’re not real. This new social-media trend is the most futuristic yet: computer-generated avatars that look, talk and behave like real people. But, asks HANNAH-ROSE YEE, is this really the future of the influencer industry?

time-read
8 minutos  |
December 2018
One Moment In Time
Marie Claire South Africa

One Moment In Time

In February this year, para-athlete and journalist Palesa ‘Deejay’ Manaleng won gold in the women’s H3 hand-cycle event at the 2018 SA National Road and Para-Cycling Championships in Outdshoorn, Western Cape. Four years earlier, she had lost the use of her legs in a terrible cycling accident. Here, she shares that terrifying experience and her personal story of recovery

time-read
10+ minutos  |
December 2018
Never Had Sex But Trying For A Baby
Marie Claire South Africa

Never Had Sex But Trying For A Baby

For this 40-something-year-old, becoming a mother is high up on her priority list. And the fact that she’s a virgin, is not going to stop her from reaching her goal

time-read
4 minutos  |
December 2018
Living In A Man's World
Marie Claire South Africa

Living In A Man's World

What really happens in the secret world of men? We asked four men who were born female to share their unique perspective on what it’s like to be parachuted into the opposite gender

time-read
10 minutos  |
December 2018
Get In The Mood
Marie Claire South Africa

Get In The Mood

You’re ready to ring in 2019, but that dreaded dress code has you in a panic. There’s no need to stress. Tarryn Oppel thinks you may already have a winning piece in your wardrobe. You just don’t know it yet...

time-read
3 minutos  |
December 2018
A Charmed Life
Marie Claire South Africa

A Charmed Life

Jewellery designer Ambra Gambale ’s handcrafted work has a curious undercurrent of magic realism, with a strong emphasis on bespoke pieces

time-read
2 minutos  |
September 2018
Chelsea Lately
Marie Claire South Africa

Chelsea Lately

Former first daughter Chelsea Clinton talks privilege, female leadership, dealing with critics – and how Trump ‘degrades what it means to be an American’

time-read
10 minutos  |
September 2018
Delivering Excellence
Marie Claire South Africa

Delivering Excellence

NOMZAMO MBATHA chats to Afika Jadezweni about her red-carpet style, why women need to support one another, and how she’ll never forget where she comes from

time-read
4 minutos  |
September 2018
Soul To Soul
Marie Claire South Africa

Soul To Soul

If There Were Ever a Visual Representation of the Expression ‘wearing Your Heart on Your Sleeve’, Lukhanyo Mdingi’s ‘soulful Ii’ Collection Would Be It, as Afika Jadezweni Finds Out

time-read
4 minutos  |
September 2018
It's Kim's World
Marie Claire South Africa

It's Kim's World

…We Just Live In It. How An Underestimated La Socialite Became One Of The Most Powerful Women Of The 21st Century

time-read
4 minutos  |
September 2018