King of Queens actress Leah Remini has left the Church of Scientology after more than 30 years of membership, becoming one of the most high-profile members to quit.
Remini joined the church along with her mother in the 1970s, and had been one of its most high-profile and outspoken defenders.
The actress, best known for playing Carrie Heffernan in the CBS sitcom King of Queens, as well as roles in Friends, Cheers and the Will Ferrell movie Old School, issued a statement following the comments that appeared in the New York Post on Thursday.
It read: ?I wish to share my sincere and heartfelt appreciation for the overwhelming positive response I have received from the media, my colleagues, and fans from around the world. I am truly grateful and thankful for all your support.?
A Hollywood Reporter investigation suggested Remini has recently been tweeting about a change in spiritual direction for months, including references to praying as a Catholic on 24 June.
And the New York Post?s source, who said Remini?s statement should be read as confirmation she has left the Church of Scientology, added that the move came as a result of ?years of interrogations? and attempted ?thought modification?.
Remini was reportedly criticised for questioning the church?s leader David Miscavige, during a dinner at the wedding of Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes, the former another high-profile church member.
Despite apparently attaining the high church position of ?Operating Thetan Level Five? after her decades of membership, when asking about Miscavige?s wife the actress was told ?You don?t have the [bleeping] rank to ask about Shelly?.
This was according to a blog by ex-Scientology member Mike Rinder, who said Miscavige's wife has not been seen in public for six years.
Remini's representatives would not comment directly on the New York Post article, and a spokesperson for the Church of Scientology issued a statement saying they ?respect the privacy of parishioners? and would not comment on individuals.
Remini, 43, has spoken publicly in the past about being a member of the Church of Scientology, which was founded in 1954 by science fiction writer L. Ron Hubbard and boasts members including Cruise and fellow Hollywood actor John Travolta.
In an April 2001 interview with CNN, Remini said she ?finds solace in her steadfast practice of Scientology,? and defended the religion saying: ?If somebody is going to get turned off about something because of what they read or heard, then that person's not smart enough to even enter a church.?
Other high-profile former Scientology members include director Paul Haggis, who spoke out in detail about his experiences in a New Yorker article in February 2011.
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