Born in Puerto Rico to Children of God missionaries John Bottom Amram and Arlyn Dunitz Jochebed (a.k.a. Heart), Joaquin was the middle child in a brood of five. As a youngster he took his cues from older siblings River Phoenix and Rain Phoenix, changing his name to Leaf to match their earthier monikers. When the children were encouraged to develop their creative instincts, he followed their lead into acting. Younger sisters Liberty Phoenix and Summer Phoenix rounded out the talented troupe. The family moved often, traveling through Central and South America (and adopting the surname "Phoenix" to celebrate their new beginnings), but by the time Joaquin was 6 they had more or less settled in the Los Angeles area. Heart found work as a secretary at NBC, and John turned his talents to landscaping. They eventually found an agent who was willing to represent all five children, and the younger generation dove into TV work. Commercials for meat, milk, and junk food were off-limits (the kids were all raised as strict vegans), but they managed to find plenty of work pushing other, less sinister products. Joaquin's first real acting gig was a guest appearance on River's sitcom "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers" (1982)
A LOT of name changing going on in that family apparently.
Born in Puerto Rico to Children of God missionariesI love how they can make growing up with parents in a cult commune sound so wholesome and normal - they were missionaries, yeah right.
The Children of God, a religious cult accused of promoting indiscriminate sex in the name of Jesus and which claims 12,000 members in 70 countries, was in the spotlight today after scores of its followers were arrested in Buenos Aires....
...The cult, which was founded in 1968 by Californian David Berg, was banned in France in 1978 after stories began to circulate of brainwashing and sexual abuse of children....
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/national/longterm/cult/children_of_god/main.htm