Where is Catherine Share now? Whereabouts of former Manson Family member explored ahead of Making Manson on Peacock

Catherine Share, once one of the key players in Charles Manson's notorious "Family," leads a far cry from her cult associations today. She was said to have recruited many members of the group. While she was not one of those directly implicated in the Tate-LaBianca murders, she was involved in other crimes associated with Manson's group.

After her imprisonment and subsequent release, she went on to advocate and counsel others to help them extricate themselves from cult trauma. Catherine is in Texas and works on her life while actively advocating for others.

Making Manson will premiere on November 19, 2024, on Peacock. The docuseries offers unfiltered insights into America's most notorious killer, Charles Manson, through never-before-heard conversations recorded over 20 years.

Catherine Share’s early life and introduction to the Manson Family

Catherine Share was born on December 10, 1942, in Paris, France. Catherine Louise "Gypsy" Share had a difficult childhood. There are reports that her Hungarian father and German mother took their own lives to avoid Nazi persecution during World War II. Catherine was adopted by Sidney and Patricia Share, who moved her to Hollywood, California.

She became a local celebrity due to her musical talents. The tragedy also struck when her adoptive mother died of cancer and her stepfather went blind. These tragedies led to instability in her life, finally connecting her with Charles Manson in the late 1960s.

She became one of Manson's most devoted followers, being known as "Gypsy" among the members of the cult. Manson's personality and manipulative control deeply influenced her, and she was involved in recruiting many other members to the group

Catherine Share’s criminal involvement and time in prison

Although Catherine Share was not one of the Tate-LaBianca murderers for whom Charles Manson and other followers were convicted in 1971, she did participate in a robbery with a knife at the Western Surplus Store in Hawthorne, California. This was an attempt to raise money for the cult; it went wrong and led to her arrest and eventual conviction.

During that incarceration period, Catherine delivered a child in prison. Becoming a mother changed the entire course of her life. She decided to disconnect from the Manson Family to protect her child from the same darkness.

One of the most visible symbols of her allegiance to Manson was the "X" she carved into her forehead during his trial in 1970, as an emblem of unity with other cult members. When she walked out of prison, Catherine removed the "X" as a sign of dissociation from Manson's visions and wanting to claim herself back.

Share was released from prison in the mid-1970s, having served her sentence. By this time, she had started to transform herself, cutting ties from the past, and starting fresh.

Transition to advocacy and testimony against cult dynamics

Catherine Share became an outspoken cult survivor activist while helping others escape from similar experiences. She works as both a counselor and an educator, with a focus on trauma recovery from having been a member of a cult.

In 2017, Catherine testified at the parole hearing for one of her fellow Manson Family members, Leslie Van Houten, who had been convicted for her role in the savage LaBianca murders.

Catherine testified about how Van Houten had been manipulated into committing the murders and about Manson's coercion and control over his followers through their minds. Her words speak to the dynamics within the cult, as well as what this cult did to its members.

Current life and appearances in media

Catherine Share now lives in Texas with her most recent husband, Patrick Michael Shanahan. She mostly keeps herself out of the limelight, but periodically pops up in films that look at the Manson Family, including Manson: The Women and Helter Skelter: An American Myth.

These interviews help paint a picture of what was the cult and what she, to this day, acknowledges as regretted involvement. This is why her work was cited in various media, especially as an effort to counsel and educate the public on the dangers of manipulation within the cult.

Catherine Share's journey from being a devoted cult member into a counselor and advocate shows her testament to redemption and self-reinvention power.

Making Manson is set to hit the screens on November 19, 2024, on Peacock.

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