In 2009, Kristin Kreuk explained in an interview that she decided to leave the cast of Smallville mainly because she felt there was more she could be doing. The actress was 19 when she first appeared as Lana Lang, and when she left the show seven years later, it was still pretty much her only major role. Unfortunately, the decision might not have been as well-informed as she hoped. Immediately after dropping Smallville, Kreuk played the title character in Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li, a box office bomb.
From there, Kreuk surfed through a handful of low-key roles before finally returning to CW with a recurring role in Beauty and the Beast. Aside from her television work, the Canadian actress has also served as a spokesperson for Neutrogena.
Like Allison Mack, Kreuk found herself embroiled in the arrest of alleged sex cult leader Keith Raniere in late March 2018. According to information provided to the New York Post by former cult associate Frank Parlato, Kreuk joined Raniere’s program in “late 2005, early 2006,” later bringing in Mack. “Allison was used,” said Parlato, “as was Kristen, as a lure to bring in other women because of their celebrity status.” While Kreuk left the group in 2012, Mack stayed on.
Kreuk, for her part, quickly denied those claims. “The accusations that I was in the ‘inner circle’ or recruited women as ‘sex slaves’ are blatantly false,” she insisted in a public statement. “During my time, I never experienced any illegal or nefarious activity. I am horrified and disgusted by what has come out.”