Welcome to our entertainment breakdown where we look at huge stars who walked away. These incredible performers decided the spotlight was not enough. They reached the absolute top and left it all behind to trade fame for normal lives.
Grace Kelly Became Royalty
Grace Kelly left Hollywood after ten major films to marry a prince and become the Princess of Monaco. She happily traded those busy movie sets for royal duties and charity work because she wanted a totally different kind of glamour.
Leelee Sobieski Chose Art
Leelee was a huge teen star who confidently walked away before turning thirty to focus entirely on her family and art. She felt acting required too much intimate stuff with other people and she was just not into it.
Phoebe Cates Chose Family
Phoebe left acting behind at her absolute peak to raise her kids and open a cool boutique in Manhattan. She only made a brief return for a video game and a quick favor for a close friend.
Angus Jones Took a Stand
Angus made wild money as a kid on a sitcom but left because of his very strong moral beliefs about television content. He warned all his fans about negative TV effects and has only done one single cameo since then.
Portia de Rossi Started a Business
Portia quit her amazing acting career right before turning forty five so she could finally start her own business. She figured she already knew what acting looked like so she asked writers to just write her character off entirely.
Jack Nicholson Walked Away
Jack won three huge awards before deciding he just wanted to enjoy his relaxing life and watch basketball games. He makes rare public appearances these days but stays totally true to his acting retirement.
Bridget Fonda Stayed a Civilian
Bridget stepped back from acting after marrying a famous composer in the early two thousands because she wanted peace. When reporters asked if she would ever return she laughed and said it is just too nice being a civilian.
Meghan Markle Found Her Prince
Meghan quit acting for good to marry Prince Harry and become real life royalty living across the pond. She now produces meaningful film projects with her husband instead of acting on the big screen herself.
Evangeline Lilly Chose Humanitarian Work
Evangeline surprised fans everywhere when she stepped away from blockbuster movies to help others and focus on her family. She wanted to be a retired actress so she could write books and influence people in beautiful humanitarian ways.
Ian Somerhalder Went Into Farming
Ian walked away from his peak career because he hated spending long months away shooting shows without his family. He now focuses on farming and good energy instead of chasing those shiny Hollywood awards.
Brigitte Bardot Helped Animals
Brigitte was arguably one of the biggest stars in Europe when she left acting completely in the seventies. She left her famous films behind to dedicate her entire life to hardcore animal activism instead.
Cameron Diaz Took a Break
Cameron enjoyed several amazing years out of the spotlight living a normal quiet life away from the cameras. She eventually came out of retirement for a few new projects but her long hiatus was absolutely legendary.
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