Ever since the rise of the hit Netflix sci-fi series Stranger Things, '80's nostalgia has exploded. The hairstyles, music, and fashion of the era all made a significant comeback, and so did the films and TV shows that defined the era. As 1980s nostalgia rises, so does curiosity about what became of the decade's biggest stars.
Many stars of the 1980s went on to become the Hollywood icons we know today. Johnny Depp is a prime example; He started as a heartthrob in the TV show 21 Jump Street and quickly became one of the most successful actors of his generation. But not every star who was big in the '80s has stayed in the spotlight. Fame is fickle and tiring, and these stars from the decade of Ronald Reagan, leg warmers, Alf, and scrunchies, have opted out after making it big.
Updated on May 5, 2023: Many stars of the 80s are indeed making a rise as nostalgia is being capitalized in current entertainment. Among all the stars on this list, however, there are only two that have publicized their plans to continue their craft in 2023. Tiffany Darwish is still touring this year, performing her music, and Rick Moranis will be acting in an upcoming film called Shrunk.
9 Haviland Morris Became A Real Estate Agent
One will most likely recognize Haviland Morris as Caroline Munford from Sixteen Candles. She was also in Gremlins 2, a few Madonna music videos, and other projects, but the iconic John Hughes film has always been her biggest claim to fame.
After slowing down her career in the 1990s and 2000s, opting for roles in shows like Law and Order and films like Home Alone 3, Morris has focused her energy on becoming a real estate agent. She does, however, continue to appear in 1–2 episodes of various television shows every few years, her most recent being Bull in 2022.
8 Phoebe Cates Is Loving Family Life
Phoebe Cates became an icon thanks to her bikini scene in Fast Times At Ridgemont High, a scene that without a doubt got replayed to the point of wear and tear on many rented videos. Cates retired after marrying actor Kevin Kline in the 1990s. She then opened a high-end boutique named Blue Tree and has been its owner and operator ever since.
Cates did return to the screen briefly in 2001 for a role in the indie comedy The Anniversary Party as well as lent her voice for the video game Lego Dimensions in 2015. Phoebe and Kline are still married, and they have two children together.
7 Danny Lloyd Is Now Teaching Biology
One might remember Danny Lloyd better as Danny Torrance, the little boy from the classic horror film The Shining, based on the classic Stephen King novel. The film is considered by many to be one of the best horror films ever made, although it is detested by King.
Lloyd only did one other film before quitting acting, a TV movie about Watergate conspirator G. Gordon Liddy. He did, however, return to the screen very briefly for a cameo in the movie Doctor Sleep, the 2019 sequel to The Shining. Lloyd is now a biology teacher in Kentucky.
6 Tiffany Darwish Is Still Performing Her Music
Tiffany Darwish, better known to her fans just as "Tiffany," became a pop sensation and an apt idol for the era thanks to the attention she garnered by touring her music at shopping malls. It can't get more '80s than that!
However, Darwish's fame quickly faded and, eventually, she would step back to open a clothing shop in Nashville. The pop star is still performing and touring, however, and in 2021 went viral (briefly) during a show for cussing out a fan.
5 Jeff Cohen Is Now A Licensed Attorney
No one is a 1980s fan unless they have seen The Goonies. The film features an array of notorious 1980s stars, and among them is Jeff Cohen, who played the lovable, truffle-shuffling Chunk in the adventure comedy. Cohen did not stay the chunky boy he was forever; He got in shape, quit acting, and is now an attorney.
Cohen is also a published author. He has written books about how his experience in Hollywood taught him how to make deals that help his current career.
4 Michael Schoeffling Retired From Acting To Become A Carpenter
He might always be known as Jake Ryan, the crushed-on character from Sixteen Candles, but Michael Schoeffling is now a carpenter living with his family in Pennsylvania. Schoeffling did 8 more films after Sixteen Candles, none of which were nearly as iconic. But being 1/2 of one of the most iconic kisses in film history is enough of an achievement to retire on.
3 Kirk Cameron Became An Evangelical Pastor
Kirk Cameron entered the homes of many as Mike Seaver on the popular sitcom Growing Pains, which also launched the career of Leonardo DiCaprio. Cameron is now an evangelical pastor. He did return to film to spread the gospel in the 2000 film Left Behind, which is based on a popular series of Evangelical novels about life on Earth after the rapture.
Cameron also starred in the film Lifemark in 2022, and has been the host of the television show Takeawars with Kirk Cameron starting last year and continuing into 2023.
2 Jami Gertz Is A Part-Owner Of The NBA Team The Atlanta Hawks
Popular titles with Jami Gertz include classics such as Crossroads, Less Than Zero, Sixteen Candles, and The Lost Boys. Through the 1990s and 2000s, Gertz made her way through a series of television shows including ER, Ally McBeal, and an episode of Seinfeld. She is now one of the owners of the Atlanta Hawks NBA team and represented her team during the 2015 player draft.
The starlet does continue to act occasionally, appearing in movies and TV shows every few years. Most recently, Jami was cast in the film I Want You Back, which released in 2022.
1 Rick Moranis Is Focusing On Being A Dad
Rick Moranis's departure from Hollywood was bittersweet, though the actor claims he is willing to return if a role ever tickles his fancy. The actor left Hollywood after accumulating an impressive and iconic resume. He has been in everything from Ghostbusters to Spaceballs, and his tenure with SCTV added to his critical acclaim.
Moranis stopped acting to focus on raising his children after his wife died of cancer. The internet exploded in excitement when, in 2021, he returned to acting (sort of) by appearing in a Mint Mobile ad with Ryan Reynolds, who now owns the growing cellphone service.