It is pretty well known that Hollywood is not the most emotionally healthy environment to be in…especially long-term. It has negatively impacted plenty of people who have decided to completely turn their backs on the industry altogether.
Other people have decided to walk away from the Hollywood industry to focus on starting their families or starting other businesses. Whatever their reasoning is for turning down more acting opportunities and leaving Hollywood forever, these actors have decided that acting is no longer in the cards for them.
10 Freddie Prinze Jr. To Become A Wrestling Producer
Freddie Prinze Jr. was once a well-known actor and heartthrob. Girls all over the place went crazy for him after seeing him in movies like I Know What You Did Last Summer and She’s All That. Acting was not really his main interest all along though. He decided to switch things up and become and writer and producer for the WWE That's right...World Wrestling Entertainment!
9 Shirley Temple Because She Was Being Typecast
Shirley Temple is an actress from the 30s but people still love her a lot today for all the movies she starred in during her era. She was a talented little girl who knew how to sing and dance amazingly. Her talent is what makes her so unforgettable! She decided to leave Hollywood because she realized she was being typecast into the same roles over and over. It was not fulfilling to her so she walked away.
8 Karyn Parsons Because She Started A Family
Karyn Parsons played the role of the ditzy, airheaded older sister on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. The 90s sitcom is still beloved to this day because of how much humor is included in each and every episode. After Karyn got married and started a family, she took a step back from Hollywood. The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air is not the only role she landed before retiring though. She also starred in The Ladies Man with Tim Meadows and a few other things.
7 Daniel Day-Lewis Because A Particular Role Negatively Impacted Him
Daniel Day-Lewis is known for taking a method-style acting approach in roles he's had in the past. At first, no one knew why the Academy Award-winning actor stopped acting because he would not disclose his reasoning. Years later he finally revealed that working on the movie Phantom Thread really negatively impacted him.
He said, "Before making the film, I didn’t know I was going to stop acting. I do know that Paul and I laughed a lot before we made the movie. And then we stopped laughing because we were both overwhelmed by a sense of sadness. That took us by surprise: We didn’t realize what we had given birth to. It was hard to live with. And still is." Sometimes movie roles affect actors more than people realize.
6 Cameron Diaz Because She Became A Mom
Not seeing Cameron Diaz anymore in movies has been weird. She starred in so many excellent movies over the years that everyone just kind of assumed she would keep going with it forever. Her days as a Charlie's Angel member were some of her best but even before that in the 90s, she was killing it. Now that she isn't acting anymore, things are different! Focusing on motherhood is most important to her.
5 Grace Kelly Because She Married Into The Royal Family
The 50s were Grace Kelly's era. She was living large and on top of the world with movies like Rear Window, Dial M for Murder, and To Catch a Thief. Things took an abrupt halt for her as an actress when she found true love. She met Monaco's Prince Rainier III and married him at the age of 26. Marrying him meant giving up actress work and she was happy to do so.
4 Frankie Muniz To Be A Race Car Driver
Frankie Muniz went from child star to race car driver. His days on Malcolm in the Middle are unforgettable! The show was so heartfelt and funny as it focused on a family going through financial struggles... and emotional struggles.
Instead of continuing down the path of being an actor forever, Muniz decided he would rather be a race car driver. He's been following that dream ever since.
3 Mara Wilson Because She Wanted To Be A Writer
Mara Wilson once played the leading role in Matilda back in the 90s. The movie was so good because it focused on a little girl who was struggling to harness her magical powers in a world that was not treating her very fairly. These days, Mara Wilson has completely shifted her interest and goals-- in a good way. She wrote a memoir called Where Am I Now?: True Stories of Girlhood and Accidental Fame.
2 Meghan Markle Because She Married Into The Royal Family
Meghan Markle was an actress before she married into royalty. She was set up on a blind date with Prince Harry by her friends and the rest is history. The two hit it off and fell in love. They now have a son together named Archie. Their wedding was a huge deal at the time since so many people loved them together. Since becoming royalty, Meghan has had to leave Hollywood for good. She isn't acting anymore and she also had to get rid of her social media accounts.
1 Cary Grant Because He Wanted To Raise His Daughter
Cary Grant starred in classic movies like Bringing Up Baby and North by Northwest before cutting ties with Hollywood life. He was an incredible superstar during his day so it surprised many to find out he was no longer going to pursue acting. He retired to focus on raising his daughter once she was born. She came along when he was 62 years old! He turned down acting jobs for two decades.