While it is hard for us, mere mortals, to imagine an unhappy life as a celebrity, it happens. Sometimes the pace, pressure, media, and travel get to be too much. They want to take a break in order to pursue something else they love. Sometimes, people don’t even realize they once started off in Hollywood once they became so well adjusted back into “normal life.” So, who are the celebs that left the fame behind for a more low key life? Keep reading to find out!
Kirk Cameron – Religion
Kirk Cameron is best remembered for his role on Growing Pains. Despite getting two Golden Globe nominations, he decided to give up acting and make a larger commitment to his faith. He is very active with his Church, hosts an evangelical television show, and occasionally makes appearances.
Kirk Cameron – Religion
Josh Saviano – Lawyer
Josh Saviano left Hollywood for good. He became well known for his role on The Wonder Years. After the show, he went to Yale and earned a degree in political science. He then decided to pursue a law degree and graduated from Cardozo. He worked as a lawyer for many years at Morrison Cohen LLP and currently works on his own law-related projects.
Josh Saviano – Lawyer
Greta Garbo
Leaving Hollywood in the height of your career is almost unheard of. But this is exactly what Greta Garbo Did. Three-time Academy Award-nominated actress started her career in silent films before making her speaking debut in Anna Christie in 1930. After a spell as “box office poison,” she decided to retire at age 35. Garbo enjoyed a life of leisure in retirement vacationing. She also began a massive art collection which was worth millions by the time she passed away.
Greta Garbo
Peter Ostrum – Veterinarian
Peter Ostrum is best known as Charlie in Willy Wonka and The Chocolate Factory. He decided acting wasn’t his passion and realized he wanted to do something to help animals. He got a degree from Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine. He is currently a practicing vet and mostly treats horses.
Peter Ostrum – Veterinarian
Danny Lloyd
Danny Lloyd played Danny Torrance in “The Shining.” He retired from acting in 1982. He is currently a professor of biology in Kentucky.
Dany Lloyd
MC Hammer
Stanley Kirk Burrell, aka MC Hammer, had an amazing music career. After he accumulated 13 million dollars of debt, he decided to switch careers. He currently officiates weddings, teaches and develops apps for Apple.
MC Hammer
Jeff Cohen – Lawyer/Writer
Jeff Cohen is well known for his chubby character in The Goonies. He played “Chunk.” He worked hard to change his image after the film. He started playing football and lost a lot of weight. He went to Berkeley for college and then to UCLA for law school. He is still practicing law to this day. We’re proud of you, Jeff!
Jeff Cohen Lawyer/Writer
Gary Coleman – Security Guard
During the 70s and 80s, Gary Coleman was a household name after his role in hit Tv show Diff’rent Strokes. He was an adorable young actor who won over Americs with his humor. But it seems his career was shortlived. Although he was seen as one of the most promising stars of the time, Coleman later struggled financially. He sadly passed away in 2010 while working as a security guard!
Gary Coleman
Jonathan Taylor Thomas – Harvard Graduate
Jonathan Taylor Thomas was a super cute teen heart throb. He decided to leave acting to pursue his education. He studied at Harvard, Columbia, and St. Andrew’s University in Scotland. Pretty impressive school’s, JTT!
Jonathan Taylor Thomas – Harvard Graduate
Carrie Henn
Carrie Hen was the adorable girl in Alien starring alongside Sigourney Weaver. That was actually her only role. She decided to pursue teaching and is still in the profession!
Carrie Henn
Doris Day
Doris Day was the talk of the town during the ’60s and ’70s, becoming one of the biggest stars of that time. A true Hollywood Legend, her name could never be forgotten. However, this star took herself out of the spotlight after facing personal issues of her own. She shifted her focus to her family life and also helping to recover injured animals!
Doris Day
Cameron Diaz
Cameron Diaz rose to fame with films like The Mask or There’s Something About Mary and went on to become one of Hollywood’s most popular actresses. She is particularly successful with films such as Bad Teacher or The Other Woman. But in 2014, she decided to give up her acting career and do something else instead. She now writes books and has her own organic wine brand.
Cameron Diaz
David Caruso
After the end of the series “CSI: Miami”, David Caruso largely withdrew from the public. Today he co-owns a furniture and clothing store in Miami (Florida). David Caruso has been married three times and has three children. Cheri Maugans (1979-1984), Rachel Ticotin (1984-1987) and Margaret Buckley (1996-2005) were his three wives. He has been in a relationship with Amina Tyrone since 2008. The series star already had a second mainstay during his acting career: David Caruso was an artist and worked for the aid organization “Best Buddies”.
David Caruso
Lark Voorhies
Lark Voorhies was Lisa Turtle on Saved by The Bell. She has taken a few other small acting roles during her career. She left acting to pursue writing. She has 3 books published to date!
Lark Voorhies
Barret Oliver
Beginning as a child actor in The Never Ending Story, Barret Oliver temporarily stole our hearts. His career ended when he became an adult and decided acting wasn’t for him after his last role in 1989. He decided that acting was not for him and that he preferred being on the other side of the camera. He now works in print and photography, and he has proven successful in this field. His work has been displayed in museums and gallery exhibitions.
Barret Oliver
Rick Moranis
This Canadian actor is most known for lead roles in Hollywood films such as Ghostbusters, Little Shop of Horrors, and Honey, I Shrunk the Kids. After losing his wife in 1991, Rick decided to give up his acting career 6 years to focus on his children. The traveling that went along with filming was too much to handle when being a single parent. However, he’s made a comeback to voice acting in the past decade.
Rick Moranis
Brittany Ashton Holmes
Brittany Ashton Holmes played Darla in Little Rascals. Her acting career was short-lived and she decided she didn’t want to be in the limelight as she grew up. She is currently working on a degree in political science and is a barista.
Brittany Ashton Holmes
Shirley Temple
As young as seven years old, Shirley Temple was awarded a special juvenile Oscar for her contribution to film in the year of 1935. By age 22, Temple had lost interest in acting entirely. She returned to the spotlight in the ’60s but as politician and diplomat, as well as, the US ambassador to Czechoslovakia in 1989.
Shirley Temple
Andrew Shue
The young heartthrob of Melrose Place for seven years during the 90’s, Shue became one of the world’s most famous mommy bloggers. The former actor exchanged scripts for content and co-founded CaféMom alongside his childhood best friend, Michael Sanchez. CaféMom is a social networking site that focuses on the interests of women is a site for help, advice, and recommendations.
Andrew Shue
Amanda Bynes
Amanda Bynes was a child star who continued to have an acting career as a young adult. She decided to leave the spotlight to pursue fashion design.
Amanda Bynes
Angus T. Jones
Angus T. Jones became famous for his role on Two and a Half Men. After he left the show he faced some controversy in his personal life and in the media. He became a Seventh Day Adventist and works for a multimedia company founded by P.Diddy.
Angus T. Jones
Jack Gleeson
Jack Gleeson was the not so loveable King Joffrey on Game of Thrones. He decided to take a break from acting because he wasn’t enjoying it as much as he used to. He is currently a full-time student and deciding what to do with his career.
Jack Gleeson
Mara Wilson
Mara Wilson was an amazing actress as a child! She gave very memorable performances in films such as Matilda, Mrs. Doubtfire, and Miracle on 34th Street. She decided to pursue writing and philanthropy instead of continuing with acting. She wrote a book about her experiences acting as a child that was published in 2016. Wilson currently works for a New York nonprofit called Publicolor.
Mara Wilson
Danica McKellar
Everyone remembers Danica McKellar as the beautiful Winnie Cooper in The Wonder Years. She is a very talented woman. She was always gifted in school and actually graduated summa cum laude from UCLA with a degree in mathematics. She has published many math books including “Math Doesn’t Suck.” She brought math to the small screen with her show called Math Bites. Pretty cool, Danica!
Danica McKellar
Frankie Muniz
Frankie Muniz was a huge star in the 90s. He is best known for his star role in Malcolm in the Middle. He was nominated for 2 Golden Globes and an Emmy. Amazing! Besides acting, he is a very talented race car driver. He is still pursuing race car driving today.
Frankie Muniz
Andrea Barber
Andrea Barber is best remembered for playing Kimmy Gibbler in Full House. She recently returned as her original character in the Netflix reboot. Aside from acting, after Full House she attended Whittier College in California where she earned an English Degree. She then studied at the University of York. She returned to the USA to direct Whittier’s international study program.
Andrea Barber
Tony Danza
Tony Danza is both a former professional boxer and an actor. After Who’s The Boss rapped, he starred in the reality show Teach: Tony Danza which featured him teaching a 10th grade English class in Philadelphia. His goal was to bring awareness to the state of education in America.
Tony Danza
Karl Malone
55-year-old Karl Malone has long left the days of his super successful basketball career. Following his career on the court, Malone took on a number of interesting jobs. He took his shot at the silver screen, as well as wrestling. After all that, he decided to become a lumber trucker.
Karl Malone
Terrell Owens
Terrell Owens has earned himself quite a name in the NFL. Now that he has retired from the pitch, his eyes are set on something else. While he has been offered a collection of jobs, it seems like his heart is telling him to pursue a modeling career. What do you think about that?
Terrell Owens
Macaulay Culkin
Who could forget our favorite 8-year-old who got left at home alone? Although for the most part he fell off the grid when he entered his late teens, we’ve seen minor appearances of him here and there. One such example of this was his spoof commercial of Home Alone for Google. Nowadays he’s pursuing a newfound interest – creating a comedic rock band.
Macaulay Culkin
Danielle Fishel
Danielle Fishel, of course, played Topanga in the hit ’90s sitcom Boy Meets World. The show lasted for many years and when it wrapped she wanted to pursue something different. Fishel decided to host the satirical show The Dish and she reports for Popsugar. She has recently returned to acting as Topanga in the Disney spin-off series, Girl Meets World.
Daniel Fishel
Freddie Prinze Jr.
Freddie Prinze Jr. was certainly a teenage heartthrob. He played major roles in I Know What You Did Last Summer and She’s All That. Since he left the big screen, he has put a lot of time into cooking. He published his own cookbook in 2016.
Freddie Prinze Jr.
Lucy Liu
Lucy Liu played Ling Woo on Ally McBeal. She was nominated for a Primetime Emmy for her work! She also, of course, was Alex in Charlie’s Angels. Aside from acting, she works in the visual arts world. She does paintings and collages. She donated a lot of her work to charity. Pretty awesome, Lucy!
Lucy Liu
Elizabeth Berkley
Elizabeth Berkley is best known for her role on Saved By The Bell. She has also appeared in a number of film and stage productions. Recently she is taking a break from acting and is focusing on writing. She wrote a self-help book called Ask-Elizabeth in 2011.
Elizabeth Berkley
Linda Kozlowski
Linda Kozlowski of Crocodile Dundee is sadly no longer an actress. She has been out of the business for a couple of decades now. She married her ex-husband, Paul Hogan after the two met on the set. They were married for 23 years and have a teenage son together! Since then, the two divorced, and Linda Kozlowski is reportedly moving to Morocco with her new partner Moulay Hafid Baba. She isn’t in show business, and is spending a lot of time on her personal life.
Linda Kowoloski
Jim Carrey
Jim Carrey became a huge star in the 90s with films such as Ace Venture: Pet Detective, and The Mask. He has taken a break from acting to pursue painting. For the last 6 years that has been his focus. He even has his own exhibit at a gallery in Las Vegas.
Jim Carrey
Steven Seagal
Steven Seagal was a martial art instructor in Japan before he moved back to the USA to pursue acting. After retiring from acting, he went into law enforcement. He served as a reserve deputy sheriff for a Lousiana police department.
Steven Seagal
Sarah Michelle Gellar
Sarah Michelle Gellar, of course, played Buffy for years. We love that show! Recently she is pursuing her other passion: cooking. She co-founded her own startup called Foodstirs. It sells baking kits for children. She has been married to Freddie Prinze Jr. for over 15 years! He also loves cooking.
Sarah Michelle Gellar
Vanilla Ice
Vanilla Ice is, of course, a rapper who rose to fame in 1985. He is currently pursuing real estate. He buys homes, renovates them and then sells them. He has his own show on HGTV called The Vanilla Ice Project which features him leading home renovations.
Vanilla Ice
Gary Dourdan
Actor Gary Dourdan is best known for his role in CSI. He was on the show for 8 years! His character was sadly killed off at the beginning of season 9. These days he collects cars and is pursuing a DJing career.
Gary Dourdan
Helen Hunt
Helen Hunt has been acting since she was 10 years old! She is very talented and has won Academy Awards. These days she is working behind the camera as a producer. She owns her own production company called Hunt/Travel Productions.
Helen Hunt
Nick Offerman
Nick Offerman is hilarious in Parks and Recreation! He plays the manly-man Ron Swanson and has received much praise for his role. He still is acting, but also is pursuing a side job: carpentry. He loved crafting boats and furniture.
Nick Offerman
Barbi Benton
Barbi Benton is known for being a beautiful Playboy Bunny. She also has experience in TV, movies, and has actually recorded 5 albums! She is a very talented lady. She is now married and working in real estate.
Barbi Benton
Sharona Alperin
Have you heard of ‘My Sharona’? Doug Fieger wrote these lyrics for his 1979 hit after his girlfriend, Sharona. They were together for four years. Now Alperin is an LA realtor and has many clients in the entertainment business.
Sharona Alperin
Al Franken
Al Franken is hilarious! He was an amazing actor and writer on SNL. He also has written a number of satirical books. He has an avid interest in politics and he ran for a Senate seat. He won the Minnesota seat in 2009 and was re-elected in 2014 for a second term. Awesome!
Al Franken
Liam Gallagher
Liam Gallagher is a singer and songwriter. He is best known for being a part of the very famous 90s rock band, Oasis. After Oasis he started his own line of clothing called Pretty Green which is still operating today.
Liam Gallagher
Roseanne Barr
Roseanne Barr played a hilarious mom on the sitcom Roseanne. Now she is known for her political activity and hopes to be elected to office. She was a candidate for the Peace and Freedom Party in the 2012 presidential election. She came in 6th place. Since the election, she has appeared on many TV programs discussing politics.
Roseanne Barr
Jon Gosselin
Jon became famous due to the success of the TLC show Jon and Kate Plus 8. He divorced Kate in 2009 and he worked a number of jobs. He is currently a DJ performing in his hometown of Atlantic City.
Jon Gosselin
Chris Owen
Chris Owen is best known for his role as “The Sherminator” in the American Pie films. He is the only actor to appear in all the films and projects for the franchise. He still lives in LA and works as a waiter at a sushi restaurant.
Chris Owen
Ariana Richards
Ariana Richards was a child actress in the 80s appearing in films such as Tremors and Jurassic Park. She changed careers and decided to pursue painting. She went to Skidmore and Art Center College of Design in Pasadena to study art.
Ariana Richards
Tommy Rettig
Tommy is of course known for being the best friend of Lassie. After the show wrapped, he pursued some other acting projects but he was unsatisfied. He became a software engineer and worked with computers until his death in 1996.
Tommy Rettig
Mackenzie Rosman
Mackenzie Rosman was Ruthie Camden in 7th Heaven. She spent most of her childhood and teenage years on the show. Outside of acting, she is a devout philanthropist. She is most involved as the chairwoman of Curefinders, which helps children suffering from cystic fibrosis.
Mackenzie Rosman
Jonathan Bennett
Jonathan Bennett is best known for his role in Mean Girls. His acting career took off after the film. He appeared in Cheaper by the Dozen 2 and other independent projects. He is currently the host of the Food Network’s show, Cake Wars. He also is a spinning instructor at a gym in L.A.
Jonathon Bennett
Maia Brewton
Maia Brewton became famous in the 80s and 90s. Her most famous role is in the film Adventures in Babysitting which came out in 1987. She decided to put the breaks on her acting career to go to school. She went to Yale and is currently working as a lawyer.
Maia Brewton
Leanna Creel
Leanna Creel has developed an acting career with her two twin sisters, Joy, and Monica. She is best known for her role as Tori on Saved by the Bell. She started working behind the camera by producing films in 1994. She now runs her own production company called Ignite Entertainment. They focus on food and travel content.
Leanne Creel
Taran Noah Smith
Taran Noah Smith was on the 90s hit show Home Improvement. In 2001 he got married to a vegan and became a devout vegan himself. They established a brand of vegan cheese products called Playfood together. Since they began the company they divorced. Taran has stated publicly he will never return to acting.
Taran Smith
George Foreman
George Foreman was first famous as a boxer where he won an Olympic gold medal. After he quit boxing he became famous by promoting the George Foreman Lean Mean Fat-Reducing Grilling Machine which has sold over 100 million units. Due to its success, it doesn’t seem like Foreman needs to do much for work. He has reportedly earned over 200 million from it!
George Foreman
Charlie Korsmo
Charlie Korsmo is best known for his work in Hook and Can’t Hardly Wait. He decided he wanted to pursue his education instead of acting. He went to MIT and then to Yale for law school. He was invited by Obama to serve on the Senate’s Committee of Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. He is a professor of law at Case Western Reserve University School of Law. Very impressive!
Charlie Korsmo
Michael Maronna
Michael Maronna was famous in the 90s for his role on The Adventures of Pete and Pete. He was also in the Home Alone movies. He currently is working as an electrician and has worked behind the scenes for a few shows like Nurse Jackie.
Michael Maronna
Tom Selleck
Tom Selleck is not completely retired from acting, but mostly. He owns a 60-acre farm that grows avocados, and this takes up much of his time. Who doesn’t love avocados?
Tom Selleck
Nikki Blonsky
Nikki Blonsky starred in the super fun musical Hairspray. She decided to quit show-biz and work as a hairstylist in New York.
Nikki
Jessica Sierra
Jessica Sierra was a contestant on season 4 of American Idol. She became one of the finalists. She didn’t end up staying in the music industry. She currently is working at a Hooters in her hometown of Tampa, Florida.
Jessica Sierra
Tiffany
Tiffany Renee Darwish became a famous singer and songwriter in the 80s. She also dabbled in acting. She decided to leave life in the spotlight to run a vintage shop in Tennessee called Tiffany’s Boutique. She always had great style so this makes sense to us!
Tiffany
Kevin Kennedy
Kevin Kennedy was in Corrie as Curly Watts. Starting in 2014 he began giving Corrie tours to devoted fans around Manchester. He is still a tour guide to this day!
Kevin Kennedy
Rebecca Ritters
Rebecca Ritters played Hannah Martin on the Australian soap, Neighbours. She decided to quit acting and is currently a full-time student at the University of Melbourne.
Hannah Martin
Kevin Jonas
Kevin Jonas is the oldest of the Jonas brothers. After he quit the band, he launched a food searching app called Yood. He plans to continue to develop apps and has no plans of returning to the music industry.
Kevin Jonas
Jeremy Renner
Jeremy Renner decided to pursue his main passion aside from acting: house flipping. He partners with Kristoffer Winters and their business is doing very well these days!
Jeremy Renner
Daniel Day Lewis
Daniel Day-Lewis is a very respected actor. He decided to leave the profession to accept an apprenticeship with Italian cobbler, Stefano Bemer. He worked under Stegano for 8 months and is working on his own fashion line.
Daniel Day Lewis
Dylan Sprouse
Dylan Sprouse and his twin played Julian in the Adam Sandler film “Big Daddy.” The brothers announced in 2011 they would take a break from Hollywood and both of them enrolled in NYU. They are both working part-time jobs and are full-time students.
Dylan Sprouse
Erykah Badu
Erykah Badu is an amazing artist. She is also a very spiritual person. She became an official doula which is a woman who helps other women during labor and after childbirth. As of 2015 she reported she has assisted with over 40 births. Pretty impressive, Erykah!
Erykah Badu
Kevin Costner
After the Gulf Oil Spill, Kevin Costner decided to take a break from Hollywood. His company, Ocean Therapy Solutions, developed a way to separate oil from water. Now he is still in the environmental clean-up business.
Kevin Costner
Lenny Kravitz
Lenny Kravitz is a rock legend and an actor. He founded a design firm in 2003 called Kravitz Design. He does interior and product design that matches his awesome personal style.
Lenny Kravitz1
Michael Schoeffling
Michael Schoeffling is well known for his role as Jake Ryan in “Sixteen Candles.” He left acting to become a carpenter and spend more time with his family.
Michael Schoeffling
Mike Vitar
Mike Vitar made his acting debut in “The Sandlot” as Benny “The Jet” Rodriguez. After leaving acting he decided to become a fireman in L.A.
Mike Vitar
Phoebe Cates
Phoebe Cates is best known for her role in Fast Time at Ridgemont High. She left acting to raise a family and also work as a philanthropist. She helps with many charitable causes including juvenile diabetes.
Phoebe Cates
Karyn Parsons
Karyn became famous for playing Hillary Banks on The Fresh Prince of Bel Air. After the show, she decided she wanted a normal life. She founded a company called Sweet Blackberry which is a company that funds animated films about Black Heroes.
Karyn Parsons
Erik Per Sullivan
Erik Per Sullivan decided to leave acting to pursue academia. He graduated from the University of Southern California in 2010 and enjoying life out of the spotlight.
Erik Per Sullivan
Geena Davis
Geena Davis had an amazing career. She gave a very memorable performance in Thelma and Louise and of course A League of Their Own. She quit acting in 2007 to start the Geena David Institute. Its goal is to promote gender in the media.
Geena Davis