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Warning: This station mentions intersexual assault, cause misuse, and depression.
Plenty of celebrities bent up their proverbial Hollywood hats and discontinue of their ain escaped will. Maybe they privation to bask each the wealth they've made successful bid oregon rise their kids successful full privacy. Sometimes, however, thing unexpected happens, leaving them feeling similar they person nary prime but to measurement away.
Here are 14 celebs who withdrew from the spotlight for heartbreaking reasons (and if they ever came back):
1. Throughout the '80s and '90s, Rick Moranis starred successful galore iconic movies, specified arsenic Ghostbusters, Little Shop of Horrors, Spaceballs, and Honey, I Shrunk the Kids. However, successful 1997, helium took a measurement backmost from acting to absorption connected his kids aft his wife, Ann, died from bosom crab successful 1991.
In 2015, helium told the Hollywood Reporter, "I took a break, which turned into a longer break. But I'm funny successful thing that I would find interesting. I inactive get the occasional query astir a movie oregon tv role...I was moving with truly absorbing people, fantastic radical [in Hollywood]. I went from that to being astatine location with a mates of small kids, which is simply a precise antithetic lifestyle. But it was important to me. I person perfectly nary regrets whatsoever. My beingness is wonderful."
Rick is making his long-awaited instrumentality to acting successful the upcoming movie Spaceballs 2. It volition beryllium his archetypal movie since 1997, erstwhile helium starred successful Honey, We Shrunk Ourselves.
2. In the '90s and '00s, Brendan Fraser became a household sanction with roles successful movies similar Encino Man and The Mummy. However, things changed successful 2003, erstwhile helium reported that helium was allegedly sexually assaulted by erstwhile Hollywood Foreign Press Association president Philip Berk. Brendan reportedly thought that the HFPA whitethorn person blacklisted him arsenic a result.
In 2018, helium spoke astir the alleged battle for the archetypal clip publicly, telling GQ that helium didn't person "the courageousness to talk up for hazard of humiliation, oregon harm to [his] career." He alleged that, during an HFPA luncheon astatine the Beverly Hills Hotel successful 2003, Philip offered a handshake. The histrion continued, "His near manus reaches around, grabs my ass cheek, and 1 of his fingers touches maine successful the taint. And helium starts moving it around." Fear and panic overtook him, but helium got the man's manus away. He said, "I felt ill. I felt similar a small kid. I felt similar determination was a shot successful my throat. I thought I was going to cry... I felt similar idiosyncratic had thrown invisible overgarment connected me."
Brendan said, "I became depressed. I was blaming myself, and I was miserable — due to the fact that I was saying, 'This is nothing; this feline reached around, and helium copped a feel.' That summertime wore connected — and I can't retrieve what I went connected to enactment connected next... [The experience] made maine retreat. It made maine consciousness reclusive... I don't cognize if this curried disfavor with the group, with the HFPA. But the soundlessness was deafening... [Work] withered connected the vine for me. In my mind, astatine least, thing had been taken distant from me."
Seeing peers who'd had akin alleged experiences encouraged him to talk out. He said, "I cognize Rose [McGowan], I cognize Ashley [Judd], I cognize Mira [Sorvino] — I've worked with them. I telephone them friends successful my mind. I haven't spoken to them successful years, but they're my friends. I watched this fantastic movement, these radical with the courageousness to accidental what I didn't person the courageousness to say... Am I inactive frightened? Absolutely. Do I consciousness similar I request to accidental something? Absolutely. Have I wanted to many, galore times? Absolutely. Have I stopped myself? Absolutely." After speaking out, helium had a vocation resurgence, astir notably winning the Oscar for Best Actor successful 2023.
3. Ke Huy Quan played Short Round successful Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom and Data successful The Goonies. His aboriginal occurrence made him deliberation that helium "was going to person this astonishing career." However, determination were fewer opportunities for Asian actors, and astir of the disposable parts were tiny and rooted successful stereotypes. He told People magazine, "It was tough. I was waiting for the telephone to ring, and it seldom did."
So, helium made the "very hard decision" to discontinue acting successful the aboriginal '00s. Focusing connected his talents down the camera, helium graduated from movie schoolhouse and past recovered occurrence arsenic an adjunct manager and stunt coordinator. However, erstwhile Crazy Rich Asians — Hollywood's first movie with an all-Asian cast successful 25 years — debuted successful 2018, helium was inspired to instrumentality to acting. He said, "I was blessed moving down the camera, but I had superior FOMO. I wanted to beryllium up determination with my chap Asian actors!"
He landed the archetypal relation helium auditioned for — Waymond Wang successful Everything Everywhere All astatine Once. In 2023, helium won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor. Onstage, helium said, "I beryllium everything to the emotion of my life, my woman Echo, who period aft period [and] twelvemonth aft twelvemonth for 20 years told maine that 1 day, 1 time my clip volition come. Dreams are thing you person to judge in. I astir gave up connected mine. To each of you retired there, delight support your dreams alive. Thank you, convey you truthful overmuch for welcoming maine back."
4. In the '40s and '50s, Bobby Driscoll worked extensively with the Walt Disney Company and adjacent won a Juvenile Academy Award astatine property 12. (Until 1961, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences sometimes awarded these honorary, half-sized Oscars to kid actors for particularly outstanding performances. The grant was discontinued erstwhile young performers began competing straight with adults successful the regular acting categories.) Most notably, helium voiced the titular quality successful Peter Pan erstwhile helium was 16. However, successful 1953, helium was released from his declaration early. The studio's determination reportedly had to bash with his "severe acne."
His Peter Pan costar Kathryn Beaumont attributed it to Howard Hughes's acquisition of RKO. She told Entertainment Weekly, "He, successful effect, became the proprietor of the Disney studio. He controlled the money, and helium hated Bobby Driscoll. He hated Hollywood kids. He thought they were precocious, weren't real, and were incredibly annoying. He didn't privation Bobby Driscoll to beryllium with Disney anymore."
At 24, Bobby was arrested and "charged with being an addict and accused of trying to walk a worthless check." He reportedly told a judge, "I had everything…was earning much than $50,000 a year…working steadily with bully parts. Then I started putting each my spare clip successful my arm. I'm not truly definite wherefore I started utilizing narcotics. I was 17 erstwhile I archetypal experimented with the stuff. In nary clip astatine all, I was utilizing immoderate was available…mostly heroin, due to the fact that I had the wealth to wage for it... During each this clip I've wounded a batch of people…especially my parents, my wife, my children, and myself. My parents are good people. I've wounded them terribly.”
He tried to find roles, but due to the fact that of his arrests, helium couldn't get hired. While connected parole, helium recovered enactment arsenic a carpenter, past helium moved to NYC, wherever helium became progressive with Andy Warhol's studio, The Factory. However, helium ne'er made his mode backmost into the acting industry. He continued to conflict with cause misuse. In 1968, kids playing successful an abandoned tenement gathering recovered his body. He was lone 31.
5. Former Disney Channel prima Kay Panabaker became known for playing Debbie Berwick connected Phil of the Future and Jamie Bartlett successful Read It and Weep. But arsenic she got older, her emotion for acting diminished. She told Naperville Magazine, "The kicker for maine was erstwhile a shaper told maine that they were going to beryllium bringing connected a emotion involvement for [my TV character] and that I needed to suffer value due to the fact that of that; I was hardly 100 pounds. I didn't deliberation this was a bully crushed for a quality to suffer weight. I was 21 astatine the clip the amusement ended. I spent a mates years aft that successful LA, inactive auditioning, but the passionateness wasn’t there."
So, she went backmost to schoolhouse for zoology, completed an 18-month carnal programme successful Florida, completed an internship astatine Walt Disney World, past began moving arsenic an subordinate carnal keeper astatine Animal Kingdom. She said, "Looking back, uncovering my existent passionateness was worthy each of the other time. ... That facet was missing successful my erstwhile vocation and is thing that feeds my psyche successful my existent enactment of work. I emotion it erstwhile I permission enactment and person felt similar I was capable to animate and marque a difference, adjacent if it was conscionable 1 idiosyncratic that day. I don't gain a fraction of what I utilized to, and yet, I couldn't beryllium happier."
6. Mean Girls histrion Rajiv Surendra near the manufacture aft putting six years of his beingness into a relation helium yet lost. He told GQ, "While we were shooting Mean Girls during my archetypal twelvemonth of college, I recovered retired they were turning The Life of Pi into a film. I was determined to get that part. So I dropped retired of assemblage to spell to the small municipality successful India wherever the publication takes spot truthful that I could bash immoderate in-depth research. I did that for a fewer months and came backmost and was conscionable waiting for them to commencement production. I assumed that it was going to hap immoderate time now, and it didn’t. They mislaid their director, and the task ended up getting enactment connected hold, truthful I went backmost to college."
He said that, aft being rejected, "I felt similar idiosyncratic had died. Very dilatory implicit the people of six years, I was gathering this lad that was a quality successful a book. By the extremity of those years, that was a existent idiosyncratic wrong of me. Those aged Tamil songs I listened to arsenic a kid, Pi would've listened to those songs. When I got the email saying I didn't get the part, I felt similar that idiosyncratic conscionable died instantly. It was traumatic. I deliberation I was successful daze for a mates weeks. I felt dormant wrong for a agelong time."
In request of a job, helium applied astatine the slope wherever his ma and sister worked, but helium rapidly decided he'd "rather not beryllium present connected earth" than enactment successful a cubicle. So, helium became an au brace successful Munich instead. A twelvemonth later, helium went location to Toronto, wherever helium started his ain tiny concern doing calligraphy. Eventually, helium besides did a prestigious pottery apprenticeship. He went connected to enactment arsenic an creator and content creator.
7. Leelee Sobieski was a teen prima successful the '90s and '00s known for her roles successful movies similar Never Been Kissed and The Glass House. However, she mostly retired from acting successful 2012, telling Vogue, "Ninety percent of acting roles impact truthful overmuch intersexual worldly with different people, and I don't privation to bash that. It's specified a unusual occurrence to play with, and [my] narration is surely beardown capable to grip it, but if you're going to locomotion done fire, determination has to beryllium thing unthinkable connected the different side."
Then, successful 2018, she told AnOther, "A batch of the clip erstwhile you work, it's a wealth task basically. I started paying the rent connected our location erstwhile I was 15, truthful I had a batch of unit and things got analyzable for me… So erstwhile I could, I stopped. It's benignant of a gross manufacture – well, they each are, erstwhile you analyse them – but successful acting, you're selling your quality truthful much. I would outcry each clip I had to buss somebody; I couldn't tummy it. I would think, 'I similar this person, truthful I don't deliberation they should wage maine to buss them,' oregon 'I don't similar this person, truthful I don't privation to buss them. Why is my buss for sale?' It made maine consciousness truly cheap."
In 2018, she reemerged arsenic an creator nether the sanction Leelee Kimmel. She told Artnet, "I kept moving fervently successful secret. Painting was ever my goal; I conscionable kept getting distracted with enactment things and paying bills...Actors extremity up going from 1 relation to different with each this vigor down them, and you conscionable go emptier and emptier and emptier — you extremity up having nary existent experiences. To cry, you extremity up drafting connected the experiences of different quality you played. I don't privation my children to look astatine Netflix and spot maine connected surface successful the arms of idiosyncratic who's not their dad."
8. Jennette McCurdy became well-known for her Nickelodeon roles, astir notably Sam Puckett connected iCarly and Sam & Cat, but her past onscreen relation was Peggy successful the 2018 abbreviated movie The First Lady. On her Empty Inside podcast, she said, "I discontinue a fewer years agone to effort my manus astatine penning and directing. I quit...because I initially didn't privation to bash it. My ma enactment maine successful it erstwhile I was 6, and by...age 10 oregon 11, I was the main fiscal enactment for my family. ... My acquisition with acting is I'm truthful ashamed of the parts that I've done successful the past...but I resent my vocation successful a batch of ways. I consciousness truthful unfulfilled by the roles that I played and felt similar it was the astir conscionable cheesy, embarrassing [experience]."
Outside of acting, Jennette has worked arsenic a screenwriter, director, podcaster, comedian, and author. In her 2022 memoir, I'm Glad My Mom Died, she elaborate the maltreatment she faced from her mom, who pushed her into acting. Jennette has gone connected to go a bestselling author. She released her debut novel, Half His Age, successful aboriginal 2026.
9. In the '90s, Julia Ormond became well-known for movies similar Sabrina and Smilla's Sense of Snow. However, toward the extremity of the decade, her vocation shifted to indie films and supporting roles. She aboriginal claimed she suffered vocation harm aft reporting that Miramax cofounder Harvey Weinstein allegedly assaulted her. In 2023, she filed a suit against movie shaper Harvey Weinstein, Miramax, Disney, and the Creative Artists Agency. She alleged that, successful 1995, Weinstein sexually assaulted her aft a dinner. The suit stated, "That intersexual battle connected Ormond could person been prevented if Miramax oregon Disney had decently supervised Weinstein and not retained him portion knowing that helium was a information to the women helium encountered astatine work."
She besides alleged that CAA didn't pass her astir Weinstein and "suggested that if she reported Weinstein to the authorities, she would not beryllium believed, and helium would earnestly harm her career." The suit continued, "Still worse, not agelong aft Weinstein's battle connected Ormond and her reporting of the battle to them, CAA mislaid involvement successful representing her, and her vocation suffered dramatically... The harm to Ormond's vocation due to the fact that of Weinstein's battle and the aftermath was catastrophic some personally and professionally."
10. Jeff Cohen played Chunk successful The Goonies, but erstwhile helium could nary longer beryllium typecast successful "fat kid roles," helium was forced into retirement. He told the Daily Mail, "There were fundamentally astir 4 abdominous kids successful town, truthful each clip determination was a abdominous kid role, you saw the aforesaid radical astatine the audition. It was endurance of the fattest. But erstwhile I deed puberty, it was a career-ender for me. I was transforming from Chunk to hunk, and I couldn't get roles anymore. It was terrible. My archetypal emotion was acting, but puberty had different ideas. It was a forced retirement. I didn't springiness up acting. Acting gave maine up."
However, upon Jeff's retirement, Goonies manager Richard Donner hired him arsenic a accumulation assistant. Richard besides wrote him a assemblage proposal letter, past paid his tuition. Jeff told Variety, "I had to beryllium down because, for me, paying for assemblage was going to beryllium a problem. That changed my life. Not lone economically, but it showed that Dick and [his wife] Lauren believed successful me." He grew up to beryllium an amusement lawyer.
11. Caitlin Sanchez began voicing the pb quality successful Dora the Explorer successful 2008. When she was 14, Nickelodeon allegedly fired her from the relation due to the fact that her dependable changed arsenic a effect of puberty. In response, she filed a multimillion-dollar suit against the studio, alleging that they "used convoluted outgo deduction clauses and further escaped services provisions to underpay Caitlin for her acting and recordings, unit her to enactment hundreds of hours selling the Dora Brand for escaped ... and withhold her residual payments and merchandise percentages, each contrary to what she was primitively promised."
12. Devon Sawa roseate to fame arsenic the quality mentation of the titular shade successful 1995's Casper, but arsenic helium got older, helium struggled to get distant from associations with the role. In 2022, helium told the Independent, "I had to fume cookware successful movies, and I had to beryllium successful a hip-hop video. That's what I felt similar I had to bash to get distant from 'Can I support you?' Everybody wanted to hear, 'Can I support you?' It drove maine nuts."
He enactment his vocation connected clasp from 2004–2009 aft his dense intoxicant usage prompted his agents to suggest a interruption from acting. He said, "It wasn't wholly my prime to instrumentality the break. I was burnt out; I was drinking excessively much. I was partying excessively much. And truthful I went backmost to Vancouver and got sober. After a mates of years, I met my wife, and we went distant to southeast Asia. I wrestled with the thought of ne'er acting again. I had started doing a small spot of existent property successful Vancouver. I bought a small aged gathering and started to renovate it myself... I don't cognize who didn’t get the memo that I was not successful the concern anymore, but I decided to enactment myself connected portion for [Max Payne]. And the casting [office] called backmost — they truly liked maine for it."
He didn't get the role, but the acquisition inspired him to get backmost connected the horse. He said, "All of a abrupt I had a caller manager, and I thought, 'Let's springiness it different shot.' I felt similar I had a reset... The doors didn't unfastened precise quickly. There was a batch of, 'Oh, I retrieve helium didn't amusement up to the audition due to the fact that helium was partying the nighttime before,' oregon immoderate it was." Eventually, helium caught a interruption with Nikita, and he's gone connected to look successful projects similar Chucky and Hacks.
13. Shirley Temple was a monolithic kid prima successful the 1930s, landing starring roles successful films specified arsenic Curly Top and Dimples. However, erstwhile she was 12, Fox canceled her contract aft a azygous container bureau failure. She signed a caller declaration with MGM, but she lone did 1 movie — Kathleen — with the studio.
She continued to enactment with assorted studios for different 10 years, but astatine 22, she decided to discontinue due to the fact that she was inactive being typecast. Later that year, she joined Charles Alden Black — who'd ne'er watched immoderate of her films — past moved to Washington, DC. A fewer years later, she began moving successful politics. She ran for Congress, worked for the UN, past served arsenic the US ambassador to Ghana and Czechoslovakia.
14. And finally, vocalist Cheyenne Kimball was lone 15 erstwhile her MTV show, Cheyenne, was filmed, chronicling the motorboat of her solo career. Then, astir the clip she turned 18, she joined the state set Gloriana (who opened for Taylor Swift connected the Fearless tour) — lone to permission the radical 3 years later.
In 2025, she told Us Weekly, "I struggled a batch conscionable trying to find myself. It wasn't adjacent astir the information that I'd already had anterior occurrence oregon anything. I thought I would person thing to subordinate to, but I didn't consciousness similar I had anyone to subordinate to. I felt precise lonely sometimes. … I don't deliberation a batch of radical realized however young I was. I didn't recognize however young I was. By the clip I was 21, I had conscionable gotten to a constituent wherever I needed a break. That’s wherefore I disappeared for a while... I didn't truly person those mean experiences of uncovering myself. I had different radical benignant of telling maine what I was. … I snapped a small bit, and I didn't person thing other to give."
The National Alliance connected Mental Illness helpline is 1-800-950-6264 (NAMI) and provides accusation and referral services; GoodTherapy.org is an relation of intelligence wellness professionals from much than 25 countries who enactment efforts to trim harm successful therapy.
If you oregon idiosyncratic you cognize has experienced intersexual assault, you tin telephone the National Sexual Assault Hotline astatine 1-800-656-HOPE (4673), which routes the caller to their nearest intersexual battle work provider. You tin besides hunt for your section halfway here.
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