13 Actors And Actresses Who Retired A Lot Earlier Than Everyone Expected Them To

They simply decided that they wanted a different life.

Liezel

• Published in Film & TV
• April 26, 2022

Making it big in Hollywood is a dream that a lot of people have. In fact, many people from all corners of the world even travel to LA, the center of showbiz, just to take their chances among the glitz and glamor of the world of Hollywood.

Some people even begin prepping themselves as early as their childhood or teens just to make it big or even just to become part of the Hollywood crowd. But we know that it's just not for everyone.

To make it big in Hollywood, you have to have the chops in your talent but more than that, you have to have the attitude, the determination, the perseverance, and the stamina to keep marketing yourself and what you can offer to people. It's not an easy road and many stars today have gone through that road just to have their name in the lights.

As it is though, not all stars who made it to the Hollywood list actually found that they'd want to keep doing it for the rest of their life. It might be a late career realization or it might be yearning for a different kind of life but there are plenty of stars who chose to retire from the acting business a lot earlier than everyone expected them to.

Here are 13 of those stars.

Cameron Diaz

In 2014, Cameron Diaz took a step back from the spotlight. Four years later, she revealed that she was officially retired from acting.

Recently, she explained her decision saying that she wanted to take control of her life.

"I know a lot of people won’t understand it. But it’s so intense to work at that level and be that public and put yourself out there...I stopped, I really looked at my life, and I saw what I had been [missing]..." she said in an interview with Gwyneth Paltrow. "When you’re making a movie...They own you...For months on end, you have no time for anything else...I had to basically take it back and take responsibility for my own life. That’s my job. There’s a lot of things I had to iron out, a lot of relationships I had to repair, a lot of relationships I had to build that were absent in my life."

Gwyneth Paltrow

Gwyneth Paltrow is still somewhat in the spotlight with her entrepreneurial efforts with Goop, however, she says she doesn't have any plans to accept any acting gig anytime soon. She says that the only time she might reconsider going back to the big screen is if her husband Brad Falchuk writes the script for the film.

"I would have to be fucking the writer. But that’s sort of it. If my husband writes something and wants me to do it, I’ll do it," Gwyneth said on No Filter with Naomi.

Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen

Mary-Kate and Ashley were big stars in their childhood, however, they have since stepped away from the spotlight. The twins attended NYU and launched their own fashion design careers and both of them decided they were done with acting in 2012.

"It was time to step behind the process," Ashley told Vanity Fair. " I wanted to work on other things. It doesn't mean I'm not interested in Hollywood. I like the way it operates, I like the people who are involved and the sense of possibility. But if I ever get back in, it's not going to be as an actress."

Portia de Rossi

Portia de Rossi's 45th birthday also marked the end of her time in acting since the actress wanted to focus on something new. At that time, she planned to step back after the fourth season of Arrested Development, however, creator Mitch Hurwitz wrote her into the fifth season so that became her final stint as an actress.

"I was approaching 45, and I just kind of…was wondering is there something that I could tackle now that I've never done before that would be really challenging and different. I kind of knew what acting would look like for me for the next 10, 20 years, so I decided to quit and start a business," Portia said on The Ellen Show.

Mara Wilson

Mara Wilson was well on her way to stardom after bagging the starring roles in Mrs. Doubtfire and Matilda, however, she decided to step away from it all as a teenager. She later explained that she didn't want to deal with all the painful scrutiny about her appearance in Hollywood.

"I realized, ‘I don’t fit their idea of what a Hollywood actress looks like, so there’s no room for me here.’ It’s hard to come out of that sane and without some serious doubts about yourself..." Mara wrote in her memoir. "As I saw it, I had three choices: get cosmetic surgery and go out on auditions for the cute and funny best friend characters, stay the way I was and go out for the meager character actor roles for young women, or accept myself and give up the idea of a Hollywood film acting career for good."

Daniel Day-Lewis

Daniel Day-Lewis decided he wanted to retire from acting at the age of 60 and while a lot of people retire at that age, the news came as a shock to his fans. Daniel's reps explained that it was a private decision made by the actor and that he was "immensely grateful to all of his collaborators and audiences over the many years."

When asked later why he decided to retire, he didn't have quite the answer yet.

"I haven’t figured it out. But it’s settled on me, and it’s just there…" he told Variety. "I dread to use the overused word ‘artist,’ but there’s something of the responsibility of the artist that hung over me. I need to believe in the value of what I’m doing. The work can seem vital. Irresistible, even. And if an audience believes it, that should be good enough for me. But, lately, it isn’t."

Shirley Temple

Shirley Temple became quite iconic as a child actress but at the age of 12, she decided to step away from it all and focus on school full time. In her early 20s, she gave things another go but she decided to retire at the age of 22.

She then went on to work as a diplomat, serving as the Ambassador to Ghana and Czechoslovakia.

Meg Ryan

Meg Ryan decided to step back from acting in 2019 saying that her career was making her feel burnt out. While she didn't completely rule out going back in, for now, she's not acting.

"I felt in a crazy way that, as an actor, I was burning through life experiences," she told the New York Times. "Somehow, I was a helicopter pilot or a journalist or an alcoholic. I was living these express-lane lives. I didn't feel like I knew enough anymore about myself or the world to reflect it as an actor. I felt isolated."

Taylor Momsen

Taylor Momsen has been acting since her childhood, however, she skyrocketed to fame on Gossip Girl. After she wrapped up the show though, she decided that she wanted to take a step back from acting to pursue music.

"I quit acting, actually. I quit Gossip Girl and now tour and am in a band, and that's pretty much all I want to do. Hopefully, I'll be able to only do that for the rest of my life," Taylor once told Elle. 

Jennette McCurdy

Jennette McCurdy has become a massive Nickelodeon star on iCarly but at the height of it all, she decided she no longer wanted to act. Fans remained supportive of her, however, the actress admitted that she resented her career and was "so ashamed" of the unfulfilling roles she has taken up in the past.

She explained that she actually didn't even want to act but she did it as a way of supporting her family.

"I quit a few years ago because I initially didn’t want to do it...If it were a director I really admired or someone whose work I really admired, then I would be so excited. But just because of my past and the auditions that would come across my eyes, I was like, OK well this is what the industry sees me as and I don’t want to do that," Jennette said on her podcast Empty Inside.

Peter Ostrum

After starring in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, Peter Ostrum could have easily launched a highly successful Hollywood career but he decided to retire from the industry at 14 after his first and only role. After that, he went on to become a veterinarian.

"There wasn’t any glitz and glamour on set. We were young teenagers, and we were expected to work as young adults and be professional, so that meant showing up on time, knowing your lines, and there wasn’t any messing about. I soon came to the realisation that acting was a lot of work...I was offered a three-picture deal with the studio, but I decided not to pursue acting. Looking back, my paycheck was paltry, but it was during filming that I really became interested in medicine. So I bought my first horse with my earnings, and that started my current career path as a vet. I will always cherish my memories of making the movie, but I feel I won the golden ticket by becoming a vet," Peter said to Express UK.

Angus T. Jones

Angus T. Jones became pretty popular after starring in Two and a Half Men for almost a decade but after figuring that the series conflicted with his religious beliefs, he quit the show and retired from acting.

“It was making light of topics in our world that are really problems for a lot of people. I was a paid hypocrite because I wasn’t okay with it, but I was still doing it," Angus told People.

Kay Panabaker

Disney Channel star Kay Panabaker had a bright road ahead of her but in her early 20s, she decided that acting was no longer for her. She filmed the movie Beverly Hills Chihuahua 3: Viva la Fiesta! in 2012, then she went off to UCLA to go to college.

There, she studied zoology, and now, she currently works at Disney's Animal Kingdom in Florida.

When someone asked her on Twitter why she quit acting, she replied, “I just lost the love for acting. Life is short, we spend so much time at work, gotta do what you love :) and I love my job!!" 

We got to say, a lot of these ex-actors or ex-actresses did retire from acting at a really early age, not something a lot of stars with bright futures in the industry would. But well, life does operate differently for everyone.

One day, you might be in the spotlight and the next, you might decide that it's not really for you. We're happy that these actors and actresses found what they truly want though.

Liezel