Top 10 Famous Actors Who Unexpectedly Left Fame Behind

In 2024, the actress behind the MCU hero Wasp announced that she was taking a step back from acting. No one can say she didn’t enjoy an illustrious career over the past two decades. After spending several seasons on “Lost,” she successfully crossed over into film stardom in the 2010s. Although she appeared in big-budget projects like “The Hobbit” trilogy and the “Ant-Man” series, Lilly never thought she would be an actor. In fact, her dream was to be a retired actress, dedicating her life to humanitarian causes and her own writing. She’s done both. Along with her humanitarian work, Lilly is also a published children’s author.

At the start of the 2010s, this Australian actress was turning into one of the industry’s most interesting and sought-after young performers. She appeared in movies by masters such as Tim Burton, Guillermo del Toro, Gus Van Sant, and Park Chan-wook. Then, after the release of “Alice Through the Looking Glass,” she downshifted. Finding the pace of making Hollywood movies grueling, she made the conscious decision to move back to Australia and take herself out of the rat race. While the “Crimson Peak” star hasn’t quit acting completely, she’s gotten more selective about her projects. She seems to prefer taking roles in indie movies over Hollywood vehicles.

This heartthrob played the suave and ruthless vampire Damon Salvatore on eight seasons of “The Vampire Diaries.” When that show ended in 2017, Ian Somerhalder made sporadic appearances in film and TV. However, fans have noticed he hasn’t headlined a major project since 2020. There’s a good reason. Somerhalder and wife, “Twilight” actress Nikki Reed, moved away from Hollywood with their children. Instead of the concrete jungle of Los Angeles, they left the entertainment industry to live on a farm. The retired actor has taken to producing documentaries and dedicating his efforts to environmental activism.

Making her film debut in 1995, Leelee Sobieski made over 20 movies before calling it quits in 2012. The majority of the actress’ movie career spanned less than two decades. In that time, she got the chance to act alongside some cinematic heavyweights. Her co-stars include the likes of Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, and Nicolas Cage. After memorable roles in “Joy Ride,” “The Glass House,” and the unforgettable 2006 remake of “The Wicker Man,” Sobieski left Hollywood to focus on raising her children. She hasn’t given up a career in the arts, though. She’s since embarked on a career as a painter and sculptor.

She became one of Nickelodeon’s biggest stars and then gave it all up. Playing Sam Puckett on “iCarly” made Jennette McCurdy a major star at a young age. Many millennials felt like they grew up with Jennette McCurdy. So when the actress announced she was taking a step back from performing in 2018, it kind of felt like the end of an era. As it turns out, we didn’t know the half of it. Her explosive memoir, “I’m Glad My Mom Died,” detailed all the years of abuse, exploitation, and health struggles that went into her decision to leave show business behind.

While her last name definitely didn’t hurt her career, Bridget Fonda carved out a space for herself in the industry with roles in some of the biggest hits of the 1990s. But the star of potboilers like “Single White Female” and “Lake Placid” became scarce on movie theater screens once the millennium hit. Behind the scenes, Fonda met and married Danny Elfman, composer for “The Simpsons” and several Tim Burton movies. She dropped her career to become a mother. Since then, she’s kept a surprisingly low profile. There’s not even a public social media account to her name.

Known for her magnetic screen presence and great beauty, Eva Mendes broke out of roles in low-budget genre pics with 2001’s “Training Day.” From there, she expanded her profile and her talents. But she ended her acting career after meeting and marrying Ryan Gosling, her co-star in 2012’s “The Place Beyond the Pines.” The couple have two children together. Mendes insists she does still work, but acting is not in the cards. It requires more time away from home and her kids than she’s comfortable with. She says she’s fine with Gosling having the spotlight. Just as long as he comes home to put the kids to bed.

Looking back, it’s kind of amazing how much Amanda Bynes accomplished at such a young age. She was only 13 when she was given her own sketch comedy show, and she made a successful transition to movie stardom afterward. After dropping out of a couple of movie roles, a then-24-year-old Bynes tweeted that she was retiring. Her Twitter soon became her arena. What started as an Internet oddity soon took an alarming turn. Bynes’ behavior became increasingly erratic, instigating a media circus. Fortunately, she seems to be in a better place, and some say she’d be open to acting again.

The bespectacled Canadian comedian charmed audiences in the “Honey, I Shrunk the Kids” series, “Ghostbusters,” and “Little Shop of Horrors.” But in 1991, tragedy struck Rick Moranis’ personal life. His wife, Ann Belsky, passed away due to cancer. Though he didn’t leave acting right away, he announced a hiatus in 1997 to devote more time to his family. Outside of some voice acting, he stayed out of Hollywood from that point on. Though he’s made more appearances in recent years and even said he wasn’t truly retired, his big return to the screen still hasn’t come to fruition.

There was no sign that the three-time Oscar winner was ready to quit. If anything, some fans felt his last performance in “Phantom Thread” was among his best. His announcement that he was retiring for good after he was finished with the role was met with shock. It actually wasn’t the first time he quit acting. The famously meticulous actor retired once before in the late 90s and took up shoe-making of all things. This time, though, it seems the actor is serious about leaving the spotlight for good. He hasn’t been seen on movie screens since 2017.