10 Stars Who Left Hollywood: From Cameron Diaz to Jack Nicholson and More

Amanda Bynes, who started her career when she was 7, quit Hollywood after working on her last film, Easy A. She was also tapped to appear in the 2011 flick Hall Pass following her success as a Nickelodeon star, but her decision to quit acting ultimately turned off her spotlight.

"Being an actress isn't as fun as it may seem," Bynes said in a tweet. "If I don't love something anymore I stop doing it. I don't love acting anymore so I've stopped doing it."

She added, "I know 24 is a young age to retire but you heard it here first. I've #retired."

Years later, she told Paper she began smoking marijuana when she was 16 before her substance usage progressed in the years thereafter.

Meanwhile, a source told RadarOnline.com that the All That alum might be writing a tell-all.

Bruce Willis' daughter Rumer announced the legendary action star was stepping away from his acting career following his aphasia diagnosis.

"This is a really challenging time for our family and we are so appreciative of your continued love, compassion and support. We are moving through this as a strong family unit, and wanted to bring his fans in because we know how much he means to you, as you do to him," part of the March 2022 statement on Instagram read.

In February 2023, the Die Hard star's family shared an update via The Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration's website revealing his condition progressed. They also received a more specific diagnosis: frontotemporal dementia (FTD).

Before retirement, the 69-year-old Moonlighting alum was still able to work on several films like Fortress: Sniper's Eyes, A Day to Die and Gasoline Alley, to name a few.

After working on the 2014 adaptation of Annie, Cameron Diaz left her Hollywood to make her life "manageable."

"I feel whole," she told Kevin Hart on his talk show, Hart to Heart, years after her retirement. "I met my husband, we started a family, all those things I didn't have time for before. Actually, not just have the time for but didn't have the space to make the right decisions for me at the time to bring that in."

The Charlie's Angels star shared a similar sentiment when she appeared on Gwyneth Paltrow’s “In goop Health: The Sessions" in 2010, saying she found peace when she quit acting.

However, Diaz formally came out of retirement to join Jamie Foxx's Back In Action.

Daniel Day-Lewis, who notably appeared in several Martin Scorsese films like Gangs of New York and Killers of the Flower Moon, decided to step away from the spotlight in June 2017, months before the release of his last film, Phantom Thread. The movie helped him get a Best Actor Oscar nomination.

“Daniel Day-Lewis will no longer be working as an actor. He is immensely grateful to all of his collaborators and audiences over the many years," Day-Lewis' representative, Leslee Dart, said in a statement. "This is a private decision and neither he nor his representatives will make any further comment on this subject."

Jim Sheridan, who collaborated with Day-Lewis in films like In the Name of the Father and My Left Foot, reportedly kept on talking to him so they could work on something again. However, the filmmaker told ScreenDaily that The Boxer star said he "was done" already.

Eva Mendes chose to become a stay-at-home mom for her and Ryan Gosling's kids, leaving her acting career behind after working on her last film, Lost River.

In her interview with Today in March, the 2 Fast 2 Furious star opened up about how things had been like for her since she stepped back from acting.

"It was like a no-brainer," said Mendes. "I'm so lucky, and I was like, if I can have this time with my children — and I've still worked, I just didn't act, because acting takes you on locations, it takes you away."

After more than five decades of working in Hollywood, Gene Hackman left his Hollywood empire for good in July 2004.

“The straw that broke the camel’s back was actually a stress test that I took in New York. The doctor advised me that my heart wasn’t in the kind of shape that I should be putting it under any stress," he told Empire.

The Unforgiven star, 94, underwent angioplasty in 1990. He also faced several health setbacks, including a head trauma in 2012.

Jack Nicholson "unofficially" retired following his appearance in How Do You Know in 2010. Years later, his friend shared an update on the “WTF With Marc Maron” podcast.

"Jack's doing whatever he really wants to do," music producer Lou Adler said. "He wants to be quiet. He wants to eat what he wants, he wants to live the life he wants."

In 2023, Meg Ryan told People why she quit Hollywood temporarily after starring in hit films like Courage Under Fire, When a Man Loves a Woman and When Harry Met Sally.

“I took a giant break because I felt like there's just so many other parts of my experience as a human being I wanted to develop,” said Ryan. “It's nice to think of it as a job and not a lifestyle. And that is a great way of navigating it for me."

Eight years after working on her directorial debut Ithaca, she returned to the spotlight in the rom-com What Happens Later as the director, writer and cast member.

Rick Moranis has been enjoying his life outside the spotlight since leaving his acting career to raise his children after the death of his wife, Ann Belsky, in 1991.

"I was working with really interesting people, wonderful people," he told The Hollywood Reporter in 2015. "I went from that to being at home with a couple of little kids, which is a very different lifestyle. But it was important to me. I have absolutely no regrets whatsoever. My life is wonderful."