Every actor has the dream to make it in Hollywood. The truth is, the Hollywood industry is a difficult business and not all of them manage to build successful careers, no matter how well they start off. The industry is very competitive, which makes it difficult to enter and even more difficult to reserve your spot for a lifetime. It’s no surprise when you see an actor’s career go downhill after one show or even one episode on the set.
As upsetting as this is for the actors, the fans who become obsessed with their favorite shows get quite frustrated when they hear that their favorite actor is out of the game. It might even be shocking to see that some actors aren’t appearing in Hollywood at all, even though their career seemed to be at an all-time high.
These 80 actors didn’t fall off of the face of the Earth, they just aren’t working in Hollywood production anymore. Take a look at where they are at right now! Believe it or not, one of these actors who fell out of the Hollywood wagon is Cameron Diaz. She had not appeared on the big screen in ages and it looks like she isn’t about to do so any time soon. What’s strange is that Cameron Diaz has always been an A-list actress yet now her career seems to be going in a different direction.
The trick about working in Hollywood is that one wrong move can end your career for good. No producer wants to have their movie associated with an actor who has issues in personal life or participates in public scandals. That’s why actors have to be extra careful about the moves they make in both personal and professional spheres of their lives. As stressful as this is, many talented individuals manage to play their cards right and build a successful career. However, that’s not the case for the 80+ actors on the list we have for you today.
Chances are you haven’t even noticed that Tobey Maguire is completely absent from Hollywood. That’s because he was active a long time ago. His last appearance in a movie was in the first Spiderman film back in 2012. He was absent for so long that some of his fans and people in general thought he was dead.
His most recent projects include a not so successful movie titled Pawn Sacrifice and the narrator role in the animated film called Boss Baby. After getting so much positive feedback and recognition for appearing in the Spiderman movie, Tobey shocked everyone with his sudden disappearance from the Hollywood scene.
We’ve already mentioned Cameron Diaz in the introduction but that is because it is too strange to see an A-list actor completely leave Hollywood behind. The way Cameron Diaz left the Hollywood scene was quiet and very sudden.
Many people didn’t even notice that she was completely inactive in the movie scene, despite being one of the top-rated young actors out there. Some of her most successful appearances that we’ll remember her by include There’s Something About Mary, Charlie’s Angels, In Her Shoes, and The Holiday, one of the best romantic comedies out there.
There is no doubt that Diaz had a very successful run in Hollywood. She even won four Golden Glove Awards yet she still decided to retire from acting after her appearance in Annie in 2014. This has made Diaz’s fans very sad, as they know that she will never act again.
Even though we don’t know the real reasons why she decided to pull this move, it seems like Cameron simply got tired of acting and decided to settle down and live a peaceful life with her husband Benji Madden. Interestingly, her sister-in-law is actually married to Benji’s brother.
No one could imagine that Mo’nique’s career would go downhill after she had won an Oscar for her appearance in 2009’s Precious. After all, an Oscar is the most prestigious award in the world of acting and you don’t expect the actors who receive it to disappear from the scene.
On the contrary, you would expect these actors to get even more roles and awards under their belt.
However, that wasn’t the case for Mo’nique because she only worked on four projects after the Oscar award. It seems that winning an Oscar made Mo’nique overestimate herself and develop a haughty persona with too much ego.
She refused to be taken as an ordinary actress and to “play the Hollywood game.” However, it looks like this move had cost her the entire career she had built.
You remember the famous Jonas brothers TV show but do you remember Kevin Jonas? After all, he was considered the Black Sheep of the Jonas Brothers so we won’t blame you if you don’t recall who he is.
He became famous through the Jonas Brothers rock band that produced four studio albums together. After their success started to decline, he went on to star in his own reality show called Married to Jonas where he works alongside his wife Danielle.
He met Danielle Deleasa back in 2007 during a vacation in the beautiful Bahamas. The reality show that aired on E! brought him fame and success until 2013.
Instead of acting or playing music, Kevin Jonas works in contracting and he even promoted his business with the appearance on The Real Housewives of New Jersey.
It’s truly a shame to add Jack Nicholson to this list. As an amazing actor, Jack was nominated for the Oscar award not once but multiple times. In fact, he holds the record of the highest number of Oscar nominations out of all male actors in history.
Unfortunately, he hasn’t made an appearance on a production set since 2010 when he starred in How Do You Know?
While some spread the rumor that Nicholson retired from acting because he began experiencing memory loss due to his old age, he confirmed that this was not true. Still, we don’t blame him for wanting a break. After all his career lasted for six decades. Jack, who is now 80 years old, was supposed to star in an English remake of a German comedy titled Toni Erdmann.
However, he dropped out of the project for unknown reasons. With over 400 million dollars he had made during his career, Nicholson can surely afford to retire.
Unfortunately, Lara is another one of those famous actresses who went from taking major roles to settling for small parts in unimpressive productions. Lara was so popular during the 90s that you could see her everywhere.
The role she is most recognized for is the role of Donna Hayward in the NBC show Twin Peaks and The Practice. She even received a Primetime Emmy Award nomination for this project.
Lara took part in the show from 1997 to 2003. However, she hasn’t been very active since 2014. Her career went downhill so fast that she didn’t receive any relevant roles or project invitations.
She got so desperate that she had to accept a lower production role in a project titled Hansel and Gretel Get Baked. Sadly, the show was nominated for the Trashiest Trailer award at the Golden Trailer Awards.
Katherine Heigl is best known for her role in the Grey’s Anatomy, for which she even won an Emmy Award back in 2007. Another one of her most popular appearances was in the hit comedy Knocked Up. Unfortunately, Katherine didn’t manage to maintain her A-list star reputation because of a few wrong moves she pulled in Hollywood.
She accused Knocked Up of being utterly sexist while judging Grey’s Anatomy for not giving her enough “juicy, dramatic material.” These comments literally cost her the entire career as she hasn’t appeared on the screen since 2008. Her last project was a romantic comedy titled 27 Dresses.
Jonah Hill was on a good run after he appeared in some of Hollywood’s most popular productions including Knocked Up, Superbad, and Forgetting Sarah Marshall. He received a couple of Oscar nominations for his supporting roles in Moneyball and The Wolf of Wall Street.
Having landed so many great roles, Jonah got the opportunity to work with the greatest actors of our time, including Leonardo DiCaprio and Brad Pitt.
Unfortunately for Hill, a few wrong moves led his career to a total downfall. The last few years have kept Jonah occupied with smaller projects including minor film roles and voice projects. However, he did have much success in fitness as he managed to lose a lot of weight since his last big role on the screen. He was on his way to making a comeback in 2018 when he appeared in the Netflix series Maniac along with Emma Stone. He has thus far scheduled a few minor projects including a minor role in The Beach Bum.
While Jennifer Love Hewitt has the kind of name that anyone would remember, not many people actually remember her acting career. Her most successful accomplishment was the role of Sarah Reeves Merrin on Party of Five, which aired from 1995 to 1999. She also appeared in the I Know What You Did Last Summer franchise.
Even though she was one of the most popular stars of the 90s, Jennifer quickly lost her touch and disappeared from the Hollywood scene. Even though she tried to come back with a few minor roles in the 21st century, her last big screen project was way back in 2012. It seems like she’s settled down for a peaceful family life with her husband and two children.
If you don’t know who Mike Myers, you’ll be surprised to hear that he is the voice actor behind iconic Shrek. He also voiced Dr. Evil in the Austin Powers franchise and starred in The Love Guru back in 2008. We can’t seem to find what he’s been up to ever since then because he hasn’t done much in the last couple of years. After all, The Love Guru was such an awful movie that it basically destroyed his entire career.
It’s difficult to get back on tracks after a project like that ruins your reputation. Sadly, Mike hasn’t made any progress in regaining his reputation as a quality actor. With a net worth of 175 million dollars, Mike doesn’t have anything to worry about when it comes to work and finances. Still, it would have been nice to see him back on the screen with something better than The Love Guru. Rumor has it that he might reprise his role as Dr. Evil soon but nothing is official yet.
Meg Ryan is another one of 90s sweethearts. She took part in famous romantic comedies including the hit When Harry Met Sally, as well as Sleepless in Seattle, and You’ve Got Mail. Unfortunately, some of her later projects were such failures that they affected her career very badly.
She took part in several productions during the early 2000s, including “Going Against Type” and “Against the Ropes” in 2004. Unfortunately, these movies didn’t prove to be successful enough to bring her career back to where it was. She later acted in several indie films but didn’t have much success.
Even an Oscar and a Golden Globe award weren’t enough for Mira to keep her career together. After she took part in Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion, Mira seemed to have lost track of her success. She continued appearing in lower budget productions and taking minor roles here and there.
She had trouble landing new roles which led her career to slowly die down. One of the reasons why Mira has been having trouble in Hollywood for the past few years is because the infamous Harvey Weinstein had blacklisted her from major pictures. The reason he did that was that she failed a harassment claim against him. Talk about women’s rights…
Ashley Judd is another example of a rising star whose career has been shut down because of someone else’s wrongdoings. The aspiring star had won numerous awards for her appearances in the 90s but her career didn’t last very long.
Again, the same Harvey Weinstein was to blame for another ruined career in Hollywood. Judd had refused the advancements that Weinstein had made in a hotel room, which led him to blacklist her as well.
Gary Dourdan is a CSI legend. He appeared in the very first episode of the show as Warrick Brown and went on to play in 8 seasons of the crime hit. Dourdan't life didn't seem much different than his character, that had dealt during the show with gambling addiction, struggled to get along with his co-workers, and had some infamous relationships.
From his own criminal activity to money troubles, Gary Dourdan’s life seems to have taken a turn for the worse since leaving the show. Since 2008, he was arrested several times.
First, for the possession of cocaine and ecstasy, later on for possessions of drug paraphernalia. In 2011, he was arrested for felony battery, after allegedly breaking his girlfriend's nose. In 2012 he filed for bankruptcy, owing roughly $1.7 million to creditors. Dourdan, who is now 53, went back to television after those incidents.
He appeared regularly in the 2015 season of “Being Mary Jane” and the 2013 series “Mistresses, but haven't done any big project since.
Alyson Hannigan took part in one of the biggest hit shows called How I Met Your Mother. However, she hasn’t been seen on the big screen ever since. She did make several guest appearances but that’s about it when it comes to this start and TV movies. Alyson married her former costar, Alexis Denisof.
We hope that the reason she retired from acting was to live a peaceful married life. She does have around 30 million dollars in the bank, which gives her enough time and resources to enjoy her life with family. Let’s not forget that she also took part in the American Pie film series.
Sadly, Amanda Bynes had a psychotic breakdown right at the peak of her acting career. This wig enthusiast appeared on TV the last time in 2010 in a hit called Easy A. Even though she was a very talented child star, it seems like she wasn’t cut out for Hollywood. After her public breakdown in 2010, Amanda has been switching psych wards rather than movie sets.
After getting better both mentally and physically, Amanda decided to give acting another shot. Besides acting, Amanda attended fashion school as fashion was one of her biggest passions. Even though her mental breakdown completely ruined her career, we’d still love to see Amanda make a comeback on the TV.
We all know Eddie Murphy for his amazing performances in hit comedies. Murphy is not only an actor but also a comedian and a screenwriter. He was a cast member on SNL from 1980 to 1984, which was only the beginning of his successful career.
Besides being one of the top 100 stand-up comedians of all time, Eddie took part in movies such as Nutty Professor and the Shrek Series where he played the voice of Donkey.
Sadly, Murphy’s career has been on the decline after he missed his chance for an Academy Award back in 2007. Some of his latest movies turned out so bad that Murphy didn’t get a single role since 2016’s Mr. Church. This movie was such a disaster that it barely made 500 000 dollars.
His 2018 role in the Beverly Hills Cop 4 might be his big comeback but even if his career doesn’t get any better he still has over 120 million dollars he has made thus far. We’re sure he won’t mind being unemployed for a while.
Mischa Barton became famous for her role of Marissa Cooper in The O.C. back in 2003. She worked on this project for three years, which also marked the peak of her career. The show got so famous that Mischa got the opportunity to travel the world with the crew. She was even named Entertainment Weekly’s “It Girl” during the first year of the show.
Even though the paparazzi used to chase Mischa everywhere, no other project could bring her back the fame she had earned with The O.C. Nowadays, she got the reputation of a bad girl because of her recent behavior. She even got arrested for drunk-driving and driving without a license. The court requested her to go into a rehab program but that didn’t stop Mischa from making another incident. She literally drove a truck into a condominium, causing a huge fuss in the media.
Freddie Prince Junior skyrocketed his career with the appearance in the I Know What You Did Last Summer series. He also had a significant guest role on 24 and many successful voiceover projects for movies and video games, including hits such as Kim Possible, Shark Bait, and Star War Rebels.
Sadly, Freddie had such a bad experience with Kiefer Sutherland on the set of 24 that he decided to quit acting. Even though he’s not present on the Hollywood scene anymore, Freddie is enjoying a beautiful life with his wife Sarah Michelle Gellar and their two kids.
Kel Mitchell starred in Nickelodeon's All That and Kenan and Kel. These appearances earned him a lot of fans and recognition. However, he lost his spot on SNL in 2003 to his former costar Kenan Thompson, which led to a decline in his career.
This unfortunate incident made a fuss between Kenan and Kel. Even though they were once good friends, they are not speaking anymore. However, they did make an appearance together on The Tonight Show to keep things professional. Mitchell has found himself starring in kids’ shows and taking up smaller roles these days.
Kelly McGillis became famous after an amazing appearance in Top Gun. However, she’s another example of how Hollywood can easily scare some actors away.
She had a negative experience on the 1989 Cat Chaser that killed her Hollywood dreams and made her stop pursuing a career in acting. However, even after the incident, Kelly continued to take part in smaller films and TV shows here and there. She later settled down as a theatrical actor. Interestingly, she came out as a lesbian in 2009.
Phoebe Cates was one of those actresses that everyone was crazy about, including both men and women. She took part in big productions including the 1982’s Fast Times at Ridgemont High, after which she took on several other roles in the 80s and the early 90s. However, soon after she completely disappeared from the scene.
For all we know, Phoebe has retired from her acting career in 1994 and focused on her marriage and family life with Kevin Kline and their two children. However, even after she had retired, Phoebe took part in one more movie called The Anniversary Party, which was a favor to Jennifer Jason Leigh, who was the film’s director.
After her amazing performance in the blockbuster asteroid drama called Deep Impact, Sobieski seemed to be heading toward a successful acting career. However, even though this 1998 film brought her a lot of fame and recognition, it didn’t secure her spot in Hollywood for the following years. Sobieski even earned an Emmy nomination for her appearance in the movie Joan of Arc.
However, she also retired from acting to focus on her family and, in 2012, she confirmed that she “doesn’t do movie stuff anymore.” When asked what the reasons for her retirements were, Sobieski replied “I am just focused on my kids. I think that’s mainly why I stopped… Also, 90% of roles involve so much sexual stuff with other people, and I don’t want to do that.”
After her role as Tracy Turnblad in 2007’s movie adaptation of Hairspray, Nikki Blonsky looked like the next big thing in the movie industry. She got the chance to work with some of the finest A-list actors including John Travolta, Queen Latifah, and Zac Efron. However, her career took a very wrong turn after the movie.
In fact, Nikki now does something completely different than acting. She earned a cosmetology license in 2011 and started working as a part-time makeup artist and hairstylist. Sadly, after her short-lived gig on ABC Family’s Huge, Nikki didn’t get as many offers as she had expected. Some say that this was because Hollywood rejects overweight actors.
Paz de la Huerta starred on Broadwalk Empire for two seasons, which set her career on the right path. However, it didn’t take long for her to take the wrong turn and miss out on many acting opportunities. After the Broadwalk Empire, she hasn’t made any big appearances. She did star in Nurse 3D, which was as bad as it sounds. The movie was so bad that she even sued the filmmakers in 2015 for ruining her career.
Paz quickly developed the reputation of an “unintentional paparazzi flasher” and “heavy drinker who crashes award shows.” Like many women on this list, Paz also had issues and negative experiences with Harvey Weinstein, against whom she filed charges for sexual assault. She says that this experience made her take a dark turn that led her into a downward spiral of drinking and depression.
All the Game of Throne fans out there, this one is for you! You definitely remember Jack Gleeson who played King Joffrey, one of the most despised enemies to ever show up on TV. Even though he participated in such a massive production, Gleeson hasn’t received any acting calls since 2014.
Even back in 2012, he mentioned that he wanted to retire from acting and pursue an academic career. He confirmed his retirement after finishing his work in Game of Thrones in 2014. However, he also gave up on his idea to pursue an academic degree and he decided to launch a touring theater company, which includes a puppet show as well. Interesting choices after starring in the Game of Thrones production!
You will probably recognize Jonathan Bennett from the one and only show Mean Girls. Bennett played the role of Lindsay Lohan’s crush in one of the most productions of all times. However, after his participation in the Mean Girls, Bennett completely disappeared from the scene.
He went so off track that he was even reported to be working as a spin instructor in Los Angeles. However, he’s found his way back to the screen and his career seems to be climbing up again. He is currently the host of Halloween Wars, a show on Food Network. He also worked on Cake Wars as well.
Some actors simply find themselves in a position where they want to say goodbye to their acting career. It looks like this happened to Gene Hackman after his 2004 project titled Welcome to Mooseport. During his career, Hackman won two Oscar awards and he’s currently enjoying the life of retirement.
This 87-year-old is enjoying his life with his wife Betsy Arakawa, to whom he had been married for 26 years. After he retired from acting, Hackman focused on writing, which turned out to be another successful career. He published five novels throughout the last two decades, including two works of historical fiction, a police thriller, and a Western novel.
If you don’t remember Jonathan Taylor Thomas, he was one of the most popular teenage stars back in the 90s. He gave the voice to no other than Simba in The Lion King. He also took the role of Randy Taylor on Home Improvement and appeared on almost every cover of the 90s teen magazines. However, after having achieved so much, Jonathan disappeared from the acting scene quite early.
While many people can only dream of living such a life, Jonathan seemed to have let it go in seconds. He had built an amazing career as a child star yet he decided to leave it all behind him in 2000. According to what he said to People Magazine, Jonathan had been working every day since he was 8 years old and all he wanted was some time to travel and study. He has since graduated from Harvard University.
Adrian Grenier had his five minutes of fame when he seemed to appear in every production of TV. His most famous role is the role of Anne Hathaway’s boyfriend in The Devil Wears Prada, along with his role as Vincent Chase in the popular HBO series Entourage.
Grenier’s last performance on the big screen was back in 2015 when he reprised his role as Vincent in one of Entourage film adaptations. Unfortunately, he hasn’t had much success since then. Speaking of not having success, it seems like he hasn’t had any in love either since he is still single at the age of 42.
Sally Field is one of those figures who has been around in the film industry forever. She was even nominated for an Oscar award at one time for Lincoln and her role in the Spiderman franchise, which skyrocketed her career even further. Besides the Oscar nominations, Sally has won numerous awards including two Academy Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, three Primetime Emmy Awards, and a Screen Actors Guild Award as well.
Her other iconic appearances were in films such as Steel Magnolias, Mrs. Doubtfire, and Forrest Gump. Despite such an accomplished resume, Sally has been off the screen for quite a while. Her latest appearance was in Hello, My Name Is Doris, after which she only got one minor role in a Netflix flick Little Evil. However, she did get her own star in the Hollywood Walk of Fame. We hope she gets some new roles soon!
Martin Lawrence was one of the most popular and most successful actors of the 90s. He was one of the leading actors in the industry back in the day and he even had his own TV show called Martin. Besides hosting his own show, he took part in significant projects such as Do the Right Thing and House Party. Unfortunately, he got into some legal trouble that pushed his career a few steps back.
Back in 1995, he had a violent breakdown on the set of A Thin Line Between Love and Hate which led to his hospitalization at the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. The next year he was arrested for pulling a gun out in the middle of an intersection on Ventura Boulevard, during which he screamed “they’re trying to kill me.” One year later he got in trouble again for punching a man in a club. He was also accused of sexual harassment so you can see why his career went downhill so quickly.
Eckhart’s first significant role that gained him wide recognition was his role as George in Erin Brockovich. Thanks to his following projects, he was nominated for a Golden Globe in 2006 for his role in Thank You For Smoking. During the same year, Aaron was also named as one of the top 100 most beautiful people by the magazine titled People.
His career skyrocketed even further when he appeared in the Batman film The Dark Knight. However, after his latest appearances in Olympus Has Fallen and London Has Fallen, Eckhard hasn’t appeared on the screen. Even though he has been inactive for quite a while, his actor is making a comeback with a role in the movie Midway.
After being defeated by Holly Holm in 2015, the UFC fighter Ronda Rousey pulled back from the scene. She took part in Furious 7 and The Expendables 3 back in 2010 and she even hosted SNL. However, after her UFC winning streak was broken, she didn’t have much success in acting either. It took her three years to return to the screen in 2018’s action thriller titled Mile 22.
Unfortunately, the movie got quite bad reviews despite the great cast that included Mark Wahlberg and John Malkovich. However, that doesn’t mean that Ronda hasn’t got anything to be proud of. Despite her acting career being on a decline, she can be proud of being the first American woman to win an Olympic medal in Judo. She definitely earned a spot in history and she even had a two and a half year long undefeated streak in UFC from 2015 to 2012. In 2018, Ronda began a career in professional wrestling and won her first WWE.
Randy Quaid is most recognized for his roles in the National Lampoon Vacation Movies and Brokeback Mountain. He was nominated for both an Emmy and an Academy Award but, unfortunately, he didn’t win either. However, his acting career suffered quite a lot after he got himself into a number of legal issues in his personal life. Quaid hasn’t been seen on the big screen since 2009.
That same year he and his wife were arrested for using an invalid credit card to pay a bill of 10 000$. This was only the start of different legal issues he got himself into. In 2010, both of them were charged with burglary and failed to show up at their court hearing. Instead, they escaped the town and moved to Canada where they tried to get asylum status by claiming that they feared for their lives in the US.
Despite being very talented and beautiful, Carey Mulligan didn’t have much luck in the Hollywood industry. She failed to get any roles in the past few years. Her breakthrough appearance was a role in An Education back in 2009. Her debut appearance got her nominated for an Oscar, which is more than any new actor can dream of.
However, despite such sudden success, Mulligan hasn’t received any major roles in the previous years. However, she did play the role of Daisy Buchanan in The Great Gatsby, which is one of the appearances we will remember her for. Luckily, her career seems to be climbing back up thanks to the recent big-screen appearance in a marriage drama titled Wildlife.
You will probably recognize Alex Pettyfer from Magic Mike, where he starred as the charismatic blonde boy. A role like this meant that Pettyfer was in for a wild ride in Hollywood.
However, just like many other actors, he made one wrong move that completely ruined his career. He got in a feud with no other than Channing Tatum, which obviously angered the Magic Mike crew. He tried to make a comeback with his recent role in The Strange Ones. If anything, he gained some praise for the effort in this psychological thriller.
Jessie Eisenberg first appeared on the TV screen in his breakthrough role in the comedy-drama film Adventureland. He later took part in a horror movie titled Zombieland.
These performances earned him several nominations, including the nominations for an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award for the Best Actor for his portrayal of Mark Zuckerberg in The Social Network. After his role in The Social Network, Eisenberg took a break from acting. However, he got back to it and he’s busy again with several different projects, including the portrayal of the legendary mime Marcel Marceau in Resistance.
Winning an Oscar often means that an actor is in for an amazing film career. However, that’s not always the case since even the ones who win Oscars can lose their careers in no time. A great example is Patricia Arquette who won an Oscar in 2014 for her appearance in Boyhood. Ever since then, Patricia worked only on smaller projects.
We must not forget to mention her Oscar acceptance speech where she discussed wage inequality and sexist Hollywood producers. You must really be brave to talk about these things on that stage. Other appearances she made throughout her career include the role of Tilly Mitchell in Showtime miniseries Escape at Dannemora, in which she had to gain weight and wear prosthetic teeth.
Allison Mack’s Hollywood career is truly something unique. Her first TV role was on an episode of the WB series titled 7th Heaven. After that, she took the role of Chloe Sullivan in 2001 in the hit TV show called Smallville. This performance earned her several awards. Unfortunately, Mack made a wrong move that ruined her career in 2011 when she joined the cult NXIVM.
This cult is known for forcing women into intimate acts. Her participation in the cult led to her being arrested for the crimes she committed. She was also arrested by the FBI in April of 2018 in Brooklyn and charged for sex trafficking and forced labor conspiracy. That’s not really something you’d expect from an actress!
Rick Moranis started his career with quite successfully. He appeared in numerous shows and film productions including Ghostbusters, Spaceballs, Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, and The Flinstones. Everything seemed to point in the right direction for Moranis until things started going downhill. His career declined quite passively.
After he lost his wife to breast cancer in the early 90s, Rick became a single father. All of these responsibilities were a huge burden for him so he decided to retire from the film industry. After all, he had to take care of his children. He has since worked on his music and released an album titled My Mother’s Brisket & Other Love Songs in 2013.
Billy Zane gained enormous recognition for his villainous role in Titanic. Unfortunately, he hasn’t been very busy since. He appeared in Zoolander 2 and that’s about everything when it comes to his accomplishments.
However, Billy didn’t give up on his career and he decided to chase his dream no matter what the cost. He got a few low-profile roles and continued to appear in lower budget production throughout all these years.
Andie MacDowell’s debut appearance in the film industry was her role in Sex, Lies, and Videotape in 1989. She even got a Golden Globe Award nomination for the Best Actress. Andie continued showing her talent in other productions including Green Card, Groundhog Day, and Four Weddings and a Funeral.
Andie’s career blossomed during the 90s, after which she came across a few bumps on the road. Finding new roles quickly became a struggle. Ever since then, she only took part in small films and projects, but nothing too serious. However, she exploited her other talents as well, including modeling. She modeled for Calvin Klein Inc and worked as a spokeswoman for L’Oreal since 1986.
If you don’t remember Emilio Estevez, perhaps we should remind you of his big role in Breakfast Club. The reason why you don’t remember what he’s been up to is that he hasn’t been doing much since the Mighty Ducks. Since he comes from a family of actors, he’s had quite good success in the industry. Besides acting, he directed several episodes of high-profile TV shows.
His directorial debut was way back in 1986 when he worked on a film titled Wisdom. This movie made Emilio the youngest person to write, direct, and star in a single major motion picture. If you’re wondering what he’s been up to now, Emilio has been directing a couple of episodes of a show called Cold Case, as well as Numb3rs, CSI: NY, Close to Home, and The Guardian.
Wesley Snipes was another one of the most popular actors of the 90s. He appeared everywhere from Jungle Fever, To Wong Foo, and Blade to White Men Can’t Jump. He seemed to be everywhere!
Sadly Wesley’s career didn’t end so well because he was imprisoned for three years at McKean Federal Correctional Institution for tax evasion. After he was released, Snipes appeared in one project back in the 2010s, Spike Lee’s Chi-Raq.
Sean Connery is such a legendary actor that it’s such a shame that he didn’t have a long-lasting career. Things started so well for Sean after he won an Academy Award, followed by three Golden Globe awards. If you remember back in the day, Connery was actually the first actor to portray James Bond. He starred in a total of 7 James Bond movies.
Sean announced his retirement in 2003 after finishing his work in The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. Soon after, in 2006, he received the AFI’s Lifetime Achievement Award. During the award acceptance speech, Sean confirmed that he had retired for good, which killed all hope for his fans who were hoping to see him on the big screen again.
Dave Chapelle made his debut appearance in Mel Brooks’ Robin Hood: Men in Tights, back in 1993. Later on, he took on many projects, most of which were support roles in movies such as The Nutty Professor, Con Air, You’ve Got Mail, and Blue Streak. Since he was also a stand-up comedian, Chapelle decided to try his hand at hosting his own show titled Chapelle’s Show back in 2013.
This comedy sketch show had a lot of success but Dave decided to quit the project years later. In 2016, Dave signed a deal with Netflix worth 20$ dollars per comedy release. By 2017, he had already released four of his specials, so you can do the math and calculate how much he had earned. His most recent appearance was a brief one in Lady Gaga’s movie A Star is Born. Following his years of success, Chapelle got the nickname “comic genius of America.”
Lark Voorhies gained fame and recognition after her role as Lisa on the ABC sitcom titled Saved by the Bell. Unfortunately, she disappeared from the acting scene soon after. Once the ABC show was finished, there was no sign of Lark Voorhies in Hollywood whatsoever.
She spent a decade away from the industry and focused on exploring her painting talent. It looks like Lark maybe wants to make a comeback because we’ve recently seen her appear at several premieres and red carpet events.
You might remember Karyn Parsons from The French Prince of Bel-Air where she starred as Hillary. If you don’t remember her, we don’t blame you because she’s been hiding from the spotlight for quite a while.
It’s been almost a decade since we’ve last seen Karyn Parsons. Nowadays, she spends most of her time working on her charity organization called Sweet Blackberry. The organization aims to help teach children about important unsung Black heroes.
Geena, or Virginia Elizabeth Davis as her full name goes, was a huge star back in the 80s and the 90s. The roles that got her most fame and success include those in films such as The Fly, Beetlejuice, The Accidental Tourist, Thelma & Louise, as well as A League of Their Own. Geena has had much success with her career.
She won both the Academy Award and the Golden Globe Award, after which she took part in Grey’s Anatomy and Commander in Chief. Nowadays, Geena is focusing on social activism for gender equality. Did we mention that she got married four times? It looks like she has been busy after all.
Mara Wilson started her career as a child star, acting in films such as Mrs. Doubtfire and Matilda. However, Mara quit acting back in 2000 in order to live a normal childhood and go to school like the rest of her peers.
Years later, Mara has focused on her writing career and published her own memoir in 2016 titled “Where am I Now? True Stories of Girlhood and Accidental Fame.” Even though the movie Matilda was released over 23 years ago, it is still one of the most iconic movies for kids, which qualifies Mara as one of the more popular child stars.
We all know Macaulay Culkin for his iconic role of Kevin in Home Alone. At 12 years old, Culkin became the most successful child actor in history. He appeared in both Home Alone and Home Alone 2 Christmas movies, along with movies such as My Girl, The Nutcracker, and Richie Rich.
The way things were going at the time, it seemed like Culkin was promised a successful career. However, Culkin made some kind of an arrangement with his father after which he mostly chose to stay out of the spotlight. He appeared in a few movies here and there but nothing too big.
Renee Zellweger was one of the most popular Hollywood actresses after her appearance in Bridget Jones’ Diary, as well as her role on Chicago. Surprisingly, Renee was not seen in any movies since 2010.
While it might seem too early to retire, Renee did already win numerous awards including an Academy Award, three Golden Globe Awards, and three Screen Actors Guild Awards. The good news is, Renee didn’t retire for good. She is actually set to portray Judy Garland in Judy, 2019.
Ariana Richards earned some fame and success after her role as Lex Murphy in Jurrasic Park way back in 1993. After Steven Spielberg’s project, she appeared in numerous TV programs from the early 90s to the early 2000s, including Empty Nest, The Golden Girls, and Boy Meet World.
Unfortunately, Ariana Richards remained a child star, which is how we’re going to remember her in the film industry. She did not continue her career on to adulthood as she decided to pursue her passion for painting instead.
We can give Robert Blake a break because he is one of the actors with the longest acting careers in history. Like many successful figures in the industry, Blake began his career as a child star back in 1939 with his debut appearance in a movie titled Bridal Suite. He had a chance to work along many famous actors.
After finishing his work for the army, Blake focused on perfecting his Hollywood career. He took part in Hollywood productions for decades, all the way until 2001 when he had to quit because he was accused of murdering his wife Bonnie Lee Bakley. He was Acquitted for the murder and since then he’s been keeping a low profile.
Elizabeth Liz Hurley became famous after her role as Vanessa Kensington in Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery. She also took the part of the Devil in Bedazzled. However, she became even more popular after she went public with her relationship with Hugh Grant.
After the success in the 1994 movie Four Weddings and a Funeral, she accompanied Grant to the movie premiere in a black Versace dress with gold pins. It would be difficult to forget something like that. This appearance resulted in instant media attention that boosted Elizabeth’s career. However, the two have separated after a while and Liz decided to retire from acting to have more time to raise her son.
You probably remember the twin child stars Dylan and Cole Sprouse from the Disney show “The Suite Life of Zack and Cody.” After years of working for Disney, the two stars decided it was time to end it and pursue degrees at NYU. A lot has happened since!
Dylan has actually opened a bar in Brooklyn while Cole returned to television and took the role of Jughead Jones in the TV show Riverdale in 2017. He is also set to return to the movie scene with the 2019 project Five Feet Apart.
We’ve had a lot of 90s actors and actresses on the list but Debra Winger is one of those stars who was exceptionally popular in the 80s. Her most successful roles were in An Officer and a Gentleman, Tears of Endearment, and Shadowlands. Interestingly, she was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress for each of those films but she never actually won.
After years of success in Hollywood, she decided to take a break from film. However, she didn’t retire from the industry completely. Instead, she continued acting and switched over to the theater. However, she also returned to the film and TV industry in the last two decades and appeared in several minor roles and projects.
You might remember Josh Saviano for his role as Paul Pfieffer on Wonder Years, a hit TV show from the 90s. because Josh quit acting right after this role.
because Josh quit acting right after this role. His life turned out to be a lot less exciting than anticipated but he still had a lot of success on the path he had chosen. After graduating from Yale University, he became a lawyer.
Even though she participated in projects before her big break, Taylor Momsen became famous only after her role as Jenny Humphrey on Gossip Girl. She also played Cindy Lou in How the Grinch Stole Christmas back in 2000.
Interestingly, Taylor retired from acting in 2011 and dedicated all her time to the rock band she started. She’s the lead singer and the frontwoman in her band called “The Pretty Reckless.”
There is no doubt that Shelley Duvall was one of the best actresses of her time. She was always praised by the critics for her sensational and astonishing performances of different characters. One of her most popular roles is the role of Wendy Torrance back in 1980 in a horror film titled The Shining.
Shelley Duvall has retired from acting and her public life back in 2002. At the time no one really knew where the star had gone. In 2016, she appeared on Dr. Phil where she talked about the difficulties she faced with her Mental Health. She made some really strange claims during the show including the claim that late Robin Williams is still alive and shapeshifting.
Rip Torn’s real name is Elmore Rual Torn Jr, so you can see why he opted for a shorter stage name. He had quite a successful career and he won multiple awards and nominations for his performances. One of his most famous performances was the role of Artie on The Larry Sanders Show. He also made numerous guest appearances throughout the early 2000s.
Torn retired from acting after an incident in the 2000s during which he was arrested for breaking into a Litchfield Bancorp branch in Lakeville, Connecticut. During the incident, Torn was drunk and bearing a firearm. The result of this event were several charges against Torn, including first-degree burglary and third-degree criminal mischief. The police claimed that the man broke into the bank thinking that it was his home. Later on, he was released from jail on a $100 000 bail. He pleaded guilty later on and spent two and a half years in prison.
Nick Stahl began his Hollywood career as a child star at the age of 13. His debut appearance was in Man Without a Face where he worked alongside Mel Gibson. His other important roles were in the movie Bedroom in 2001 and Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines in 2003. Let’s not forget that Nick also played Ben Hawkins in the popular TV show Carnivale. Sadly, Nick had issues with substance abuse which led to a decline in his acting career, which was followed by personal problems as well.
Back in 2012, Nick’s wife filed a report that her husband had gone missing. He was found five days later and sent into a rehab program. Years later he was arrested on suspicions of committing a lewd act, even though no charges were filed. Only six months later he was arrested again for possessing drugs. After that, he moved to Texas and focused on family life and staying sober. He is also set to appear in 2019’s The Haunting of Nicole Brown Simpson.
Most of Zate-Jones’ first roles emphasized her sex appeal, including the appearance in The Mask of Zorro in 1998 and The Entrapment in 1999. Her other popular performances include Traffic and the musical Chicago. She later won an Academy Award that further improved her career. Sadly, things started going downhill for Catherin after her husband and fellow actor Michael Douglas was diagnosed with tongue cancer.
This emotionally stressful period led to a struggle with her mental health and depression. She entered treatment in 2011 but things didn’t look too good for her. In 2013, Catherine and Michael split up due to all the stress around them but they reconciled in 2014. During all this time Catherine was on a break from Hollywood until she decided to return and star in Rock of Ages. She then took a few years off again and came back in a TV show called Queen America.
If you didn’t know, Bridget Fonda is Peter Fonda’s daughter and Jane’s niece. She made her debut appearance on the big screen in films such as “It Could Happen to You” and “Single White Female.”
However, Bridget decided to retire from acting in 2002 and raise her son Oliver with her husband Danny Elfman, who is a music composer. Bridget focused on living a peaceful family life instead of acting in Hollywood.
There is no need to introduce Chuck Norris, we’re pretty sure that you’ve heard about him already. However, what many don’t know is that Norris served in the US Air Force and even competed as a martial artist in many championships. He’s best known for movies Way of the Dragon, as well as Missing in Action 1, 2, and 3. However, despite his many talents, Chuck Norris hasn’t landed a new role since 2005.
This star from Walker, Texas Ranger took time off and decided to focus on helping his wife deal with her health issues. Even though Norris has been hidden away from the spotlight for a while, he is still present on the internet thanks to the viral Chuck Norris Facts meme. After his fans turned him into an internet sensation, Chuck received new opportunities to endorse products for advertising. This popularity inspired him to write six books, two of which became New York Best Sellers. He also released two video games.
If you’re old enough to remember Doris Day, you know that she was one of the most popular actresses on the big screen back in the early 60s. She was in so many films that it would be difficult to list them all here. In 2012, she was ranked sixth among the box office performers. We must not forget that Doris Day was not only an actress but also a famous and successful singer.
She was one of the most celebrated singers of the 21st century with over 650 songs recorded in total. With so many projects behind her, Doris filled her shelves with numerous awards including the Presidential Medal of Freedom given to her by President George W. Bush in 2011. That same year she received the LA Film Critics Association’s Career Achievement Award. The actress is now retired and her latest appearance was in her sitcom “The Doris Day Show” which went off the air in 1973.
Glenda Jackson disappeared from acting for almost two decades. She took a break from 1992 all the way to 2015. Interestingly, this British actress was one of the few actors who won the Triple Crown of Acting. She won the Academy ward twice for Films Women in Love and A Touch of Class.
Some of her other astonishing performances include the film Sunday Bloody Sunday and a TV show titled Elizabeth R. in 2015. Years later Glenda appeared in the play Blood Sex and Money. She returned to the stage again in 2016 when she took part in Shakespeare’s King Lear in London. She also returned to Broadway and appeared in Three Tall Women, which was a performance that won her a Tony Award.
This is the second time we are going to bring up the Christmas movie Home Alone on this list. Joe Pesci starred as one of the main villains in the movie. Throughout his career, Joe has a chance to work with the director Martin Scorsese on films such as Raging Bull, Casino, and Goodfellas. He also gave an amazing performance in My Cousin Vinny. However, Pesci wasn’t a big fan of fame and public life.
He decided to leave it all behind in 1999 for unknown reasons. It seemed like he wanted to pursue a career in music but the real reason behind his early retirement was the fact that Pesci never really liked Hollywood and the career he had built. He’s made small appearances over the years but it doesn’t look like he will be returning to the big screen any time soon.
Even though Rene Russo didn’t appear in so many projects and movies throughout her career, she took part in some of the most important productions of the 90s, including In the Line of Fire, Outbreak, Tin Cup, Ransom, and the remake of The Thomas Crown Affair. However, she disappeared from the scene in the mid-2000s after she finished working on Yours, Mine, Ours in 2005.
She took a break for six years and came back in 2011 with her appearance as a Viking goddess mom Frigga. Rumor has it that during her break from acting Rene struggled with her bipolar disorder. In 2014, she revealed that her mental illness was not, in fact, the cause of the break. She said that she simply needed a break because she had been acting from the age of nine. Fair enough!
ana Carvey became famous after his performances on SNL, including his famous character Church Lady and the extremely accurate impressions of George W. Bush. He continued to work on his career and took part in two Wayne’s World movies alongside Mike Myers. After this project, Mike Myers achieved great success but Carvey had trouble landing roles. He failed to gain any comedy roles during the late 90s.
At around the same time he had to get bypass surgery as he was experiencing chest pains. Believe it or not, Carvey was still experiencing chest pains after the surgery and it turned out the doctor had bypassed the wrong artery. Carvey sued him for millions of dollars and donated the money to charity. At that point, he decided to move away from Hollywood into a small town where he could focus on his health. He also took part in a Pete Holmes’ podcast back in 2015 and done some voice work in 206 for The Secret Life of Pets.
You probably remember the Olsen twins Mary-Kate and Ashley. They retired from acting back in 2012 after spending most of their life on set. After all, both of the twins started acting only one year after their birth. In 1993, they continued their career by founding a production company called Dualstar Entertainment Group.
They produced numerous TV movies including Passport to Paris, Our Lips Are Sealed, and So Little Time. The most recent film they released was called New York Minute. Both Mery-Kate and Ashley were invited to join the cast of Fuller House but they declined. They are both trying to stay away from the public eye as much as possible. The two twins are currently working on their clothing lines. Let’s not forget that Mary-Kate is married while Ashley is still single!
You might remember Michael Schoeffling, the guy from “Sixteen Candles.” He played the character of Jack Ryan, after which he completely left Hollywood behind. You might also remember him for his appearances in “Mermaids” and “Wild Hearts Can’t Be Broken,” which were his last two appearances before leaving Hollywood.
According to recent reports, the actor is currently living in Pennsylvania and he runs a carpentry business. It’s not the kind of choice you would expect him to make but he is certainly enjoying his life with a wife and two grown children.
Stacey Dash became famous in Hollywood for her role of Cher’s best friend in Clueless. Even though she was off to a great start and it seemed like she would enjoy a successful lifelong career, Stacey didn’t have that much luck. Her acting days have ended a long time ago.
Nowadays, Stacey is more of a conservative political activist. She made appearances on TV including Fox News and she even ran for a congressional seat, even though she later gave up on that race. Let’s not forget that she appeared in Kanye West’s music video as well. Overall, she decided to choose the life of politics over life in Hollywood.
We are sure that you remember Sarah Michelle Gellar from Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Cruel Intentions. You might also remember that Sarah had won not one but five Teen Choice Awards, as well as a Golden Globe nomination. The show did not only earn Sarah crazy fame and success but it also turned her into a sex symbol.
However, Sarah has left acting behind her a while ago and decided to start her own business. She runs a company called Foodstirs, which produces sustainable and organic baking products. She also started a family with her husband Freddie Prinze Jr., with whom she has two children.
Matthew Fox earned quite a lot of money and recognition for his appearances in Party of Five and Lost. He even won a Golden Globe Award for the performance in the popular supernatural drama series.
However, it’s been quite a while since we’ve seen him the last time, as his last appearance in a movie was back in 2015. Let’s not forget that he also go in trouble with the law, just like many actors who ruined their career. You could’ve seen Fox on the news as well when his house in Oregon went up for sale. It looks like he won’t be making a comeback on the acting scene any time soon.
Back to the 90s, here we have another actress who was a big deal back in the day. Calista made a name for herself thanks to the iconic character she played in Ally McBeal. After the show ended, Calista was busy filming Brothers and Sisters, after which her career started to quiet down a bit.
She was also the central role of the show Supergirl. However, after the show’s filming location switched to Vancouver from Los Angeles, she only appeared as a guest a few times. Currently, Calista is enjoying being married to Harrison Ford and the two are raising their son called Liam.
Dominic Monaghan became famous after participating in Lord of the Rings and Lost. However, after the show Lost went off the air in 2010, Dominic struggled to find any acting roles, which slowly but surely killed his career.
The former actor is currently the host of a nature program called Wild Things with Dominic Monaghan. After all, it seems like things have worked out for him pretty well, even though he doesn’t have a great Hollywood career.
Dennis Franz appeared in some of the major TV shows in early 200s, including Hill Street Blues and NYPD Blue. However, after 2005 when NYPD Blue went off the air, Franz seemed to have retired from acting completely. Throughout his acting career, Franz won many awards including a Golden Globe award, three Screen Actors Guild Awards, and four Primetime Emmy Awards.
Now that he’s focusing more on his private life, we can’t blame him. He is spending most of his time at his lake home in Idaho along with his wife. Interestingly, Dennis Franz did tell the New York Post crew that he would love to return to acting if he ever got the right opportunity. What most of his fans appreciated was his surprise appearance on TV when he showed up with his NYPD Blue co-star Jimmy Smiths at the 2016 Primetime Awards.
Ali MacGraw caught the public eye’s attention back in 1969 when she appeared in a film called Goodbye, Columbus. After that performance, she won the Golden Globe Award for the Most Promising Newcomer in Hollywood.
In 1970, she participated in another film called Love Story, which brought her even more fame and success, as well as another Golden Globe Award and an Academy Award nomination. Things didn’t end there because soon later, in 1972, Ali was voted as the top female box office star in the world. She retired from the acting scene in 1997 and she’s living in New Mexico where she has found some new interests, including Yoga, designing clothes, and fighting for animal welfare causes.