Here are 12 actors who quit when they were on top.
All followed the old showbiz rule: Leave ’em wanting more.
Here we go.
Grace Kelly
Grace Kelly is the classic example of a Hollywood icon who quit when she was on top. After starring in 10 films, including Alfred Hitchcock’s 1955 To Catch a Thief with Cary Grant (above), she left Hollywood for somewhere even more glamorous.
At 26, the Philadelphia-born actress married Prince Rainier III in 1956 to become the Princess of Monaco, dedicating much of her time to philanthropic work.
After years away from the industry, she dabbled in entertainment by narrating a documentary and TV movie — then joined the board of 20th Century Fox Film Corporation in 1976. She died in 1982.
Leelee Sobieski
Leelee Sobieski became one of the most successful teen stars of the 1990s with roles in Deep Impact and Never Been Kissed, and was working with Stanley Kubrick at 16, when she appeared in his final film, 1999’s Eyes Wide Shut, with Tom Cruise (above). She went onto further success with Joy Ride and The Glass House before she even turned 20.
But before turning 30, she’d had enough, telling Vogue in 2012 that she was focusing on her family and her art career — she’s a painter and sculptor.
“Ninety percent of acting roles involve so much sexual stuff with other people, and I don’t want to do that,” she said.
She’s one of those actors who quit on her own terms and hasn’t looked back.
Phoebe Cates
The Gremlins and Bright Lights, Big City star became one of the most in-demand actresses of the 1980s thanks to her breakout role in 1982’s Fast Times at Ridgemont High (above) — in which she may be best-remembered for a pool fantasy sequence that became an iconic ’80s touchstone.
She left acting for the most part after starring in 1994’s Princess Caraboo with her husband, Kevin Kline. She chose to focus on raising the couple’s two children, who now both have careers in the arts, and opened a Manhattan boutique.
In 2001, Cates made a brief returned to acting in The Anniversary Party as a favor to her friend and Fast Times castmate, Jennifer Jason Leigh, who directed. And Cates did voice acting for the Lego Dimensions video game in 2015 — her most recent work.
She’s one of many actors who quit acting who no one wanted to see go.
Angus Jones
Angus Jones is an actor who quit for moral reasons. He spent a decade on Two and a Half Men (above), the most popular show on TV for much of its run, playing the half-man to co-stars Charlie Sheen and Jon Cryer. In 2010, he signed a $300,000-per-episode deal that made him TV’s highest paid child star.
But in 2012, a year after Sheen left the show, Jones said in a video for a Christian group that the show was “filth” and urged fans to stop watching. He elaborated: “People say it’s just entertainment. Do some research on the effects of television and your brain, and I promise you you’ll have a decision to make when it comes to television, especially with what you watch.”
He soon left the show, and has worked only once since 2016: He appeared in a cameo in 2023 in Bookie, a show co-created by Two and a Half Men co-creator Chuck Lorre.
Portia de Rossi
The actress had a run of hits from Ally McBeal to Scandal to Arrested Development, but she opted to quit acting just before turning 45, and asked Scandal creator Shonda Rhimes to write her character off the show.
She explained on wife Ellen DeGeneres’ talk show: “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.”
She did make one exception, returning for the fifth season of Arrested Development (above) on Netflix in 2018. But since then, she’s chosen to focus on other aspects of life, earning this place on our esteemed list of actors who quit at the top.
Jack Nicholson
Lots of iconic actors keep plugging into their 80s and even 90s, but Nicholson chose not to be one of them: The 86-year-old walked away in 2010, after appearing in longtime collaborator James L. Brooks’ How Do You Know.
He left to enjoy life and the Lakers with nothing to prove, having won three Oscars and earned an additional nine nominations. He’s one of the greatest movie actors who quit on a high — and one of the greatest movie stars, period.
He makes very occasional public appearances — including at the SNL 50 anniversary special in February 2025 — but he’s stayed true to his decision to quit acting.
We loved seeing him with Matt Damon in The Departed, above.
Bridget Fonda
Bridget Fonda, part of a legendary acting family, first appeared onscreen as a child in 1969’s Easy Rider, whihc starred her father, Peter Fonda. By the 1990s, she was one of Hollywood’s most in-demand stars, appearing in films from 1990’s The Godfather Part III to 1992’s Singles and Single White Female, to 1993’s La Femme Nikita remake Point of No Return (above) to 1997’s Jackie Brown.
But in the early 2000s, after marrying composer Danny Elfman, she chose to walk away from the industry, with nothing to prove.
She made headlines in 2023 when a paparazzo interrupted her at Los Angeles International Airport to ask if she would ever return to asking.
She said no, explaining: “It’s too nice being a civilian.” So count her as an actor who quit with no regrets.
Meghan Markle
Former Suits star Meghan Markle quit acting in 2017, and — just like Grace Kelly — married into royalty.
That’s her in Suits, above.
Though she’s left acting, the Duchess of Sussex continues to produce plenty of projects with her husband, Prince Harry. They recently announced plans to make a film based on a true story of British troops during the Afghanistan war.
Evangeline Lilly
Evangeline Lilly starred in on one of the most beloved TV shows of all time, Lost, then went on to further success in both the MCU and Hobbit films.
And she’s good with that. The beloved Canadian actress announced on Instagram in 2024 that she’s stepping away from acting.
“Ten years from now, where would I like to be? I am terrified to admit this to the rest of the acting world, but ideally 10 years from now I’d like to be a retired actress and have a family,” Lilly said in the video. “I’d like to be writing and influencing people’s lives in humanitarian ways.”
She did provide narration last year for a documentary, Farmacy of Light. But she hasn’t acted.
Ian Somerhalder
Fellow Lost star Ian Somerhalder made a similar decison in 2020, after the cancellation of his Netflix show V Wars in 2020.
“I remember sitting with my management talking about this, saying, ‘Hey, this is the only thing I’ve ever known that’s ever sustained my family, and I’m walking away from it,’ at this sort of peak,” Somerhalder told People.
“I say this in all humility, in all respect, but I would much rather do this than go spend two months in some city, shooting a TV show away from my family or transporting my family back and forth. Once you reach a certain level, you’re like, ‘Okay, I want to focus on family and the future of farming and food and energy and the big things.’ I don’t need to chase awards and anything that would make me feel better about myself.”
Brigitte Bardot
The beloved actress was one of Europe’s biggest stars when she decided, in 1973, to walk away from acting, leaving behind a bevy of films that are still a pleasure to watch.
Known as one of the most stunning people to ever walk the earth, she remained so in her final role, The Edifying and Joyous Story of Colinot, above.
She devoted her life to animal activism, and died last year at 91.
Shirley Temple
At one point, Shirley Temple — known for her trademark curls and plucky on-screen charm — was one of the most recognizable stars on the planet.
Many people think Shirley Temple quit making movies because she aged out of being a child star, but that isn’t the case. In 1949, the last year she made films, when she was 20 and 21, she starred in four different motion pictures. So she obviously remained very much in demand.
After that, she appeared on television, including as the host of Shirley Temple’s Storybook from 1958-61. But like Ronald Reagan, she started a second life in politics, first running unsuccessfully for Congress in 1967, and then being appointed by President Nixon as a delagate to the United Nations General Assembly. She was so popular that Gerald Ford considered her as a running mate.
Later, President George H.W. Bush appointed her U.S. Ambassador to Czechoslovakia.
She died in 2014 at 85.
Honorable Mention — Cameron Diaz
A massive box-office draw since her striking debut in 1994’s The Mask (above), Cameron Diaz starred in films from the Charlie’s Angels and Shrek franchises to the comedy hits Something About Mary , My Best Friend’s Wedding and Bad Teacher to the genre-bending drama Vanilla Sky to the daring and undefinable Being John Malkovich.
She exited acting in 2014, and enjoyed several years out of the spotlight.
Then she changed her mind. She came out of retirement to pair up with Jamie Foxx for last year’s Back in Action — which is appropriately enough about a woman coming out of retirement — and she has several upcoming projects on her dance card, including returning as the voice of Fiona in Shrek 5.
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Main image: Cameron Diaz in Bad Teacher. Sony Pictures.
Editor’s Note: Corrects to add Shirley Temple.
