11 Actors Who Quit When They Were on Top

Mm Writers
.November 11, 2024

These actors who quit while they were on top followed the old showbiz rule: Leave 'em wanting more.

Grace Kelly

Grace Kelly is the classic example of a Hollywood star 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 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.

Just 40, she's one of those actors who quit acting entirely on her own terms.

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 not worked in acting since 2016.

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. One of his last major public appearances was co-presented the Oscar for Best Picture with first lady Michelle Obama in 2013, though he's also known to turn up courtside from time to time. One of the greatest movie actors to quit on a high — and one of the greatest movie stars, period.

We loved seeing him with Matt Damon in The Departed, above.

Cameron Diaz

A massive box-office draw since her striking debut in 1994's The Mask (above), Cameron Diaz has 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.

After exiting acting in 2014, she announced last year that she will unretire, after eight years, to star with Jamie Foxx in the Netflix film Back in Action, about a woman coming out of retirement.

Will Diaz's unretirement stick? We'll have to see — she's one of the actors who quit acting who would be very welcome back.

Jim Carrey

Jim Carrey, Cameron Diaz's The Mask love interest, seems more committed than she is to quitting, after an astonishing run of hits including Dumb and Dumber, The Truman Show (above), Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, and the Ace Ventura franchise.

He discussed his plans with Access Hollywood after the release last year of Sonic the Hedgehog 2.

“Well, I’m retiring. Yeah, probably. I’m being fairly serious,” Carrey said. “It depends. If the angels bring some sort of script that’s written in gold ink that says to me that it’s going to be really important for people to see, I might continue down the road, but I’m taking a break.”

He'll be back this year in Sonic the Hedgehog 3, but after that, we'll see.

Gene Hackman

A two-time Oscar winner who just turned 94, Gene Hackman opted to gracefully step away after 2004's Welcome to Mooseport to enjoy his retirement from acting, though he still writes novels when he pleases. His prolific output means he's still a constant presence whenever you flip through cable channels, in classics from Bonnie and Clyde to The French Connection to The Unforgiven to Superman (above).

Now 93, he was spotted about five years ago riding his e-bike near his home in Santa Fe, New Mexico. He's another of the actors who quit acting with absolutely nothing left to prove.

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 recently 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."

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.