12 Stars Who Walked Away From Hollywood at the Height of Their Fame
12View galleryIn Hollywood, fame is the prize everyone is chasing. Once you have it, you hold on for as long as you can. Or at least, that’s what most stars do.
These 12 made a different choice. At the peak of their careers, or just as their careers were taking off, they walked away. One became a princess, one became an ambassador, and one became a veterinarian.
1. Greta Garbo
In the 1930s, Greta Garbo was one of the biggest stars in the world. Her line “I want to be alone” from Grand Hotel (1932) became one of the most famous in film history.
In 1941, at just 36, she made Two-Faced Woman and never made another movie. She spent the next five decades living quietly in New York, turning down every offer to return, until her death in 1990.
2. Grace Kelly
Grace Kelly was Alfred Hitchcock’s favorite leading lady, starring in Rear Window and To Catch a Thief. In 1955 she won the Oscar for Best Actress for The Country Girl.
A year later, at 26, she married Prince Rainier III and became Princess Grace of Monaco. She never acted again, even when Hitchcock tried to lure her back for Marnie. She died in 1982.