Goodbye Hollywood


The lure of Hollywood fame and fortune might seem irresistible to most, there’s the fame, the fortune and money. However, many performers decided to leave Tinseltown to go back to a normal, everyday life and choose to live a quieter lifestyle away from the spotlight. Here are 10 celebrities who gave up fame for normal jobs.




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Shaquille O’Neal


Shaquille O’Neal, aka Shaq, is a retired professional basketball player. During his 19-year NBA career, Shaq played for six teams and is currently considered one of the greatest NBA players in history. Shaq earned his MBA and a doctorate in education after he retired. He’s also been an honorary sheriff’s deputy in Georgia, and he also works as a sports analyst.




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Kevin Jonas


Kevin Jonas was once part of one of the biggest boy bands in the world, however, in 2013, he left the spotlight behind for life as a family man. The eldest Jonas Brother now works as a contractor in New Jersey, where he co-owns Jonas Werner Homes, a custom home-building company. He’s a dad to two daughters with his wife Danielle, whom he met at the height of his fame.




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Amanda Bynes


Amanda Bynes was once a staple on your TV growing in the 90s. The actress rose to fame as a child star on Nickelodeon’s ‘All That’ before bagging her own series called ‘The Amanda Show’, she also went on to star in a slew of teen movies. Following a public breakdown in 2013 and a series of legal issues Amanda reformed and got back on the straight and narrow. She committed herself to her education and enrolled in California’s Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising.




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Vanilla Ice


Vanilla Ice was best known for his 90s rap hit ‘Ice Ice Baby,’ which made him a global phenomenon. In 2016, he announced he would be part of the cast of ‘Dancing With the Stars’. However, he has now stepped away from the limelight to focus on his family, wife Laura and their two daughters. He also turned to a new source of income in flipping houses in Florida.




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MC Hammer


After rebounding from bankruptcy and the end of the Hammer pant trend, rapper MC Hammer reinvented himself away from the spotlight. While his ill-advised decision to create his own search engine called WireDoo, didn’t pan out. The ‘U Can’t Touch This’ singer hasn’t given up his tech dreams, and currently works as an investor and consultant in the industry.




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Cameron Diaz


Hollywood A-lister Cameron Diaz hasn’t starred in a movie since the 2014 adaptation of ‘Annie.’ The actress is now an entrepreneur and writer. Cameron launched the wine company Avaline with her business partner Katherine Power in July 2020. The wines that they create are free from animal by-products and made from organic grapes. She’s also written two books about health: ‘The Body Book’ and ‘The Longevity Book’.




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Nikki Blonsky


Nikki Blonsky sang her heart out as Tracy Turnblad in the 2007 movie version of ‘Hairspray’. But, after her starring performance, Blonsky seemed to have a hard time finding other roles. So, she kept busy working in a high-end New York shoe store and in a beauty salon. In an interview with Out magazine, she said it was not her choice to step away from Hollywood, but she has enjoyed life away from movies. She said: “I did not take a conscious step out of Hollywood and so long as I’m alive, I never will, it kind of feels like the industry left me.”




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Shirley Temple


Shirley Temple was the iconic child actress of the early 20th century. With films such as ‘The Little Princess’ and ‘Heidi,’ her charming curls, adorable voice and dynamite dancing made her a superstar. However, her early success didn’t follow her as she got older. Eventually, she left acting at age 22 and got involved with politics. She became a US ambassador to Ghana and the former Czechoslovakia in the 1970s and 1980s. Temple died in 2014 at the age of 85.




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Sarah Michelle Gellar


‘Buffy The Vampire Slayer’ star Sarah Michelle Gellar has traded in staking the hearts of her blood-sucking enemies for baking. In 2015, Sarah has been able to create an organic food company called ‘Foodstirs’ which, among other curious elements, has a line of kitchen tools for children. In fact, she has even published a book of recipes called ‘Stirring up Fun with Foods’.




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Mara Wilson


Mara Wilson was one of the most beloved child stars of the 1990s, famous for her lead role in movies such as ‘Matilda’ and ‘Miracle On 34th Street’. After retiring from her acting career in 2000 she now works as a writer, penning books ‘Sheeple’ and ‘Where Am I Now?: True Stories of Girlhood and Accidental Fame’ While she’s shied away from most acting roles, Wilson did lend her voice to a few episodes of Netflix animated series ‘BoJack Horseman’ in 2016.




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