After years spent hustling for fame, you would think that celebs would want to remain in the industry for many years to come.
While this is a goal for many, not everyone is interested in that lifestyle. Instead, some celebs pursue other passions.
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Whether that’s art, cooking, fashion, or even olive oil, here are 10+ celebs who put fame aside to pursue their passions.
1. Jessica Alba
There’s a reason you won’t find the actress acting much these days.
She preferred an honest life aka pursuing her mega-successful business, The Honest Company. Her passion for green cleaning products stemmed from her love for her kids .
“I wondered, What are phthalates and endocrine disruptors? And what are they going to do to my child over time?” she told *Good Housekeeping*.
These days, the company is worth $1 billion and has extended to include a beauty line.
Go, girl!
2. Portia de Rossi
Before she put fame aside ahead of her 45th birthday, the actress was known for her roles on Arrested Development and Scandal .
She decided to quit to start an art-curation and publishing company called General Public .
3. Natalie Portman
In case you didn’t know, the actress is super smart. She went to Harvard to get a psychology degree at the same time that she was filming Star Wars .
But school came first for Natalie who refused to film during the year when school was in session.
4. Jack Gleeson
He played one of TV’s most hated characters on Game of Thrones . But after his character perished, so did his career.
He decided to retire to pursue a different kind of passion: the quiet life, as he explained to Entertainment Weekly .
“I’ve been acting since age 8. I just stopped enjoying it as much as I used to,” he said.
He explained that acting was always a hobby for him.
“When you make a living from something, it changes your relationship with it. It’s not like I hate it, it’s just not what I want to do.”
5. Cameron Diaz
The last movie the actress appeared in was the 2014 remake of Annie .
These days, she’s focusing on wellness with her Longevity book and being a new mom to her daughter with husband, Benji Madden!
6. Gwyneth Paltrow
After countless roles in films, the actress announced to Harper’s Bazaar that she is “semi-retired” from acting.
“I really got to the point where even the little things, like sitting in the van going to set, getting your makeup touch-ups, and everything—I really don’t know that I can bear it.”
As for where she’s putting her attention these days?
For the past decade, she has been focusing on her lifestyle brand, Goop.
She recently had her own show for Netflix called The Goop Lab and she’s busy making products like her vagina-scented candle …
7. Emma Watson
Like Natalie Portman, the Harry Potter actress took a hiatus from acting for education.
She studied in the U.S. at Brown University and Worcester College, Oxford as a visiting student. It was her professor who gave her the advice to take a break.
8. Jim Carrey
After a successful career in acting, Carrey has taken a step back to focus on her second love: drawing.
One of the actor’s creative specialties is demonstrating his political beliefs through his art (to mixed reviews ). His artwork was even shown in a gallery show at L.A.’s Maccarone gallery!
9. Jessica Simpson
For years, Simpson was known for her amazing singing voice. While she’s not singing much these days, she is focused on other passions.
This includes her successful fashion line and her recent shocking memoir called Open Book .
10. Frankie Muniz
In the early 2000s, the actor was everywhere: Malcom in the Middle , Big Fat Liar , and Agent Cody Banks , just to name a few.
But in 2006, he retired from the spotlight to pursue his other interests, such as race car driving. These days, he owns his own olive oil store with his wife.
11. Eva Mendes
When your husband is Ryan Gosling, not much else can top that. So maybe that’s why she took a step back from acting?
Either way, the actress is focused on raising her two kids and designing items for her fashion collection.
12. Mara Wilson
You know her as the little girl in Matilda and Mrs. Doubtfire . But as an adult, Wilson pursued education instead of fame.
She’s also an author, having written a memoir about being a child actress called, Where Am I Now?: True Stories of Girlhood and Accidental Fame .
13. Michael Schoeffling
You’re probably wondering where the Sixteen Candles actor disappeared to following fame.
He quit Hollywood to become a carpenter and reportedly has his own furniture company. Given the criticism of Sixteen Candles , we don’t blame him for bowing out.
14. Dylan Sprouse
While you’ll catch his twin brother, Cole, still acting these days on Riverdale , the same can’t be said for Dylan.
The former Suite Life of Zach and Cody star is focused on other passions: his own mead brewery and model Barbara Palvin.
15. Sarah Michelle Gellar
For a while there in the late ’90s and early ’00s, Sarah was everywhere.
I Know What You Did Last Summer , Buffy the Vampire Slayer , and more. But these days, she’s focused on her love of food with her junk-free bakery called Foodstirs and her cookbook.
Sarah’s husband, Freddie Prinze. Jr. also put fame aside to pursue his passions.
While he still does some voiceover work, he’s mainly turned his passion for cooking into a career. In 2016, he released the cookbook, Back to the Kitchen .
