Stars Who Left Hollywood Behind: Cameron Diaz, Michael Schoeffling and More

Celebrities such as Cameron Diaz and Rick Moranis rose to stardom in Hollywood — only to leave their acting careers in the past.

Diaz got her start with a role alongside Jim Carrey in the 1994 film The Mask. The actress continued to find success with movies including My Best Friend’s Wedding, There’s Something About Mary, Vanilla Sky, Charlie’s Angels and many more.

After exchanging vows with Benji Madden in 2015, the Golden Globe nominee confirmed her decision to step away from acting. She welcomed daughter Raddix in 2019 via surrogate.

In August 2020, the California native reflected on her decision to hit pause on her career. “I really looked at my life and I saw what I had been — when you’re making a movie, it’s the perfect excuse, they own you — and I realized I handed off parts of my life to all these other people,” she explained during an episode of the “In Goop Health: The Sessions” video series. “They took it. I basically had to take it back and take responsibility for my life.”

Moranis, for his part, made a name for himself starring in projects including Honey, I Shrunk the Kids and Ghostbusters. The comedian stepped away from Hollywood to focus on raising his children, Mitchell and Rachel, after his wife, Ann Belsky, died of cancer in 1991.

The actor offered a rare glimpse into his decision, telling USA Today in 2005, “I pulled out of making movies in about ’96 or ’97. I’m a single parent, and I just found that it was too difficult to manage raising my kids and doing the traveling involved in making movies. So I took a little bit of a break. And the little bit of a break turned into a longer break, and then I found that I really didn’t miss it.”

Scroll down for more stars who chose to part ways with Hollywood over the years: