What Happened To? 13 Stars Who Totally Disappeared From Hollywood

For all the people clamoring to get their big break, there are also those who are looking for a way out of Hollywood. They may be totally successful but sometimes child stars tire of the business by the time they reach an age when they can make their own decisions. Sometimes people run thanks to scandals, sometimes family comes first, and sometimes actors just have a change of heart about the whole thing. Whatever the motives, there are a lot of big stars out there that have basically just disappeared from Hollywood. Here are 13 celebrities who chose to quit the business and what they've been doing since.

13 Amanda Bynes

Amanda Bynes was a successful child actress, getting her high-energy big break on the Nickelodeon series All That and The Amanda Show. A film career followed and she starred in movies like She's the Man and Hairspray. In 2012, Amanda announced that she was done with acting and was going to focus on becoming a fashion designer. Amanda has had her fair share of legal troubles and issues with drugs since then and has been on psychiatric hold multiple times. Amanda first announced her retirement on Twitter: "I don't love acting anymore, so I've stopped doing it." She later told People that she was taking "time off."

12 Kevin Jonas

Kevin Jonas is still seen from time to time since his brothers are still involved in the business. When the Jonas Brothers dissolved, Kevin got married, stepped back from the limelight a bit, and became a contractor. In the interim, Kevin has also had a pretty good run with acting, and even had his own reality show with his wife Danielle and brothers Nick and Joe for E!, which was about his family life and the band. When the band broke up, the show ended as well. When he started the contracting thing, he actually made an appearance as a contractor on The Real Housewives of New Jersey.

11 Jonathan Taylor Thomas

Jonathan Taylor Thomas was one of the most popular actors around when Home Improvement shot him to fame and into the hearts of many pre-teen girls. The heartthrob status wasn't enough to keep him in Hollywood, however, since he essentially quit the business and attended Harvard and Columbia. He still does some acting here and there: he appeared on his former TV dad Tim Allen's TV show Last Man Standing.

10 Sean Connery

Sean Connery was one of the most successful actors out there, but then he announced his sudden retirement from Hollywood. The last film he ever did was The League of Extraordinary Gentleman in 2003. Sean has won an Academy Award, two BAFTA awards, and three Golden Globes. He's best known, of course, for starring in seven Bond films over the course of 20 years. He officially confirmed his retirement when he was awarded the American Film Institute's Lifetime Achievement Award in 2006.

9 Ariana Richards

Ariana Richards was a big child star in films like Jurassic Park and Tremors. The former actress decided to quit the business and has since found success as an impressionist painter. In 2005, she won first place in the National Professional Oil Painting Competition, and she currently lives in Salem, Oregon and apprentices under a famous painter. She also dabbled in music a bit, first releasing an album in 2003 and then returning in 2008 to record a cover of David Foster's "The Prayer" with Chris M. Allport.

8 Karyn Parsons

Karyn Parsons played Hilary Banks on The Fresh Prince of Bel Air but hasn't been seen on the small screen in many years (except for reruns, of course). The former actress runs a non-profit, Sweet Blackberry, which aims to inform kids about important figures from black history. They create animated films to spread knowledge about the unsung heroes. Funny story: when Karyn landed the role on Fresh Prince, she kept working at her hostessing job because she wasn't sure how things we're going to go. Will Smith would even visit her at work and tease her for being there.

7 Gene Hackman

Gene Hackman is another success story who just decided enough was enough. He quit acting in 2004 after shooting Welcome to Mooseport and has since turned to other creative interests. He has written a few books since his retirement. Gene was a five time Academy Award nominee, with two wins in the Best Actor category. He also won three Golden Globes and two BAFTA's. In 2011, Gene was asked in GQ if there was any chance he would ever come out of retirement to do another film. His response: "If I could do it in my own house, maybe, without them disturbing anything and just one or two people." So there's hope.

6 Lark Voorhies

Lark Voorhies made it big playing Lisa Turtle on Saved By the Bell, but then became an artist. She actually started acting at the age of two and starred on a couple of soap operas before landing her big role as Lisa. She was also a singer in a girl group called the X-Girls and the lead singer in an alternative band, Third Degree. Since 2010, she has written and self-published three books. In 2012, Lark's mother told People magazine that Lark has bipolar disorder.

5 Phoebe Cates

Phoebe Cates was a model before turning to acting and became an icon when she starred in Fast Times at Ridgemont High and flaunted the heck out of a bikini. She also had a good role in Gremlins. She was a singer and recorded songs for the soundtracks of some of her movies. But in 1994, she quit the business entirely and focused on her children and her husband. She did return just a single time to act in 2001's The Anniversary Party, which was a favor to the director Jennifer Jason Leigh, her former Fast Times castmate and longtime friend.

4 Rick Moranis

Funny man Rick Moranis found success as a comedic actor and landed roles in films like Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, Ghostbusters, Parenthood, The Flintstones, and Little Shop of Horrors. But after his wife suddenly passed away in 1997, he felt it would be best to leave the industry to take care of his children. Rick has not appeared in any live-action film since then, but he has done some voiceover work, released a couple of comedy albums, and still makes appearances at the occasional fan convention.

3 Robert Blake

Robert Blake started acting in 1939 and made it big with roles like the shorts Our Gang (Little Rascals). He successfully had an adult acting career as well, but when his wife passed away,  he found himself at the center of scandal… since he was the prime murder suspect. He quit the business in 2001 and was acquitted in 2005, but he never really got back into the swing of things. He has said that he might return to Hollywood to make some cash, since he had $3,000,000 in unpaid legal fees. Yowza.

2 Mara Wilson

Mara Wilson is most well-known for her roles in Mrs. Doubtfire and Matilda, but she said goodbye to acting along with her youth. Mara has expressed that it simply didn't seem fun to her anymore after spending her entire childhood in the business. "Film acting is not very fun," she once said. "Doing the same thing over and over again until, in the director's eyes, you 'get it right,' does not allow for very much creative freedom. The best times I had on film sets were the times the director let me express myself, but those were rare."

1 Macaulay Culkin

Macaulay Culkin was one of the biggest child stars of all time thanks to Home Alone and My Girl, but the acting bug didn't bite him hard enough to keep him around much and he bascially retired from acting at the young age of 14. He actually went through some serious family and legal troubles: his divorcing parents tried to get their hands on his hard-earned fortune. They were unsuccessful. Macaulay hasn't totally vanished, however, as he has a comedy rock band called Pizza Underground and has made guest appearances as himself on The Jim Gaffigan Show.