25 stars who disappeared from the limelight

Gene Hackman had a distinguished acting career, though he was never known as being the most gregarious and sociable fellow. Then, in 2004, he costarred with Ray Romano in the little-seen comedy "Welcome to Mooseport." That was it. He retired from acting and decided instead to focus on writing novels. Though he was getting up there in years when he called it quits, it still took fans by surprise.

The Olsen Twins aren’t exactly recluses, but when was the last time you saw them if you aren’t in the New York fashion scene? Ashley stopped acting after 2004’s "New York Minute." Mary-Kate kept acting but hasn’t appeared in anything other than a documentary since 2011. Neither even showed up for "Fuller House" — granted, that was probably a smart decision.

For a short time, the Jonas Brothers were one of the biggest bands in the world. Joe still makes music and has appeared on several TV shows, sometimes as an actor. Nick was in that "Jumanji" sequel that was a lot of fun, and he also still makes music. Kevin works in contracting and created a food app. He did briefly star in a reality show, but that was back in 2013.

Phoebe Cates is the focal point of one of the most iconic film moments of the ‘80s, and she was also in both "Gremlins" movies, which officially makes her awesome. However, she has acted in exactly one movie since 1994, and that is 2001’s "The Anniversary Party" which came out of retirement to make as a favor to her friend, Jennifer Jason Leigh. She is now the third-most-prominent member of her family, behind husband Kevin Kline and daughter Greta Kline, front-woman of Frankie Cosmos. Even son Owen is now an actor and director of some note.

Moranis’ disappearance from Hollywood is well-trod territory. One of the biggest comedy stars of the ‘80s and ‘90s, he stepped away from the business to raise his kids after the death of his wife. The news that he will be appearing on the "SCTV" Netflix special was greeted with surprise and enthusiasm. Rightfully so. Then, there was that Mint Mobile ad, but the less said about that, the better.

Culkin was one of the biggest stars in the world before he was even a teenager, but that turned out to be a tremendous burden — especially when compounded by family issues. Though Culkin has acted occasionally since the ‘90s, he’s far from the limelight. He lives in Paris much of the time, and arguably the biggest thing he’s done in recent years is start a pizza-focused Velvet Underground cover band.

Bynes is another child star that ended up having a lot of issues as an adult. Things got so bad that, in 2010, she declared she was taking an indefinite hiatus to get her personal life in order. In that time, she also studied fashion. In 2018, she talked openly about her struggles with drug addiction, and would end her parents' conservatorship in 2022. However, she has yet to return to acting, if that is even something she wants at this point.

While his brother Charlie Sheen has been in the limelight quite a bit, for better or worse, Estevez has largely disappeared. He was a member of The Brat Pack for a while, before becoming legendary to a younger generation as Gordon Bombay from "The Mighty Ducks" movies. Since the turn of the millennium, though, he’s spent more time directing television than he has acting, but returned briefly to "Gamechangers," the "Mighty Ducks" show on Disney+.

Thomas was a huge television star, and a classic non-threatening boy, until he decided to leave "Home Improvement" to focus on school. After that, he was never really able to regain that teenaged glory. The only thing he’s done in the last decade is appear in a few episodes of "Last Man Standing," Tim Allen’s sitcom.

Barrett was the leader of Pink Floyd until drugs and mental illness made that an untenable position for him to hold. He was replaced by David Gilmour in 1968 and had a brief solo career. However, a few years later he retired from music — and public life — and was largely a recluse until his death in 2006. The classic Pink Floyd song “Wish You Were Here” is purportedly a tribute to Barrett.

Meg White never seemed comfortable being in a hugely successful band, and that perception turned out to be reality. While Jack White, who took Meg’s last name after marrying her and kept it even after their divorce, is a showboat, Meg is a deeply private and shy person. She left the band, unable to stomach the fame and touring any longer, and we shouldn’t expect to see her anytime soon — if ever.

Considering the power of "Black Star," the album that came out two days before Bowie’s death, it can be hard to remember that for a time Bowie wasn’t a part of our lives. There was a full decade, between 2003 and 2013, where he didn’t release any new music and rumors began to swirl that Bowie was near death. That proved to be incorrect, at the time, but perhaps that fear helped us prepare for his actual passing a few years later.

Stone was a great musician, but he was also a man with a lot of drug issues. After 1982, he basically stopped making music. After being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1993, he all but disappeared from the public. Rumors began to swirl that he was homeless. Others claimed he was living in a van by choice. Either way, he has disappeared, and it seems to be by choice.

You might only think about D’Arcy when her former bandmate Billy Corgan slags her in interviews, but that’s probably just fine with her. The former bass player in Smashing Pumpkins quit the band in 1999, although Corgan said she was, “fired for being a mean-spirited drug addict who refused to get help” because he’s a super cool guy. Wretzky made a surprise phone call to a Chicago radio station in 2009 — the first anybody had heard of her in years — wherein she said she lived on a horse farm in Michigan now.

What is it about bass players that makes them turn to a reclusive lifestyle? Deacon played bass for Queen, only one of the biggest bands of all time. Since the death of Freddie Mercury, though, he’s all but disappeared from the world. When Brian May and Roger Taylor joined with Adam Lambert to tour, Taylor said that Deacon had “completely retired from any kind of social contact.” So don’t expect that reunion tour.

Have you heard about Wilson’s time away from the limelight? If you’ve ever paid attention to music at all you probably have. They made a movie, "Love & Mercy," that touched on it. The Barenaked Ladies sung about it. Due to a myriad of issues, Wilson, one of the most-talented musicians of all time, spent a large chunk of his life hidden away from the world. Fortunately, Wilson was able to put drugs — and Eugene Landy — behind him, and he began making music and touring again.

It’s not so much that Daft Punk has stopped making music. However, when you wear robot heads all the time and refuse to take pictures with them off, it’s hard to claim you are doing anything other than avoiding the spotlight. In 2021, Daft Punk called it quits, and have yet to do the musician thing of reuniting.

D’Angelo made waves with the video for “Untitled (How Does It Feel)” from his 2000 album "Voodoo." That ended up being a double-edged sword, though, as he became uncomfortable with his newfound sex symbol status. This led D’Angelo to take a hiatus that ended up lasting all the way until 2014 when he released a surprise album, "Black Messiah," that reminded people of what they had been missing.

Even in the best of times, Apple didn’t seem built for the limelight. She had a so-called “meltdown” during a performance in 2000 that led to her taking a hiatus. During that time, she considered retiring from music. Instead, she reemerged in 2005 to release "Extraordinary Machine," and then mostly disappeared again until a 2012 album dropped. Basically, we only see Apple now when she has new music to put out there. That probably works best for everybody.

Mangum might not be the most famous name on this list, but he got a shout out on "Parks and Recreation," which seems like justification for including him. Mangum and his band Netural Milk Hotel released the cult-like adored indie album "In the Aeroplane Over the Sea" in 1998 — and then there was nothing. Article after article was written about Mangum, and he was dubbed by some the “J.D. Salinger of indie rock.” In 2005, he performed in public for the first time in years. And then, eventually, in 2010, he started to perform sporadically again.

Bush has garnered a lot of fans, especially in England, since she first appeared on the scene in 1978. She also hasn’t toured since 1979. In fact, until she did a run of shows at the Hammersmith Ballroom in London in 2014, she had barely performed in public at all. Even so, "Stranger Things" helped make her a superstar once again.

Connery beat Gene Hackman to retirement by one year. In 2003, he starred in the flop "League of Extraordinary Gentleman." That was it for the actor, who is happily retired. He wouldn’t even make an appearance in "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull." Of course, given how that film was received, that might have been a wise decision. Connery died in 2020.

This one you probably don’t need a lot of background on. Chappelle walked away from his titular sketch show on Comedy Central — and a big payday — and was hard to find for several years. There was even a period of time when he was in South Africa. These days, his standup specials are easy to find on Netflix, but anybody that walks away from a $50 million contract definitely qualifies as stepping away from the limelight.

Garbo is one of the most notorious recluses in Hollywood history. She uttered the iconic movie line “I want to be alone,” and that wasn’t a stretch for her to say. Garbo was never gregarious, never attended an Academy Awards even when nominated and retired at 35. After that, she avoided public appearances for the rest of her life.

Day-Lewis is a great actor, but aside from seeing him on screen you never see him at all. He’s well-known for doing stuff like learning to cobble shoes when he’s not working on a film. Additionally, Day-Lewis announced his retirement after finishing his film "Phantom Thread." If that holds true, we might have seen the last of one of our best living thespians.