Celebrities, whether from the film or music industry or from their wealth or inventions, have to deal with the fame that comes along with being famous. This includes hiding from the paparazzi, exhaustion from media presses, long work hours and still trying to carry on with typical day-to-day life. Some celebrities thrive off of this lifestyle, while others eventually chose it is not for them and would much rather try and have a normal job. If you’ve ever wondered what happened to some familiar faces you haven’t seen in media for a while, we’re sure you’ll find out why below.
Vanilla Ice
For our younger generation who do not know, Vanilla Ice is a rapper, actor, and television host who is best known for his hit song, Ice Ice Baby. His music, was initially what made him famous. Although we may see Vanilla Ice at some concerts, on reality TV shows, or in the media now and then, he has moved away from letting music be his job and main source of income.
Vanilla Ice now has a normal-ish job renovating houses which includes some of the interior design work and light fixtures, which actually come from his own company, Vanilla Ice Lighting.
Geena Davis
Geena Davis who you may recognize from Stuart Little, A League of Their Own, or Thelma and Louise. Davis let acting take a back seat in her life when she started feeling like the roles she was being offered lacked complexity and the movies themselves just weren’t that interesting enough to be involved in. Although you may still spot her in a movie now and then, the roles are not as big or as often.
Davis now spends her time working on women’s equality activism projects, especially her main project, the Geena Davis Institue on Gender and Media. All these projects are part of non-profits.
Rick Moranis
The name Rick Moranis may not sound very familiar, but his face is all too familiar. He was best known for his roles in Honey I shrunk the Kids, Ghostbusters and The Flinstones. But in 1991, Moranis became a single father after his wife passed away from cancer. After this happened, he stopped acting and took full-time dad as his new role, without any indication that he would be back.
Moranis has kept his personal life private, so most people don’t know what he is up to. But we know he has spent a lot of his time writing while being a stay-at-home dad.
Erik Estrada
During his acting career, Erik Estrada appeared in nearly 70 movies. Most people are familiar with him from his six-year role as the cop Frank Ponch in the television series CHiPs. Estrada eventually took his CHiPs role and turned it into a real career. In 2016, Estrada worked in 3 agencies and was eventually promoted to an officer. He also spent over 8 years working in Virginia as an investigator for online crimes against children.
We wonder if his acting role led him to the law enforcement job. At least he is doing good for the world now using what he was exposed to during his acting career.
Danny Pintauro
Fame and fortune, especially for young stars, can lead people down a dark path. Just like Danny Pintauro. Pintauro did not feature in many films, but people best know him for his role in As the World Turns and Who’s The Boss. Since leaving the acting world, Pintauro has conquered a battle with drug addiction, coming out as gay, being open about his HIV-positive status and is now happily married.
His new career however went in a very different direction as he become a veterinary tech at Austin Pets Alive. Treating animals has given him a better outlook on life.
Kristi Yamaguchi
Kristi Yamaguchi was a famous figure skater mainly in the 1980s and 1990s. She was brilliant at her skill and got herself quite the hand full of medals during her career, including the champion of the ladies singles in the 1992 Olympics and winning World Champion twice. But in early 2012, Yamaguchi spun herself into a newfound career in fashion, owning her own women's activewear line which helps empower women.
Her line Tsu.ya, is not just made to make all women feel good in their bodies, but proceeds from the line go to the Yamaguchi Always Dream Foundation for children.
Heather Donahue
Heather Donahue, also known as Rei Hance, is best known because of the uproar created around her character in The Blair Witch Project. As part of the promotion for the movie, it was released Donahue went missing or was possibly dead, and when people found out it was not true, they were not very happy with the filmmakers and her. Donahue went on to film a few more movies but battled to get good roles.
Today, Donahue is a medical marijuana grower and wrote a book about it too called Growgirl and there were talks about a series coming out which would be based on her growing experiences.
Greta Garbo
From Sweden to America, Greta Garbo graced the world with her amazing acting. Although she died in 1990, aged 84, Garbo was also a celebrity who retired from acting to pursue other means. Garbo had never enjoyed the fame as she didn’t really get as involved in duties as other actors do, so it was a matter of time before she would retire from acting. In 1940, Garbo started a career in art collecting.
Most of the paintings Garbo collected were of very high value, so by the time she died, it was worth millions. Her collection included pieces from Rouault, Bonnard, Renoir, Kadinsky and Jawlensky.
Kirk Cameron
You might recognize Kirk Cameron from the sitcom Growing Pains, in which he played Mike Seaver or perhaps from other movies like Saving Christmas, Fireproof or Left Behind: The Movie. He appeared in quite a few additional films and television shows as a kid actor earlier in his career as well. So, what could he be up to now? Unexpectedly, he is a Christian minister, which stemmed from him being born again at age 17.
He spreads the word and focuses mainly on exactly what the bible says, which many disagree with. He also now teaches others how to be evangelic ministers and how to spread the word.
Mike Vitar
Mike Vitar began acting when he was 12 years old, playing Benjamin Franklin in Benny and the Jet and Rodriguez in the 1993 film The Sandlot. He spent the majority of his acting career as a teenager. Vitar is now a former actor and has been an accredited firefighter for the Los Angeles Fire Department since 2002. He has been observed rescuing a number of people from burning residences, including two of his firefighting colleagues.
Vitar’s new career path moved him from being a sports star to being a real-life hero. Although it has not been an easy path to follow, Vitar does his best to protect those in need.
Michael Schoeffling
Michael Schoeffling was a former actor and model who rose to fame for his portrayal of Jake Ryan in the film Sixteen Candles. Schoeffling left the spotlight and resigned from performing in 1991 because he no longer enjoyed the movie industry and much rather preferred family time. After retiring from acting, Schoeffling returned to his Pennsylvania homeland to live with his wife and two children and became the CEO of his own handcrafted furniture firm.
Because Schoeffling left the film industry so early, not many people know of him. He can live a normal life, but won’t get feet through the door of his business because of his name.
Jeff Cohen
Jeff Cohen did not have a lot of acting experience, but one film, in particular, made him famous. In the 1985 comedy The Goonies, Jeff played Lawrence Chunk Cohen and anyone who has seen the movie, would remember his character. But he last appeared on the screen in 1991 and decided he would rather be a lawyer. After seeing that many celebrities have legal degrees, Jeff decided to pursue the career change.
He now works in Hollywood as an entertainment lawyer and is inundated with celebrity cases, and that is no surprise because we all know the kind of trouble that celebrities can get into.
Peter Ostrum
Peter Ostrum appeared in only one film. Yes, only one. You might not identify him if you saw him now, but if you've ever seen the 1971 version of Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, you will recognize him as Charlie. Despite the fact that only one role had made him famous, the movie did not lead him down the acting path, rather, it was part of the sparked idea for him to be a veterinarian.
Since 1984, he has mostly worked with agricultural animals, such as horses and cows and practices in Glenfield, New York. We wonder how many of his patient's owners know who he is.
Shirley Temple
Shirley Temple, the actor, not the drink, was a famous child star in the early 30s to late 60s. Her career started when she was only 3-years-old in the movie Bright Eyes. She was however not only an actor but a singer and dancer as well. But in the late 60s, she decided she had done her time in the film industry and chose a new path as a Government employee.
Temple was first active in the California Republican Party in 1967 and then later served as a United Nations representative, Ambassador to Ghana, Chief of Protocol of the US, and Ambassador to Czechoslovakia.
Tiffany
Tiffany Darwish is an American singer, songwriter, and actress who rose to prominence in the 1980s. She went by the name Tiffany at 16 years old and did a cover of the 60s song “I Think We’re Alone Now”, which got her to the top of the charts in the late 80s. Her career path later strayed over to owning a clothes store, despite the fact that she still has some current music releases.
Tiffany opened her own boutique, Tiffany's Boutique, in 2015. Although it is not a complete job transition because she continues to dabble with music, it has provided her with a sense of normalcy.
Dylan Sprouse
We have all done it before, so don’t mix up Dylan Sprouse with his twin brother Cole, who is currently still working in the film industry. You're probably familiar with the twins from The Sweet Life of Zack and Cody, but Dylan has put his acting career on hold to pursue another kind of sweet life. He currently operates a brewery manufacturing mead, a drink brewed primarily with honey and water, and sometimes fruits.
Dylan Sprouse co-founded All-Wise Meadery in 2017, which stemmed from a college experiment and has been working on this ever since then. He also spends some time making videos on mead to educate people.
Danny Lloyd
From a child actor in a horror film to a Biology professor, Danny Lloyd come a long way. At the tender age of ten, this one-show sensation gave up performing and we think it may have to do with him having no idea what kind of movie he was playing when he landed his first role in 'The Shining.' As an understanding adult, he then chose to educate rather than pursue an acting career further.
He now lives in Kentucky, teaching biology at the Elizabethtown Community and Technical College. A much calmer life with his wife and kids than that of a horror film actor.
Amanda Bynes
Amanda Bynes has played a variety of characters in films ranging from The Amanda Show to Easy A. Bynes. But when she took a wrong turn in life she had to take a sabbatical from acting because of her struggle with substance misuse. She wanted to live a regular life to some extent, despite having made certain surgical changes to her face that made her appear nothing like the Amanda Bynes we may remember.
In 2014, she concentrated on her studies and graduated with a degree in Fashion Design, which is her newfound focus and passion. She is also on a path to changing her ways.
Cameron Diaz
Cameron Diaz has starred in a number of films, and almost everyone has watched one of them. From The Mask to Charlie Angels to The Other Woman, there's something for everyone. But most people admire her because of the work she has done throughout the years. But in 2018, she announced her retirement from acting and as much as we miss her on the big screen, she has done some good work since then.
Diaz had published two health books just before retiring and has recently branched out into the production of organic wine. Avaline is the name of her own wine label and people are loving it.
Ariana Richards
Jurassic Park was not only about the dinosaurs and the scientist, it was also about the children too. Ariana Richards starred in the 1993 and 1997 Jurassic Park movies, with enough screentime to make people remember who she was. She acted in a few other movies, but in 2013 she starred in her last one, Battledogs. Richards wanted to use her creative personality in other ways and decided to rather be an artist.
During her time at Skidmore College and the ArtCenter College of Design, she developed a passion for art. She creates impressionistic paintings of landscapes and figures and some have won national prizes.
Mara Wilson
Mara Wilson is best known for her role as Matilda in the movie Matilda. If you don't remember her from there, you would know her as Mrs Doubtfire's kid. Wilson’s acting career petered off about 2016. She had already begun working on her passion for writing, which she continues to pursue. Wilson currently publishes articles and plays, and she has a book titled Where Am I Now?: True Stories of Girlhood and Accidental Fame.
Wilson’s acting career hasn’t completely ended though as she has worked on some TV series and web series. But she did take a good 16-year break before doing some small parts.
Cary Grant
Cary Grant starred in over 70 movies between 1932 and 1966, long before our time but some may remember him. From She Done Him Wrong, Only Angels Have Wings, His Girl Friday or An Affair to Remember. But at 62 years old Grant decided he was done with acting, we guess his acting career had run its course. He went on to be a board member on many different company boards.
Grant firsts served on a board for a cosmetic company, which he went in all guns blazing. Later he joined boards that formed part of MGM, Western Airlines and the Academy of Magical Arts.
Audrey Hepburn
If you don’t know about the movie Breakfast at Tiffany's then you will most likely not know who Audrey Hepburn was. Besides the movie that made her known, Hepburn started off her acting career early on. For 22 years she shared her talent on the big screen, took time off to be with her family and the in 1988, she went into retirement to focus on a new career as a humanitarian.
Hepburn had worked closely over the years with UNICEF, but she wanted to give it her all. So UNICEF made her an ambassador so she could be on the ground working on world-changing projects.
Gerardo
Gerardo Mejia, best known just as Gerardo, was an Ecuadorian-born American rapper, singer and actor. His biggest hit, Rico Suave was the song everyone knew him for because of its use of both English and Spanish lyrics. But he turned away from that scene to a career no one could have expected, a pastor. After being ordained in 2013, Gerardo now preaches at the House of Grace church in Ashland, Kentucky.
He threw away his shirtless, bandana, and tight jeans to look for a much more conservative style and way of living. His biggest focus is the youth, and that is who he aims his preaching.
Jon Gosselin
If you are unfamiliar with who Jon Gosselin is, you may be more familiar with the show he hosted. Do you recall the family with eight children? Jon is the father of Jon & Kate Plus 8. Jon and Kate, divorced in 2009 and after that, Gosselin had quite the resume of work he had dabbled in, all in different types of industries too. If you can name it, Gosselin did it.
He first got into solar panels, then restaurant work, chef work and DJing. Surprisingly though he went into exotic male dancing too, but now currently has seemed to have settled working as an IT director.
Willa Ford
Willa Ford rose to prominence after her song I Wanna Be Bad reached the top of the charts shortly after its release in 2001. Her music career, on the other hand, did not improve much after that and even though she appeared in a few TV shows as well it wasn't too long before she realized that fame was not for her. She is something of a one-time big celebrity.
Ford went on to become an interior designer and founded her own company, WFord Interiors. Her current career is turning out a lot better than her previous one as a singer.
Kal Penn
Many would still recognize Kal Penn because he is one of the few actors who have managed to continue acting, while still pursuing a normal type of job as well. While still acting in Harold & Kumar, ER, NYPD Blue, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, How I Met Your Mother, and so much more, he managed to do some government work as well. In 2007 and 2008 Penn was an advocate for Barack Obama's presidential campaign.
This opened the doors for a job in the White House which ended in 2010. Penn still however when he can, does a few things here and there for some politicians.
Nikki Blonsky
Nikki Blonsky also has a reputation as a "one-hit wonder" actress. In the 2007 film adaption of 'Hairspray,' she played the cheerful Tracy Turnblad. We are sure everyone has wondered what happened to her. She has appeared in a few other tiny roles in various programs, but she obtained her cosmetology license in 2011. Nikki now works in her hometown, Great Neck, New York as a hairstylist and makeup artist.
She still tries to find acting jobs from time to time, but her beauty profession appears to be her steady path. The movie Hairspray obviously gave her other ideas than acting.
Kevin Jonas
The Jonas Brothers have all gone their own ways after their band broke up. But Kevin was the one to choose a different path than Joe and Nick, who still remain making music. If you think about it, it is not very often Kevin is in the media anymore either. Kevin is now a husband and father of two children, as well as the owner of Jonas Wearer, a contracting firm he launched in 2014.
Kevin didn’t stop there as he’s also the Co-CEO of The Blu Market, an influencer marketing firm and is the founder of Yood, a phone app simplifying the process of ordering food.
Gene Hackman
Gene Hackman, now 92, was another well-known actor. Hackman appeared in a number of films, the most familiar ones are Clint Eastwood's Western Unforgiven, Superman: The Movie (1978), and Behind Enemy Lines. But Hackman left the acting field to pursue a career as a writer, which he already started in 1999. His focus was historical fiction novels, of which he has written 5 books about already, between 1999 and 2013.
Hackman has slowed down on the novel writing and is enjoying life as it is. Even after being hit by a pickup truck back in 2012, he still continues to cycle today.
Shaquille O’Neal
One can not miss Shaquille O’Neal and his full 7 feet of height. After spending a good portion of his life putting his height to good use as a basketball player. But outside of that, O’Neal also acted in quite a few movies, sometimes as himself. In 2005, O’Neal trained to become an officer and was eventually sworn in as one. Through 2005 and 2008, O’Neal had been part of making many arrests.
O'Neal has been sworn in to many Sheriff departments over the years throughout the US. And in Clayton County, he holds the record for Tallest Sheriffs Deputy, which is no surprise.
Frankie Muniz
Frankie Muniz, now 36, was the middle child in Malcolm in the Middle, a 2000s series. You may also notice him in other movies, like Big Fat Liar or the voice of Stripes in the movie Racing Stripes. But we do not see Muniz as much anymore because his focus has shifted to race car driving. To start off this new career, in 2001, he drove a pace car for the Daytona 500.
Muniz has also participated in the Toyota Pro-Celebrity Race, where he finished 7th. He has since entered quite a few races since then and still continues entering them today.
Kris Humphries
NBA player Kris Humphries has been playing basketball since he was 12-years old. And it was all going well until 2011 when he married and then divorced Kim Kardashian, all in less than a year. He continued to play basketball for another 6 years after that but then packed the sneakers and shorts away for a less sporty kind of career. Humpries perused to focus on owning a few restaurant franchises.
He now owns a few Five Guys in Minnesota, has his fingers in some healthy pies with Crisp & Green and pulled in a few Dave’s Hot Chicken’s to Minnesota as well.
Phoebe Cates
Phoebe Cates used to be an actress, singer, and model before becoming a store owner. She is most known for her roles in the films Gremlin, Drop Dead Fred, and Fast Times at Ridgemont High. She last appeared on screen in the 2001 film The Anniversary Party. Cates started her own successful business, Blue Tree Boutique, in 2005, where she sells jewelry, clothing, colognes, art, books, and other random items.
Her store is still doing great and even has an online shop now where people can find all her weird and wonderful items without leaving their house like they would have had to back in 2005.
Freddie Prinze Jr.
Freddie Prinze Jr was at his best in the 1990s and 2000s. He was somewhat of an eye-candy actor, especially in the movies I Know What You Did Last Summer and She’s All That, but less so of one in the Scooby-Doo movies. But his career took a different turn from 2008 to 2009 and again from 2010 to 2012 when he worked with WWE, and not just as a guest host either.
In October 2010, Prinze worked as a producer and director on WWE. Although he never threw a couple of punches, his focus was on this sport he has always been a fan of.