14 Celebrities Who Left the Glitz of Hollywood to Become Full-Time Moms

For the sake of a brilliant career and popularity, many actors and singers are ready to give up family happiness and marriage. However, there are many female celebrities who have sacrificed successful careers to devote their lives to family and children.

1. Uma Thurman

One of the favorite roles of actress and star of Kill Bill, Uma Thurman, is being a mom to 3 kids. In one of her interviews before giving birth to her third child, the actress admitted that she was struggling with the guilt of being a working mom, trying to maintain a work-life balance. Now she is taking small roles in films and TV shows, devoting most of her time to raising her children.

2. Jessica Biel

Jessica Biel was one of the busiest actresses in Hollywood until she met her now-husband, Justin Timberlake. The couple is currently raising 2 sons. Biel has prioritized family over her career since she became a family person. The actress thinks that motherhood “is incredibly hard, the hardest job in the world,” but also adds that it’s an “amazing, amazing experience.”

3. Jessica Simpson

Jessica Simpson used to be a music sensation in the ‘90s and ‘00s until she decided to give up her musical career. Now she is a full-time mom of 3 and a successful businesswoman with a $1 billion retail empire. Motherhood also inspired her to launch a collection of clothes for pregnant women. Simpson confesses that “being a mother is the best opportunity and challenge I’ve ever been blessed with in life.”

4. Nicole Richie

Nicole Richie is an American TV show star who became famous for starring on the reality show, The Simple Life, from 2003-2007. After getting married, she became a happy wife and mom to 2 children. Richie has been busy with motherhood since 2008, and in 2010, she went a step further, launching her fashion line.

5. Leelee Sobieski

Leelee Sobieski is an American actress that got famous in her teens for her roles in Here on Earth and The Glass House. But after starring in many hits, Sobieski left Hollywood. Today, she is a respected figure in the art community and a full-time mom of 2. Sobieski and her husband, a famous designer named Adam Kimmel, both decided to retire from the public eye and focus on family.

6. Hilary Duff

Hilary Duff is an American actress and singer who was once a teen idol for her role on the television series, Lizzie McGuire. After giving birth to her first child, she decided to put her TV career on pause. Although she still stars in some sitcoms, Duff devotes most of the time to her 3 children, as she herself noted, “I always knew that [to be a mom] was going to be my number one priority in life.”

7. Christina Aguilera

Christina Aguilera used to be a teen pop star in the late ‘90s and early ‘00s who received prestigious music awards numerous times. But most of all, the singer is proud not of her unique voice, but of the birth of her beloved son, Max. When Aguilera gave birth to her first child, she pulled herself away from the limelight. Now she is a mother of 2 and releases some songs from time to time, but she still prioritizes family over everything.

8. Alicia Keys

15-time Grammy award-winning singer Alicia Keys is a natural sensation in the music industry. She got married in 2010, and since then, she’s given birth to 2 children. She is still dedicated to music and performs in concert tours and media projects (like sitting in as a coach on The Voice from time to time). Still, she typically prioritizes her family and children over other things.

9. Elizabeth Hurley

English actress Elizabeth Hurley, who became famous for different roles throughout her career, is no longer playing leading roles so often. Hurley gave birth to a single child in 2002, and as she explains it, she decided to put her son “above work, above a social life, and above anything.”

10. Robin Wright

Robin Wright is a glamorous actress who first got popular acting in a famous soap opera, Santa Barbara. After the huge success of the Forest Gump film, she forfeited fame to raise her 2 children. As she herself notes, “I don’t look back and think that I missed putting my kids to bed for 4 straight years because I was in the theatre.” So for Wright, giving up the bright lights of Hollywood was an easy decision to make.

11. Lauryn Hill

One of the greatest rappers of all time, Lauryn Hill, is a musical master, awarded with multiple Grammies. She stepped away from music for a long time, choosing motherhood over continuing to release albums. As Hill once explained, “I love music, and I always put my 100% into making music, but now I have to put 200% into being a mother.” It’s worth noting that Hill is a champion mom on our list — she has 6 children!

12. Debra Winger

Actress Debra Winger had a successful career in her youth and has been nominated for an Oscar 3 times. But she decided to give up her acting success for some time to raise 2 sons. When her children were grown, she decided to go back into acting now that they could take care of themselves.

13. Phoebe Cates

The former actress, Phoebe Cates, was famous for her roles in the ’80s and ’90s. After giving birth to 2 children, Cates, along with her husband who is also an actor, decided to “alternate acting roles” so that one of them would always be with their children. But it was mostly Cates who was choosing to stay with the children. So the actress later gave up her Hollywood career to devote her time to family.

14. Lisa Bonet

Lisa Bonet is a mother of 3 and an American actress who starred in 2 of comedian Bill Cosby’s productions on NBC, The Cosby Show and A Different World. Soon after she became successful, she married the rocker, Lenny Kravitz, and gave birth to her first child, Zoë. After becoming a mom, Bonet paused her acting career and focused on motherhood. In her second marriage, the actress gave birth to 2 children. Currently, Bonet’s career is as a teacher for her children and she is absolutely successful in it.

Would you give up your successful Hollywood career to become a full-time mom? Do you think it’s good when women quit their jobs to raise children?