Actors and Singers Who Came Out of Retirement: Shelley Duvall and More

Sometimes, when people get the acting or singing bug, they can’t do anything else for the rest of their lives. But other times, the bug jumps away, and some performers want to do anything except performing under the spotlight. However, many of those who retire never do so for long.

From Harry Potter star Emma Watson to legends like Cher, many A-listers have decided to step away from the spotlight. Some fell out of love with their profession, and some left to be with their families. Either way, these stars wanted to escape the hustle and bustle of Hollywood. But it’s never too long that they’re away. Quite a few celebrities have had a comeback within less than five years of their retirement (we all remember Watson’s heartbreaking announcement where she talked about losing her passion for the film world).

It seems retirement isn’t for some people. Both Jay-Z and Ozzy Osbourne have remarked that they didn’t enjoy the retired life.

This year alone, Cameron Diaz announced she’s “unretiring” to go back into a Netflix project with her buddy Jamie Foxx. And we seriously can’t wait for our beloved 2000s queen’s return. Along with Diaz, Shelley Duvall is making her long-awaited return to acting in the upcoming horror film The Forest Hills after over 20 years on hiatus.

Check out which actors and singers have come out of retirement for a killer comeback below.

A version of this article was originally published on Aug 2022.

Hayden Panettiere

Image Credit: Michael Buckner for Variety.

From 2018 to 2023, Hayden Panettiere wasn’t taking on any projects. She shocked everyone by coming out of her hiatus with Scream 6. As of April 2024, she has a memoir on the way and multiple film projects.
Shelley Duvall

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Shelley Duvall is making her acting comeback in the upcoming horror film The Forest Hills, after over 20 years on hiatus. She told Entertainment Tonight on Dec 2022 that she’s excited to return to acting, saying, “I know it’s been a long tim. But it’s been great. It really has, it feels good. Makes me want to do more acting. It’s actually so much fun to act in a movie. I should appreciate every minute of it.”
Cameron Diaz

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In 2017, Cameron Diaz announced she would retire from acting in March 2018. However, her buddy Jamie Foxx convinced her to come out of retirement in June 2022 to film the upcoming comedy Back in Action. (We, for one, can’t wait!)
Emma Watson

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You may or may not remember when Emma Watson announced she would be quitting acting after the Harry Potter series to focus on her college studies after losing her love for acting. She then came back to acting after starring in the 2012 indie film The Perks of Being a Wallflower, the Little Women remake, the live-action Beauty and the Beast, and The Bling Ring.
Alec Baldwin

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Back in the early 2010s, Alec Baldwin announced his retirement, but it only lasted a few years since he ended up appearing in Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation, Boss Baby, and his role as Donald Trump on SNL.
Evangeline Lilly

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After her show Lost ended, Evangeline Lilly announced her retirement in 2010 to focus on writing and being a mom. However, she got lured back into acting after her two-year retirement, starring in franchises like The Hobbit and Marvel’s Ant-Man and the Wasp.
Lily Allen

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Lily Allen said she was retiring from her singing career back in 2009, wanting to focus on acting, her clothing shop, and recording studio. However, she returned after four years to record her iconic album Sheezus.
Tina Turner

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After over 40 years of performing, Tina Turner announced at the end of her 2000 European tour that she was retiring. It was reported that she said, “I’ve done enough. I’ve been performing for 44 years. I really should hang up my dancing shoes.” However, she returned to the spotlight after eight years to perform for her 50th anniversary tour in 2008, and subsequent Grammy Awards performance.
Audrey Hepburn

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Legendary Oscar-winning actress Audrey Hepburn retired and “unretired” many times before she passed in 1993. She retired in 1968 to focus on her family, but eight years later, she returned to star in Robin and Marian, among a few more movies.
Daniel Day-Lewis

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Daniel Day-Lewis retired for the first time back in 1997 to become a shoe-maker away from the spotlight but returned to star in Martin Scorsese’s Gangs of New York. He retired again in 2017, but many fans are hopeful he’ll return again.
Barbra Streisand

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Barbra Streisand said back in 2000 during a show at Madison Square Garden, “It feels like time to say goodbye to this part of my life.” But she returned to singing in the spotlight six years later to raise money for causes dear to her.
Phil Collins

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Legendary singer Phil Collins retired in 2005 and again in 2007, completing world tours no one wanted to miss. He returned to the stage in 2017 for a comeback tour called “Not Dead Yet.”
Ozzy Osbourne

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Ozzy Osbourne retired from his rocker lifestyle and singing career in 1992, but it didn’t last long. He almost immediately went back to creating music in 1995. He told Rolling Stone, “Retirement sucked. It wasn’t too long before I started getting antsy and writing songs again.”
Jay-Z

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Jay-Z retired back in 2003 after releasing “The Black Album,” but returned three years later with the smash hit album “Kingdom Come.” He later told Entertainment Weekly that his retirement “was the worst retirement in history.”
Lauryn Hill

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After releasing her 1998 Grammy Award-winning debut album, “The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill,” Lauryn Hill ended up retiring until touring again in 2012.
Cher

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Cher embarked on a three-month farewell tour in 2002, with fans coming to grips that the legend was not going to come back to the spotlight. But in 2008, she completed a residency in Las Vegas, released multiple albums, and even starred in a slew of cult-favorite films. Cher isn’t stopping anytime soon.
James Cagney

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James Cagney retired in 1961 to focus on his hobbies like painting, stockbreeding, and conservation. However, Miloš Forman convinced him to return and come out of retirement for the 1981 movie Ragtime.
Joe Pesci

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Joe Pesci worked steadily for decades until he retired from live-action movies in the late 2000s, but he came out of retirement to star in the 2019 film The Irishman.
Anthony Hopkins

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Oscar-winning actor Anthony Hopkins actually retired from acting briefly in 1998, but that was super short-lived. He ended up working again one year later, continually working in films and TV shows alike.
Macaulay Culkin

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Beloved child star Macaulay Culkin had already done so much by the time he became a teenager, so much so that he decided to quit acting in 1994. However, he returned in 2003 to star in projects like Kings, Robot Chicken, American Horror Story, and Dollface, to name a few.