While she only had a few acting credits to her name, Rene Russo was cast in some quintessential 90s movies. In the first decade of the 2000s, she disappeared from the limelight after she finished filming 2005’s “Yours, Mine, and Ours.” She then took a 6-year-long hiatus until appearing in 2011’s “Thor,” where she played Chris Hemsworth’s Viking goddess mom Frigga.
During her disappearance, rumors spread that she went AWOL because of her bipolar disorder, but the star shared with Showbiz in 2014 that her mental illness was not the cause of the break she took from acting. Quite authentically, she said that she needed a break from acting since she had been doing so since age 9.
Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen
The Olsen twins decided to retire from acting in 2012, a move that ended their almost lifelong careers. They started acting just one year after their birth, sharing the role of Michelle Tanner on the television series "Full House." However, their careers hardly ended there. In 1993, the Dualstar Entertainment Group, a production company owned by the twins, was founded, which proceeded to produce a long list of TV movies and video releases.
They both declined to join the cast of the "Fuller House," the continuation of "Full House." They avoid being in the public eye and are usually spotted in big sunglasses.
Dana Carvey
Comedian Dana Carvey rose to fame in the early '90s after his breakthrough performances on SNL. In 1997, he tried for a successful comedy series but it failed on ABC. Around this time, he started to experience chest pains and had to get bypass surgery on his heart. It turns out, the doctor bypassed the wrong artery and Carvey successfully sued the surgeon for millions. He donated the money to charity.
Recently, he has done some voice work for the basset hound Pops in 2016's "The Secret Life of Pets." He is considering making a comeback, but at the moment, he seems to be happy spending time with his kids who are comedians on the rise themselves. You go, man.
Joe Pesci
If you are a kid of the 90s, then there's a good chance you recognize Joe Pesci for playing one of the main villains in the Christmas classic "Home Alone." However, Pesci was a veritable acting force who worked with the iconic director Martin Scorsese on classic films like "Raging Bull," "Goodfellas", and "Casino."
In 1999, he walked away from it all. According to Complex, it was unclear why Pesci retired early. Over the last two decades, he has made appearances here and there (think, a Snickers commercial) but it doesn't look like he's about to relive his days as an actor.
Glenda Jackson
Glenda Jackson took a major break from acting from 1992 to 2015. The British actress and former Labour Party politician is one of few actors to receive the Triple Crown of Acting. The two-time Academy Award winner is famous for films like "Women in Love" and "A Touch of Class." After a 23-year hiatus, she appeared in the play "Blood, Sex and Money."
In 2016, she once again returned to the stage, playing the title role in Shakespeare’s "King Lear" in London. This past year, she returned to Broadway, acting in "Three Tall Women," and won a Tony Award for her performance.