80s and 90s stars’ property moves after leaving Hollywood

During the 1980s and 1990s, a wave of Hollywood stars dominated the silver screen, capturing the hearts of global audiences.

From blockbuster breakouts to high-profile red carpets, these actors seemed destined for lifelong stardom.

Yet behind the glamour, many chose a remarkably different path.

Here is how these beloved screen icons built multimillion-dollar property portfolios and unexpected new lives after leaving Hollywood behind.

Kelly McGillis

Kelly McGillis was one of Hollywood’s most desirable leading ladies in the 1980s, starring opposite Tom Cruise in Top Gun and Harrison Ford in Witness.

McGillis, 69, walked away from Hollywood to focus on raising her two daughters, Kelsey and Sonora, and maintaining her sobriety.

McGillis bought a four-bedroom home in Mohnton, Pennsylvania, in 2001 for $US140,000 ($A209,000) and sold it in 2008 for $US300,000 ($A448,000), nearly doubling her investment.

She also owned a three-bedroom home in Collingswood, New Jersey, which she sold in 2011 for $US260,000 ($A388,000).

Kelly McGillis and Tom Cruise in the 1986 film Top Gun. Picture: Paramount Pictures//Getty Images

McGillis walked away from Hollywood to focus on raising her two daughters, Kelsey and Sonora, and maintaining her sobriety. Picture: Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images

In 1993, she opened Kelly’s Caribbean Bar & Grill in Key West, Florida, operating it until 2017.

The actor also addressed why she wasn’t asked back for the Top Gun sequel: “I’m old and I’m fat and I look age-appropriate for what my age is, and that is not what that whole scene is about … I’d much rather feel absolutely secure in my skin and who and what I am at my age than place any value on all that other stuff.”

Today, she lives a quiet life in a log cabin in Hendersonville, North Carolina, and teaches acting at the New York Studio for Stage and Screen.

The Witness star sold the property in 2011 for $US260,000, according to reports. Picture: Google Maps

After moving away from Los Angeles, McGillis opened up a restaurant called Kelly’s Caribbean Bar & Grill in Key West, Florida in 1993. Picture: Supplied

Christopher Atkins

Christopher Atkins became an international teen idol after making his acting debut opposite Brooke Shields in the 1980 romantic adventure film The Blue Lagoon.

Although controversial, the film became a hit, earning Atkins a Golden Globe nomination for New Star of the Year.

He followed his breakthrough with roles in The Pirate Movie and A Night in Heaven, before playing Peter Richards on Dallas.

However, his career slowed down due to severe struggles with alcohol and a personal decision to prioritise fatherhood.

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Brooke Shields and Christopher Atkins in 1980 film Blue Lagoon.

Atkins revealed his battle with alcohol cost him the lead role of Ren McCormack in the 1984 classic Footloose, which ultimately went to Kevin Bacon.

“I was a mess back then. I was partying it up way too much, and they called me in,” Atkins recalled.

“I went in and I just blew that audition … I mean, it wasn’t even an audition — I had the part, but I was so messed up that they said, ‘Yeah, we’re going to have to pass on this guy.’”

Now sober for nearly four decades, Atkins calls overcoming alcoholism one of his proudest achievements.

Away from the spotlight, he founded Rocky River Outdoor Products and worked in construction as a luxury swimming pool builder.

Today, he reportedly owns two properties in Van Nuys and Los Angeles, California, and resides in Fairfield, Connecticut.

Atkins founded Rocky River Outdoor Products and worked in construction as a luxury swimming pool builder. Picture: Justin Lloyd.

Michael Schoeffling

Michael Schoeffling captured hearts worldwide at age 23 as high school stud Jake Ryan in John Hughes’ iconic 1984 rom-com Sixteen Candles.

The former collegiate wrestler and National Junior Wrestling Team gold medallist went on to star in Vision Quest and Mermaids opposite Winona Ryder.

However, after appearing in just nine films, Schoeffling retired from acting in 1991 due to a lack of suitable roles and the need to support his family.

He relocated to rural Pennsylvania with his wife, former model Valerie C. Robinson, to open a custom woodworking business handicrafting furniture.

His wife revealed in 2014 that he valued his quiet, reclusive life and remained “very happy” away from show business.

Molly Ringwald with Michael Schoeffling from film Sixteen Candles.

Schoeffling appeared in just nine films before retiring in 1991. Picture: Getty

Mia Sara

Best known as Sloane Peterson in 1986’s Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, Mia Sara notched more than 40 acting credits, including Legend, Timecop, and Birds of Prey.

Sara, who married producer Brian Henson (son of Muppets creator Jim Henson) in 2010, holds an impressive global real estate footprint.

The couple custom-built a modern mansion in the Hollywood Hills modelled on Irish castles they visited on holiday.

They also own a New York City penthouse and a second Hollywood Hills home offered on the rental market for $US20,000 ($A30,000) per month.

The star stepped back from acting after realising the industry took a heavy toll on her personal life.

“I just thought, ‘I’ve made kind of a wreck of a lot of my personal life and I just can’t do this anymore,’” she shared on The Slice of Life Show podcast.

“I wanted to just have a life where I wasn’t constantly striving and doing this thing that I found so, so, so painful.”

Matthew Broderick, Mia Sara, and Alan Ruck the film Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. Picture: Paramount/Getty Images

Sara stepped back from acting after realising the industry took a heavy toll on her personal life. Picture: Eric Charbonneau/Neon/Getty

Bridget Fonda

A member of the legendary Fonda acting dynasty, Bridget Fonda dominated 1990s cinema with leading roles in Single White Female, Singles, Point of No Return, and Jackie Brown.

Fonda retired from acting in 2002 following a rollover car accident in which she suffered a fractured vertebra, marrying film composer Danny Elfman in 2003 to focus on family life.

The couple owned a massive combined estate in Hancock Park, Los Angeles, which they put on the market for $US14.6m ($A21.8m) in 2020 before selling the two residences separately.

In 2021, they paid $US8m ($A11.9m) for two side-by-side estates spanning 2.2 acres in Encino, California, and also held a ranch in Santa Barbara.

When asked by paparazzi in 2023 whether she would ever reprise her career in Hollywood, the ‘90s starlet offered a swift response.

“No,” she said. “It’s too nice being a civilian.”

Bridget Fonda in the film Lake Placid.

Fonda married film composer Danny Elfman in 2003. Picture: Kevin Winter/Getty Images

Lara Flynn Boyle

Lara Flynn Boyle shot to fame in the early 1990s as Donna Hayward in David Lynch’s cult series Twin Peaks, going on to star in Wayne’s World, The Practice, and Men in Black II.

While Boyle has largely remained out of the public eye, she has not formally retired, choosing instead to work less after marrying real estate investor Donald Ray Thomas in 2006.

“I never wanted to bow out,” Lara shared with People in 2024. “Any moment I was feeling down or sorry for myself, I made sure I did not complain.”

Boyle turned her focus toward private investments. She purchased a Los Angeles residence in 2003 for $US1.495m ($A2.2m), now estimated to be worth around $US3.5m ($A5.2m), and expanded her portfolio in 2016 by acquiring a second home in San Antonio, Texas.

Lara Flynn Boyle with Dylan McDermott in scene The Practice.

Jamie Walters

Jamie Walters shot to fame on The Heights — scoring a No. 1 hit with How Do You Talk to an Angel — before joining Beverly Hills, 90210 as brooding musician Ray Pruitt.

After intense viewer backlash over his character’s dark storyline, Walters stepped away from Hollywood.

“The fans started hating him because he pushed Donna down the stairs. It really messed with his career,” Tori Spelling explained.

Walters underwent a rigorous testing process to join the Los Angeles Fire Department in 2003, spending more than two decades as a firefighter-paramedic.

The father of four, who purchased a $US1.1m ($A1.6m) Calabasas, California home in 2007, traded red-carpet celebrity for a second career saving lives.

Jamie Walters starred alongside Tori Spelling in 90210 as her love interest, Ray Pruit. Picture: Getty

Walters purchased a $US1.1m Calabasas, California home in 2007. Picture: Google Maps

Shannon Elizabeth

Hollywood “it-girl” Shannon Elizabeth ditched the red carpet for the African bush after walking away from a $3.9m property deal.

The 52-year-old actor, famous for her breakout role in American Pie, traded her Los Angeles lifestyle for a 2,300-acre sanctuary in South Africa.

Elizabeth sold her Los Feliz home in 2014 for $US2.8m ($A3.9m) after purchasing it in 2001 for $US1.4m ($A1.9m).

She moved to Cape Town in 2016 to focus on animal conservation through the Shannon Elizabeth Foundation.

As of 2026, Elizabeth’s net worth is estimated to be around $US5m ($A7.5m).

Elizabeth in the 1999 film American Pie.

Shannon Elizabeth moved to Cape Town, South Africa. Picture: Christopher Polk/Variety via Getty Images

Elizabeth sold her Los Feliz home in 2014 for $US2.8 million. Picture: Google Maps

Yasmine Bleeth

Baywatch star Yasmine Bleeth has traded her iconic red swimsuit for a reclusive life, more than two decades after personal struggles saw her black-listed from Hollywood.

At the height of her trouble, Bleeth acknowledged her cocaine addiction was so severe she went without sleep for five days at a time.

Screenwriter Douglas Schwartz revealed she was fired from Baywatch because her addiction made her “too difficult” to work with.

After checking into rehab, Bleeth relapsed and was arrested in 2001 following a near-fatal car accident where police found cocaine-filled syringes in her vehicle.

She married former strip club owner Paul Cerrito in 2002, whom she met in rehab, but the damage to her acting career was permanent. She has not acted since 2003.

Today, Bleeth and Cerrito split their time between Scottsdale, Arizona, and LA’s Hancock Park.

Bleeth snapped up her two-bedroom Los Angeles condo in 1996 for $US370,000 ($A531,000) — a property now estimated to be worth more than $US1.5m ($A2.1m).

Yasmine Bleeth played Caroline Holden on the 90s TV series Baywatch. Picture: Supplied

Bleeth snapped up the two-bedroom condo at Faubourg St. Denis in 1996 for just $US370,000. Picture: Google Maps

Sasha Mitchell

He was the goofy heart-throb Cody Lambert on ‘90s sitcom Step by Step.

Today, Sasha Mitchell lives behind the gates of a $US1.8m ($A2.5m) five-bedroom mansion in Canoga Park, Los Angeles.

Mitchell’s Hollywood career hit a wall in 1996 when he was fired from Step by Step following public legal battles and domestic abuse charges.

He played Cody Lambert on Step by Step in the ’90s. Picture: Disney General Entertainment Con

Sasha at one of his final public appearances in 2017. Picture: Getty

Mitchell later stated the arrests stemmed from trying to protect his four children from their mother’s alleged abuse. He ultimately won full custody of his children.

Reflecting on his exit from television, Mitchell said being pushed out of the limelight was “probably a good thing”. “I needed to get my family life in order.”

The former martial arts star traded Hollywood scripts for a normal job at an elevator repair and maintenance company.

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