Kelly LeBrock reveals why she 'quit' Hollywood

May 2024 · 4 minute read

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1980s film icon Kelly LeBrock departed for the great outdoors 25 years ago and said adios to Hollywood.

But the 61-year-old is back in action and ready to take on the next stage of her career.

Following the “Weird Science” star’s much-publicized divorce from Steven Seagal in 1996, LeBrock decided to leave the industry for the simple life. But she’s now back and starring in the gangster comedy “Tomorrow’s Today.”

LeBrock dished about her new film and her “itch” to act again, as well as why she opted to stop working in the late ’90s.

“Hollywood wasn’t a place where I wanted to raise my children,” the “Woman in Red” actress recently told Fox News. “My divorce was very much in the press. And I’m just not a Hollywood girl. Never have been. I never really liked the attention. I wanted to have dirt in my nails and be in the outdoors.”

“Weird Science” star Kelly Le Brock explained why she left Hollywood 25 years ago. Universal/courtesy Everett / E
LeBrock stated that she didn’t want to raise her three children in the spotlight. Universal/Courtesy Everett Col

LeBrock also said she chose to start a family while out of the limelight — and didn’t keep up with media during her retreat.

“So I quit my career and moved to the wilderness where I lived with no television for 25 years,” she continued. “I did the best that I could as a single mom. I have three wonderful children. I could always go back to my career. I could never go back to my children. Some people can do both. But I already had the fame and was done with it.”

Steven Seagal and Kelly LeBrock in 1990’s “Hard To Kill.” Warner Bros/Courtesy Everett

The “Hard To Kill” star has three children — Arissa, Annaliza and Dominic — with Seagal, 69. She has been living on a ranch in California’s Santa Ynez Valley since 1990.

LeBrock also said that fame, for her, was not all it promised to be.

Kelly LeBrock has been living on a ranch in California’s Santa Ynez Valley since 1990. Universal/Courtesy Everett

“I became famous when I was very young and it didn’t do me a bit of good. It just caused trauma. Being famous is not for everybody,” she said.

As for social media, LeBrock is not a fan. “It’s gotten out of control. I don’t want a part of it. I don’t have a computer. I have internet but it’s bad service. And I like it that way. I’m very happy,” she noted.

LeBrock said that fame, for her, was not all it promised to be. Getty Images
“Being famous is not for everybody,” Kelly LeBrock said. Universal/Courtesy Everett

The model then explained when she felt driven to return to acting following her over-two-decades-long hiatus. “When I was drunk – no, I’m just kidding. I’ve always had that little itch in me to go back to work, but once I think about it, it goes away. I’ve been offered a TV series and sort of the way I would be interested in doing it would be to write with the writers. It’s a cop thing,” she stated of the unnamed show.

Kelly LeBrock in 1985’s “Weird Science.” Universal/Courtesy Everett

“And I think these New York cops need some sort of comic relief. I don’t think there’s enough of that. So if I do anything, I’d like to bring some relief,” LeBrock said of police-centric series.

In “Tomorrow’s Today,” LeBrock plays a mother and the ex-wife to a former gangster as she helps him reform. It’s a role she wrangled on her own.

Gilda Radner, Gene Wilder and Kelly LeBrock in 1984’s “The Woman in Red.” ©Orion Pictures Corp/Courtesy E
LeBrock says she got the ‘itch’ to work again. Turner Home Video/Everett Collec

“I don’t even really have an agent. I can’t be bothered, to be honest with you,” she said. “I just want to ride my horse, eat good food and drink lovely wine. I want to enjoy the rest of my days. I’m a grandmother to three amazing grandchildren.”

“I want a simple life. I don’t care about doing movies anymore. There has to be something really special in the script for me to say yes. There was something special in this script,” she added.

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