Let’s be honest, when we hear about a celebrity leaving Hollywood to raise their children we often assume it’s the mom who’s gone MIA, but there are famous dads who choose to forsake the bright lights of Tinseltown to give their kids’ a more normalized pace of life. Leaving the spotlight is no easy decision, especially when you’re at the height of your career. These five famous dads chose to forgo fame to focus on raising their kids.
1. Ricky Martin – In 2007, Grammy-Award winning recording artist, Ricky Martin took a break from the music industry for three years. During that time, Martin had twin boys, via surrogate, and his rep announced that he planned to spend the rest of the year out of the public eye to raise his sons. The stay-at-home dad returned to the music scene at the end of 2010 with the premiere of his single, The Best Thing About Me Is You, featuring Joss Stone.
2. Cary Grant – Legendary actor, Cary Grant, made an indelible impression on the big screen with his comedic and dramatic roles in films such as: Bringing Up Baby, The Philadelphia Story, and An Affair to Remember, however, the star left Hollywood in 1966 to focus on raising his daughter, Jennifer Grant, whom he had with his 4th wife, Dyan Cannon. Grant was 62 when Jennifer was born and played a very active role in her life. In an interview with Pop Eater, Jennifer talked about how devoted her dad was. “First of all it’s so unique that a father retires when you’re born and really his life revolved around me…” Sadly, Grant died 20 years after his only child was born.
3. Rick Moranis – You may remember Rick Moranis from popular 80’s films like, Ghostbusters, Spaceballs and Little Shop of Horrors, but after the death of his wife, the actor said goodbye to the entertainment industry so he could devote his time to his children. In a USA Today interview, Moranis explained, “I pulled out of making movies in about ’96 or ’97. I’m a single parent, and I just found that it was too difficult to manage raising my kids and doing the traveling involved in making movies. So I took a little bit of a break. And the little bit of a break turned into a longer break, and then I found that I really didn’t miss it.”
4. Michael Schoeffling – Michael Schoeffling came to prominence at the age of 23 for his role as Jake Ryan, the dreamy high school jock that Molly Ringwald’s character has a crush on, in the 1984 comedy Sixteen Candles. In 1991, the hot star left Hollywood to provide a more stable life for his growing family. He eventually opened up a handcrafted furniture store. Today, little is known about the former heartthrob, but in a Washington Post article, it was said that Schoeffling gave his last interview the same year he retired from acting. We did discover that his gorgeous daughter Scarlett is a model in NYC and she looks just like her dad. Check out this family Throwback Photo!
5. Larry Birkhead – He may have been a celebrity photographer but Larry Birkhead is best known for fathering a child, Dannielynn, with late model and actress, Anna Nicole Smith. Dannielynn was just a baby when her mother died in 2007 of drug-related causes, but Birkhead made it a point to give his baby a normal life. The single dad and Dannielynn live far away from Hollywood, in rural Kentucky, with the help of Birkhead’s extended family, and he told ABC News, “I thought that was a safe place to get away from everything.”
Related: Celebrities Who Left Hollywood to Be Stay-At-Home Moms
I love your blog:) Totally satisfies my celebrity gossip desire with interesting facts in list form (three birds with one stone;). I didn’t know that about Cary Grant… so interesting.