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10 Celebs Who Gave Up Fame To Work Normal Jobs

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Ten actors and musicians walked away from the marquee and picked up entirely different careers instead.

Fame usually runs in one direction — toward more of it. But a handful of former teen idols, sitcom stars and child actors did the opposite, trading scripts and stage lights for kitchens, courtrooms and classrooms. Some made the switch the moment their show ended; others waited years before quietly closing the door on Hollywood for good.

• Freddie Prinze Jr. left leading-man roles behind to train as a chef at Le Cordon Bleu and later released a cookbook.
• Both Josh Saviano (“The Wonder Years”) and Jeff Cohen (“The Goonies”) became practicing attorneys, with Saviano earning degrees from Yale and Cardozo School of Law and Cohen graduating from UCLA School of Law before co-founding an entertainment law firm.
• Pop singer Willa Ford, known for the 2001 single “I Wanna Be Bad,” moved into interior design after stepping away from music.

The Teen Idol Who Became a Chef

Freddie Prinze Jr. was one of the biggest names to come out of late-’90s and early-2000s teen cinema, headlining films that made him a fixture on magazine covers and movie posters. Rather than chase another franchise lead, he enrolled at Le Cordon Bleu and worked his way through professional kitchens as a caterer and personal chef in Los Angeles. He eventually turned that training into a cookbook, swapping red carpets for prep stations without much fanfare.

Freddie Prinze Jr. traded scripts for a chef’s coat, training at Le Cordon Bleu before catering meals across Los Angeles.

Child Stars Who Went to Law School

Two of the most recognizable child actors of their eras ended up in the same profession. Josh Saviano, who played Kevin Arnold’s best friend Paul Pfeiffer on ABC’s “The Wonder Years,” stepped away from acting as a teenager, graduated from Yale University, and finished his legal education at the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law before building a career as a corporate attorney in New York.

Jeff Cohen followed a similar path after playing Chunk in 1985’s “The Goonies.” He retired from screen acting, earned his law degree from UCLA School of Law, and co-founded an entertainment law practice — putting his Hollywood background to use on the business side of the industry instead of in front of the camera.

From the Charts to Interior Design

Willa Ford scored a hit with “I Wanna Be Bad” in the early 2000s pop landscape crowded with names like Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera. Rather than keep chasing chart positions, she moved into interior design, a shift that mirrors how Kevin Jonas of the Jonas Brothers left the music business to work in construction after the group’s run ended — proof that walking away from a record deal doesn’t have to mean walking away from a career entirely. Anyone curious how that family has fared since can see it play out through Kevin Jonas’s marriage to Danielle Jonas, who’s built her own life largely outside the spotlight.

Other Exits From the Spotlight

The list of stars who walked away extends well beyond music and acting law careers. Shirley Temple retired from acting in her early twenties and went on to serve as a United States ambassador and Chief of Protocol of the United States. Tony Danza left “Who’s the Boss?” behind to teach high-school English in Philadelphia, later writing a book about the experience. Mara Wilson stepped away from acting at 13 after “Matilda” and “Mrs. Doubtfire” to focus on writing for outlets like Cracked and The Daily Beast. Dave Chappelle walked off “Chappelle’s Show” and relocated to rural Ohio to rebuild his act in small comedy clubs. Andrew Shue left “Melrose Place” to co-found the nonprofit Do Something, Peter Ostrum turned his one film role in “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory” into a career as a veterinarian, and Jonathan Taylor Thomas left the spotlight to earn degrees from Harvard and Columbia.

What ties all ten together isn’t a single industry they landed in — it’s the same decision, made at very different career stages, to stop being recognized for a living. Cohen’s law firm still handles entertainment clients, Saviano practices corporate law in New York, and Prinze Jr.’s cookbook sits on shelves next to the kind of celebrity memoirs he chose not to write instead.