Richard Simmons hasn’t been seen in the public eye since 2014, but according to himself and his representative, that’s by choice.
Simmons stopped making public appearances and closed down his fitness studio, all of which prompted rumors of something amiss with the fitness icon.
There were allegations in 2016 that Simmons was being held hostage by his housekeeper, which Simmons denied in a phone interview on “Today.”
“No one is holding me in my house as a hostage,” he said at the time. “You know, I do what I want to do, as I’ve always done, so people should sort of just believe what I have to say because, like, I’m Richard Simmons.”
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Richard Simmons is shown at one of his last public appearances at Sparkle: An All-Star Holiday Concert in December 2013 in Los Angeles. (David A. Walega / WireImage)
A 2017 podcast about the “missing” Simmons prompted a wellness check from the LAPD, who told People, “He is perfectly fine and he is very happy. I don’t know what he is going to do, but right now he is doing what he wants to do, and it is his business.”
Rumors continued, with the National Enquirer saying he was transgender and had transitioned to become a woman, and a documentary saying the reason for his absence was knee surgery that slowed down his exercise regimen and caused him to “sink into a deep depression.”
Simmons, either through social media or his representative, denied all the allegations.
The “Sweatin’ to the Oldies” star recently celebrated his 75th birthday, and his rep, Tom Estey, told “Entertainment Tonight,” “This is a big milestone. I just want to see him happy, which he is.”
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Richard Simmons recently turned 75, and despite his apparently reclusive nature, his rep said he is happy. (Scott Roth / FilmMagic / File)
Simmons isn’t alone in his decision to shun the spotlight. Here’s a look at some other stars who have largely stayed out of public view.
Daniel Day-Lewis
Daniel Day-Lewis is shown onstage during a screening of his final film, “Phantom Thread,” in 2017. (Lars Niki / Getty Images for Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences / File)
Despite being a three-time Oscar-winner, Daniel Day-Lewis didn’t spend much time in the public eye during his acting career.
Several years after he won his first Oscar in 1990 for “My Left Foot,” he took his first break from acting from 1997 to 2000 when he became an apprentice shoemaker in Italy.
In a 2008 interview with The Observer, he said, “It is with a very positive sense that I keep away from the work for a while. It has always seemed natural to me that that, in turn, should help me in the work that I do.”
He returned to acting and critical acclaim in the 2000s, earning a best supporting actor nomination for “Gangs of New York” and best actor wins for “There Will Be Blood” in 2008 and “Lincoln” in 2013.
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Daniel Day-Lewis has won three Oscars for best actor: March 2, 1990, for his role in “My Left Foot”; Feb. 28, 2008, for his role in “There Will Be Blood”; and Feb. 24, 2013, for his role in “Lincoln.” (AFP via Getty Images)
After “Lincoln,” Day-Lewis took another extended break before appearing in the final film of his career in 2017, Paul Thomas Anderson’s “Phantom Thread.”
“Daniel Day-Lewis will no longer be working as an actor,” a rep for the actor told Fox News Digital about his decision to retire. “He is immensely grateful to all of his collaborators and audiences over the many years.”
His rep added, “This is a private decision and neither he nor his representatives will make any further comment on this subject.”
According to a 2018 interview with the Washington Post, Day-Lewis splits time between homes in New York and Ireland with his wife, Rebecca Miller, and their two sons. The actor also has a son with actress Isabelle Adjani.
In May, the 66-year-old was spotted in New York, the first time he’d been seen in public in six years.
Daniel Day-Lewis is seen for the first time in almost six years in New York City after he announced he was quitting Hollywood for good. (BrosNYC / BACKGRID)
The actor wore a baseball cap, covering long, gray hair, and sunglasses, making him somewhat hard to recognize.
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Gene Hackman
Gene Hackman is shown during the “Runaway Jury” press conference in 2003. (Vera Anderson / WireImage)
Gene Hackman has had a Hollywood career that spanned more than six decades, with appearances in dozens of classic films, including “Superman,” “Bonnie and Clyde,” “The Poseidon Adventure” and “The French Connection,” among many, many others.
Hackman earned two Oscars during his career: best actor for “The French Connection” and a best supporting actor win for “Unforgiven.”
After a long and illustrious career in film, Hackman retired from acting after his last feature-length film in 2004, “Welcome to Mooseport,” alongside Ray Romano.
In a 2008 interview with Reuters, Hackman said, “I haven’t held a press conference to announce retirement, but, yes, I’m not going to act any longer. I’ve been told not to say that over the last few years in case some real wonderful part comes up, but I really don’t want to do it any longer.”
Philip D’Antoni, left, Gene Hackman, Jane Fonda of “The French Connection” in 1972. Hackman won the award for best actor. (Bettmann / Getty Images / File)
He continued, “Yes, I do. I miss the actual acting part of it, as it’s what I did for almost 60 years, and I really loved that. But the business for me is very stressful. The compromises that you have to make in films are just part of the beast, and it had gotten to a point where I just didn’t feel like I wanted to do it anymore.”
Since then, Hackman has maintained a very low profile, living in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and has rarely been seen or given interviews since.
His most recent interview was with the New York Post in 2021, reflecting on the 50th anniversary of “The French Connection.”
“Filmmaking has always been risky — both physically and emotionally — but I do choose to consider that film a moment in a checkered career of hits and misses,” he told the outlet.
The actor turned 93 in January, and in March, he was photographed out and about in Santa Fe.
Gene Hackman is seen in Santa Fe, New Mexico, on March 5, 2023. (Splash News)
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Jack Nicholson
Jack Nicholson is shown on the red carpet at the 2006 Academy Awards. (Jeff Kravitz / FilmMagic Inc.)
Jack Nicholson had been a Hollywood fixture for decades, starring in films like “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest,” “The Shining” and “The Departed.”
Nicholson earned 12 Oscar nominations over his career and earned three wins, two for best actor for “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” and “As Good as It Gets” and one for best supporting actor for “Terms of Endearment.”
In 2010, he starred alongside Reese Witherspoon in the film “How Do You Know,” his final feature film before his unofficial retirement.
Jack Nicholson shows his Oscar backstage at the Academy Awards on March 23, 1998, after winning for “As Good as It Gets.” (Getty Images / Bob Riha Jr.)
Nicholson told The Sun in 2013 that he is less motivated to “be out there anymore” and that “[t]he movie business is the greatest business, but I only want to do films that move people, films about emotions and people.”
He also commented on his infamous playboy past, saying, “There were points in my life when I felt oddly irresistible to women. I’m not in that state now, which makes me sad.”
Even though the actor stepped back from acting and public life in general, he could still regularly be seen at Lakers games, though even those appearances dwindled over time.
After a two-year gap in attendance, Nicholson was back courtside in April and May this year for the Lakers’ playoff games, often accompanied by his son, Ray Nicholson.
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Jack Nicholson and his son, Ray Nicholson, attend Game 3 of the Western Conference Finals between the Los Angeles Lakers and Denver Nuggets at Crypto.com Arena on May 20, 2023, in Los Angeles. (Kevork Djansezian / File)
Bridget Fonda
Bridget Fonda is shown with her husband, Danny Elfman, in 2009. (Barry King / FilmMagic / File)
Bridget Fonda is a member of the famous Fonda Hollywood dynasty, daughter of Peter Fonda, niece of Jane Fonda and granddaughter of Henry Fonda.
She got her start in her father’s counterculture classic “Easy Rider” in 1969 and later studied drama at the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts.
In the ’90s, she was a major star with roles in “Single White Female,” “Jackie Brown” and “The Godfather Part III.”
Her final credit was on the TV miniseries “Snow Queen” in 2002, and since then, Fonda has been removed from Hollywood.
In 2003, Fonda was involved in a rollover car crash in Malibu and fractured a vertebra. A month later, she was engaged to Oscar-nominated composer Danny Elfman, who she married in November. They have one son together, born in 2005.
Over the past year, Fonda has been spotted slightly more often, first at her home in January.
Bridget Fonda checks up on her house construction in Los Angeles on Jan. 2, 2023. (Splash News)
Then in April, she was photographed at Los Angeles International Airport.
When asked by photographers if she had interest in pursuing acting again, the 59-year-old said, “No. It’s too nice being a civilian.”
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Sly Stone
Sly Stone of Sly and the Family Stone performs onstage circa July 1974 in Los Angeles. (Gijsbert Hanekroot / Redferns / File)
Sly Stone (born Sylvester Stewart) was the frontman, songwriter and producer for funk originator Sly and the Family Stone, who gave us hits like “Dance to the Music,” “Everyday People” and “Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin).”
After the band’s heyday in the ‘60s and ’70s, Stone disappeared from the public eye and struggled with drug use.
He was occasionally seen throughout the ’80s, and he essentially retired after being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1993.
After that, Stone wasn’t seen much until 2006 when he performed at the Grammys with Sly and the Family Stone, prompting reunion rumors, but nothing ever came to fruition.
In a 2007 Vanity Fair profile, Stone vaguely addressed his absence from public life, saying he had been “Just traveling – going around, jumping in and out and up and down.”
In 2011, the New York Post reported Stone was homeless and living in a van. Stone said his financial issues were due to bad contracts with his former manager, Jerry Goldstein.
Sly Stone performs “I Want to Take You Higher” in a tribute to his band Sly and the Family Stone at the 48th Grammy Awards show in Los Angeles in 2006. (Michael Caulfield / WireImage for The Recording Academy / File)
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Several years later in 2014, Stone sued Goldstein and won for unpaid royalties but was unable to collect on them due to having assigned them to a production company in 1989, according to The Guardian.
Since then, Stone has continued to avoid the spotlight, but the outlet reports that he has an upcoming memoir titled “Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin),” a reference to Sly and the Family Stone’s hit song.
In a statement, Stone said, “For as long as I can remember folks have been asking me to tell my story, [but] I wasn’t ready. I had to be in a new frame of mind to become Sylvester Stewart again to tell the true story of Sly Stone. It’s been a wild ride and hopefully my fans enjoy it too.”
