8 Celebrities Who Made It Big and Then Called It a Career (2 of 5)

Macaulay Culkin

For the three-year period between 1990 and 1992, Macaulay Culkin was unquestionably the most popular child actor on the planet. And yet, if we’re being honest with ourselves, his fame was driven by two movies and nothing more: Home Alone and, after its somewhat unexpected success, a sequel. Kit Culkin, who was known to throw his weight around, did Macaulay no favors when he demanded that his son be cast as a psychopathic child in The Good Son. After a trio of Culkin-led movies bombed at the box office in 1994, he grew tired of acting and called it a career. He does appear regularly on podcasts to reflect on his past and seems like a surprisingly normal guy if you are willing to get past his legally changing his name to Macaulay Macaulay Culkin Culkin after holding a vote on his website to give him a middle name. “Macaulay Culkin” won over four other choices.

Eva Mendes

While a lot of celebrities strive to remain relevant, others, such as Eva Mendes, never intended to continue the grueling work that actors have to do. Instead, after appearing in a few hit movies she got hitched to Ryan Gosling, had a couple of daughters with him, and is enjoying her best life as a mom.