The Real Reason Meg Tilly Left Hollywood—and Why She Doesn't Regret It One Bit

From Country Living

You might remember Meg Tilly from her roles in The Big Chill, Psycho II, and Valmont. Throughout the '80s and '90s, the actress (and now romance writer) was all over the big screen. But then suddenly, she wasn't. Slowly but surely, she has returned in the last decade, adding stage roles, two TV shows, and three movies to her resume-including Netflix's new War Machine, opposite Brad Pitt. So why did she step away from the spotlight just as her career was really taking off? To take care of her kids, she reveals in a new People interview.

"I would always take my children with me when I went on movies," she told the publication. "That worked really well for a few years. But then one year, we went to shoot Leaving Normal and when we came back, my daughter's best friend was best friends with someone else. She was devastated."

Tilly didn't feel comfortable leaving her kids, Emily and David Zinnemann (now 33 and 31, whom she had with ex-husband Tim Zinnemann) and Will Firth (now 26, whom she shares with ex-partner Colin Firth), with someone else for months at a time. "My children didn't ask to be born," she said. "I had a responsibility to be there."

Photo credit: Getty Images
Photo credit: Getty Images

So, she left acting and threw herself into motherhood, becoming what she calls a "Leave it to Beaver mom".

"They had the hot cookies after school and a hot breakfast every morning," Tilly said. "I was just trying to love them the way I knew how best."

And she didn't miss Hollywood when she was gone. She didn't like being hit on, "dealing with different egos", or "being watched all the time". And she loves her life now, just the way it is-whether she continues acting or not.

(h/t: People)

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