Over 50 years have passed since Kim Novak walked away from Hollywood and now the veteran actress is revealing why. In an interview with Fox News, the 87-year-old star explained that she was losing her sense of identity and needed a new start.
"I felt it was getting dangerous. I just felt like I was losing myself to all the characters and into the Hollywood scene. I suddenly became aware of that. Then I didn’t want that to happen to me," Novak explained. "I felt like I needed to stay by myself. I had that same feeling for a while and I actually wanted to leave a couple of years before [I finally did]."
The push to exit showbiz came when a mudslide destroyed her Bel Air, Calif., home in the mid-1960s.
"I lost my house. I lost everything," she said. "I thought, 'This is the opportunity to make my move.' I took it as a sign."
Novak chose to pursue her passion for art and although leaving Hollywood was the change she needed, there were some regrets.
"I felt unfulfilled in Hollywood so I walked out. I think I did it to save myself. But sometimes I wonder, 'Was I being fair? Did I follow through enough on it? Was I a quitter?'" she admitted. "But when I truly look at it, I was saving myself."
Now the star of Alfred Hitchcock's 1958 masterpiece "Vertigo," spends her time working on her art. She also released a new book titled "Kim Novak: Her Art and Life," which includes her work as well as personal reflections. The actress draws inspiration from all around her, including from the people she has encountered in her life, and in a 2020 open piece published in The Guardian revealed that Hitchcock was one of those people.
"Alfred Hitchcock [who directed "Vertigo"] paid so much attention to color and how he dressed his actors," she noted. "I am definitely influenced by him — my paintings are all mysteries. I often write poetry to go with the paintings and I do it to drop clues, as Hitchcock did in his films."
Speaking with Fox News, Novak added that art was her saving grace.
"Art is the light at the end of the tunnel. It always was," she said. "I’ve used my art to get in touch with who I am. It has always been my saving grace. Otherwise, I think it would have been very difficult for me to go through Hollywood. It would have been stressful. But I had my outlet. And it became less stressful."
Zoe Papadakis ✉
Zoe Papadakis is a Newsmax writer based in South Africa with two decades of experience specializing in media and entertainment. She has been in the news industry as a reporter, writer and editor for newspapers, magazine and websites.
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