Soap Stars Who Left the Spotlight and What They Did Next: Rena Sofer, Susan Lucci and More

General Hospital stars Rena Sofer and Kirsten Storms both made headlines in 2025 for separately announcing that they were leaving Hollywood.

While both actresses assured fans they planned to keep working on GH despite relocating to New York City and Nashville, respectively, their decisions to move across the country signified a huge shift in the soap industry.

In any other era, it would probably be impossible for soap cast members to live anywhere other than the cities where their shows were filmed because of the demanding grind of shooting a daily drama series.

As a result of the exhausting schedule, some notable soap stars walked away from the soap world entirely after quitting their respective shows. Anthony Geary, Susan Lucci and Erika Slezak are only a few of the soap icons who left fame behind in order to live a quieter life outside of the spotlight.

Keep scrolling for a look back at several soap icons who left the soap world.