’90s star Leelee Sobieski looks ageless in ultra-rare appearance after leaving Hollywood

’90s star Leelee Sobieski made a rare appearance in New York City to celebrate her 43rd birthday on June 10, a decade after she left Hollywood behind for family life. 

The actress was seen walking the streets of NYC in a long-sleeved white shirt, a blue knee-length pleated skirt and black shoes, paired with a gold chain necklace. She looked younger than ever with her blonde locks in a half-up, half-down style, and a swipe of red lipstick on. 

Leelee rose to fame in the ’90s after starring in Deep Impact in 1998, followed by Never Been Kissed opposite Drew Barrymore and Eyes Wide Shut with Nicole Kidman and Tom Cruise. 

The star continued to act up until 2016, with her final onscreen credit being in The Last Film Festival. Leelee then chose to retire from acting to spend more time with her family, and to pursue an art career. 

She married fashion designer Adam Kimmel in 2010, and together the pair share kids Louisanna and Martin. “I don’t do movie stuff anymore. I am totally an outsider! I…am just a mom and an outsider,” she told Us Weekly in 2016. 

“Maybe if I’m playing sweet grandma. I am just focused on my kids. I think that’s mainly why I stopped.” Leelee previously told Vogue that she had grown uncomfortable with how women were portrayed in many of the scripts she was sent. 

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“Ninety percent of acting roles involve so much sexual stuff with other people, and I don’t want to do that,” she explained, “It’s such a strange fire to play with, and our relationship is surely strong enough to handle it, but if you’re going to walk through fire, there has to be something incredible on the other side.“

Painting then became her life, as she told the publication. “When I look at [my paintings], I experience all these feelings about motherhood and being in love with Adam. It has the corniest things attached to it, but also it’s, like, life.“

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She has since had her art shown in galleries in Paris, South Korea, and New York. “I thought that because of my past, my work would be judged harshly,” she shared with ArtNet. 

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“I had to make sure that if everybody really hated [my paintings], I would still feel good about it. This is really what’s inside of me, and I’m not trying to be anybody else…Painting was always my goal.“

Before she decided to leave Hollywood behind, Leelee was nominated for an Emmy and a Golden Globe for her role in Joan of Arc, and earned another Golden Globe nomination for the miniseries Uprising.