In the late 1990s, Leelee Sobieski was the golden girl of Hollywood, captivating directors and audiences alike. Her rise to fame was meteoric, with industry insiders predicting she would be the next big sensation. She dazzled on the red carpet and was often the subject of Oscar buzz.

Known for her striking beauty and talent, Sobieski, now 42, made her mark in blockbuster hits such as “Deep Impact,” charmed audiences in teen rom-coms like “Never Been Kissed,” and impressed in cult horror flicks such as “Joy Ride.” Her versatility made it clear she was a force to be reckoned with.

Sharing the screen with A-list stars like Tom Cruise and Drew Barrymore, Sobieski earned Emmy and Golden Globe nominations, solidifying her status as a Hollywood contender. Her talent was undeniable, even catching the attention of legendary director Stanley Kubrick, who selected her for a role in “Eyes Wide Shut” when she was just 14—a testament to her acting prowess.

However, by the early 2010s, Sobieski, now known by her married name, Leelee Kimmel, had shifted her focus. Instead of headlining major films or leading franchises, she took on guest roles in series like “Drop Dead Diva” and “The Good Wife” and starred in a brief CBS cop drama. By 2016, she had quietly exited the Hollywood scene.

Curious fans were left wondering about her sudden departure, but Sobieski eventually revealed her reasons in a few rare interviews. She reemerged not as an actress, but as an abstract painter. Her artistic creations, showcased in New York galleries, have captured the attention of the art world, marking a new chapter in her creative journey.

And as fans wondered why, she gave a handful of rare interviews spilling the truth, before resurfacing a few years ago as an abstract painter, turning heads with large-scale works in New York galleries.

At the peak of her powers in late‑90s Hollywood, Leelee Sobieski was everywhere – the It Girl directors swooned over, the Oscar buzz machine’s next big thing, and the name you had to know; (pictured 2007)

She shared screens with heavyweights from Tom Cruise to Drew Barrymore, racking up Emmyand Golden Globenods that made her a serious contender for Hollywood’s A-list crown; (pictured with Cruise in 1999’s Eyes Wide Shut)

The stunning actress, now 42, lit up blockbusters like Deep Impact, teen rom-coms like Never Been Kissed (pictured with Drew Barrymore), and cult horror hits like Joy Ride, proving she could do it all

Once Hollywood’s Golden Girl

Born Liliane Rudabet Gloria Elsveta Sobieski in New York City, Sobieski was discovered by a talent scout while still in school – basically a real-life casting fairy tale.

By her mid‑teens, she was lighting up screens in hits like Deep Impact (which grossed over $349 million worldwide), Here on Earth, and Joy Ride, sharing scenes with stars like Paul Walker and Josh Hartnett.

Her starring role in the TV miniseries Joan of Arc wasn’t just another gig – it made her the youngest actress ever to play the iconic saint and earned her Emmy and Golden Globe nods at just 16.

Critics noticed: Variety called her ‘technically skilled’, and Young Artist Award groups praised her early standout performances.

She pushed herself into riskier, adult roles too – from the thriller The Glass House to indie experiments like Lying – proving she could pivot from commercial hits to art‑house fare.

Yet even as applause followed, something about the industry rubbed her the wrong way.

Sobieski starred with Josh Hartnett in Heaven on Earth; (pictured 2000)

 The actress seen here with Chris Klein in Heaven On Earth in 2000

Why Hollywood Lost Her – In Her Own Words

After years of feeling uncomfortable with the industry, Sobieski walked away from acting in 2016 and never looked back. 

In a 2012 Vogue interview she explained: ‘Ninety percent of acting roles involve so much sexual stuff with other people, and I don’t want to do that.’

She doubled down in Another Magazine, saying intimate scenes made her feel ‘really cheap’ and admitting she would cry while filming romantic scenes because they felt too real and uncomfortable.  

‘I started paying the rent on our house when I was 15, so I had a lot of pressure and things got complicated for me… So when I could, I stopped,’ she said.

‘It’s kind of a gross industry – well, they all are, when you examine them – but in acting you’re selling your appearance so much. 

‘I would cry every time I had to kiss somebody; I couldn’t stomach it. I would think ‘I like this person, so I don’t think they should pay me to kiss them,’ or ‘I don’t like this person, so I don’t want to kiss them’. Why is my kiss for sale?’ It made me feel really cheap.’

“It might have been acting, but it was real for me as it was my first or third kiss, so it was confusing for me.

‘I don’t know why it’s legal for a child to act unless they can sell oranges or whatever legally too. It’s a crazy double standard and that’s super weird for me. 

Born Liliane Rudabet Gloria Elsveta Sobieski in New York City, Sobieski was discovered by a talent scout while still in school – basically a real-life casting fairy tale; (pictured 2000)

In a 2012 Vogue interview she dropped what felt like a truth bomb: ‘Ninety percent of acting roles involve so much sexual stuff with other people, and I don’t want to do that.’ (pictured 2002 in Joy Ride)

‘Now that the MeToo movement has come forward, people understand more that it’s pretty gross and uncomfortable.’

In a candid 2018 interview with Artnet News, she didn’t regret her acting years: ‘I had a really happy childhood, and had a lot of fun, and did some work that I feel good about,’ she said – but she couldn’t ignore what acting did to her.

‘Actors end up going from one role to another with all this energy behind them, and you just become emptier and emptier and emptier – you end up having no real experiences,’ she explained. 

‘To cry, you end up drawing on the experiences of another character you played.’

She even admitted that, as a mother, she had personal limits she wasn’t willing to cross:

‘I don’t want my children to look at Netflix and see me on screen in the arms of someone who’s not their dad.’

Leelee and husband Adam Kimmel, whom she married in 2010, have been raising their daughter Lewi (born 2009) and son Martin (2014) out of the spotlight, making family life her new center stage. 

And at a rare 2016 appearance at a Chanel Tribeca Artist Dinner, she told UsWeekly: ‘I don’t do movie stuff anymore. I am totally an outsider! I … am just focused on my kids.

‘That’s mainly why I stopped.’

Fans Still Can’t Believe She Left

Even years later, fans can’t stop talking about her sudden exit from Hollywood. 

Some mourn, as one wrote on Reddit, ‘Leelee Sobieski was about to be the biggest star ever then ghosted us… why did she quit acting?’ 

LeeLee made a splash in 1998’s Deep Impact

Her starring role in the TV miniseries Joan of Arc wasn’t just another gig – it made her the youngest actress ever to play the iconic saint and earned her Emmy and Golden Globe nods at just 16

‘I remember her as Joan Of Arc – there was a big tv miniseries (on CBS if I’m remember correctly), and afterwards she was very much touted as a star on the rise. And it made sense, she was outstanding’ another Reddit user wrote.

Another chimed in, ‘Glass House man she was something there. Had a huge crush back then!’

From Red Carpet to Art Gallery

These days Kimmel – after marrying fashion designer Adam Kimmel in 2010 – has flipped her life script entirely. 

Her art career actually began quietly – sometimes in movie trailers lined with plastic so she could paint between takes, she told Interview,

‘I always said, ‘I don’t want to act. I paint.’ 

Art runs in Sobieski’s veins – she studied visual arts at Brown University, and her father, Jean Sobieski, is a celebrated painter 

By 2017 she was ready to show her work publicly, debuting large‑scale abstract pieces that quickly caught attention.

In her own words, art gives her something acting never did –  real experience. 

‘In my paintings there’s a lot about energy and vibrations and the whole world being connected,’ she explained to ArtNet, contrasting it with the artificiality of film sets. 

By 2017 she was ready to show her work publicly, debuting large‑scale abstract pieces that quickly caught attention

One of LeeLe’s works 

‘If you’re on a crew and 150 people are pushing for you to fall in love with somebody else, everybody is rooting for it,’ she continued.

‘That’s the energy of a lot of people, but it’s fake.’

Critics and collectors have taken her seriously – her abstract canvases hang in respected galleries in New York and abroad.

Life Now

Leelee lives in New York, commanding attention not on screens but in galleries.

‘I had to make sure that if everybody really hated them, I would still feel good about it. This is really what’s inside of me, and I’m not trying to be anybody else.… It was almost like coming out of the closet or something!’ she told Artnet News of her work in 2018.

‘Painting was always my goal; I just kept getting distracted with work things and paying bills.’

Her pieces are abstract, showing in galleries like The Journal Gallery in Brooklyn and internationally in Paris and London. 

The star majored in visual arts at Brown University, and her father, Jean Sobieski, is a renowned painter; (pictured 2024)

Leelee married Adam Kimmel in 2010; (pictured 2012)

Leelee and Adam have been raising their daughter Lewi (born 2009) and son Martin (2014) out of the spotligh; (pictured 2012)

Kimmel and husband Adam have been raising their children quietly, away from the spotlight. 

Daily Mail has reached for comment from Sobieski.