THEY once had the world eating out of their hands – then they walked away.
At the very peak of fame some of the world’s sexiest celebrities have shocked fans by choosing to abandon the red carpets and glamorous modelling deals.
And the reasons are more surprising than you think.
Anna Kournikova
She had the looks and the clout – and was once the most Googled person on the planet.
But since retiring from professional tennis aged 21, Anna Kournikova has stayed out of the spotlight and rarely posts on social media.
In 2002 she was voted the world’s sexiest woman and became a lads’ mag favourite, gracing the covers of Maxim and FHM.
These days the reclusive tennis icon lives a normal life being a mum to her four kids.
The turning point for the Russian beauty appears to have been when she found love with latin heartthrob Enrique Iglesias.
They met in 2001 on the set of his “Escape” music video and have been together ever since.
She also said she felt at times like her good looks stood in the way of her game. She previously said: “Being in the spotlight since I was a child was really hard.
“I did feel pressure when people were saying things like, ‘You’re too pretty, you can’t play,’ or whatever.
“I would get so nervous and get anxiety on the court, I wouldn’t be able to move.”
Anna, 44, and Enrique, 48, welcomed their fourth child together earlier this month.
Yasmine Bleeth
Yasmine was one of Hollywood’s hottest stars after she turned a guest appearance on Baywatch – alongside Pamela Anderson – into a three-season stint.
She filmed 72 episodes in total over the space of five years, as well as featuring in several spin-off films and TV shows.
It helped to launch her modelling career, and even led the actress to release her own line of swimwear.
She also dated Matthew Perry and Don Johnson at the height of their fame.
But the former Baywatch star has rarely been seen in public over the past two decades and is now one of Hollywood’s most reclusive stars.
Yasmine faced struggles in her personal life, when her career fell apart due to substance abuse issues.
The screen siren, 56, quit acting in the early 2000s after a battle with addiction that followed her rise to fame in the 90s.
Studios and directors blacklisted her when she relapsed after leaving a rehab clinic and ended up getting arrested in 2001 when police found cocaine in her car following a crash.
While she was in rehab she met strip club owner Paul Cerrito and the pair tied the knot in August 2002.
The couple now split their time between LA and Scottsdale, Arizona.
In 2013, Yasmine remarked: “Consciously trying to stay off drugs is now part of my life and always will be.”
Bridget Fonda
Bridget Fonda has not been seen in a movie role since 2002.
In 1997 she played Melanie in Quentin Tarantino’s action caper Jackie Brown, landing the role after sitting next to him on a plane.
Bridget, also famed for her role in Single White Female, simply claimed the reason she had shunned the spotlight was because she has now surrendered to her “civilian” life.
She won three major awards during her career – two Golden Globes and an Emmy.
Her last acting credit was as the titular character in the 2002 made-for-television film Snow Queen.
Following her retirement, Bridget suffered injuries from a bad car accident in which she fractured her back in 2003.
According to BBC, Bridget was alone in her Jaguar when the vehicle careened over a divider on the Pacific Coast Highway, experiencing “a slight fracture of two thoracic vertebrae.”
She reportedly only survived because she was wearing a seatbelt.
The star did return to the red carpet once in 2009 when she attended the premiere of Quentin Tarantino film Inglorious Bastards.
Bridget is part of the famous Fonda family, which also includes her grandfather – Oscar-winner Henry Fonda of Once Upon A Time In The West – and actress and fitness icon Jane Fonda, 88, who is Bridget’s aunt.
But it didn’t take long before Bridget’s career took off with speed as she starred in The Godfather Part III in 1990.
She was photographed for the first time in over a decade in 2022 and looked a world away from her acting heyday.
Hayden Panettiere
Hayden Panettiere rose to fame on NBC superhero drama Heroes, but her other credits included Nashville, Malcolm in the Middle and Ally McBeal.
Hayden, who played a struggling pop star in drama Nashville in 2012, fell from the spotlight after she turned to the bottle to cope with post-partum depression.
The star also took opioid painkillers to deal with a neck injury which left her in “a lot of pain”, she “mixed” them with alcohol, and they became a “problem”.
Hayden underwent her first stint in rehab in 2015 while still filming for hit show Nashville, before deciding to leave fame behind.
And when she failed to stop drinking the first time round, she returned for treatment in 2021, enrolling in a 12-month programme.
It took eight months of “intensive therapy” to help Hayden get better.
In 2023 she was seen in her first acting role since her struggles, as she reprised her character Kirby Reed in horror film Scream VI.
Hayden also opened up for the first time about her battle with addiction as she recalled her rise to fame on Heroes.
While fans loved her character Claire Bennett, off-screen Hayden was battling some dark demons.
She revealed in the interview that her addiction began with what she called “happy pills,” alleging that she was first offered them before red carpet appearances at just 15 years old.
She told PEOPLE: “They were to make me peppy during interviews, I had no ideas this was not an appropriate thing, or what door that would open for me when it came to my addiction.
“My saving grace is that I couldn’t be messy while on set and working.
“But things kept getting out of control [off set]. And as I got older, the drugs and alcohol became something I almost couldn’t live without.”
Elaine Lordan
EastEnders beauty Elaine Lordan played legendary character Lynne Hobbs from 2000 to 2004.
But Elaine was convicted of drink-driving after consuming five vodkas in 2004, resulting in a one-year driving ban and her departure from the soap.
At the time, a source said: “It was decided to make the changes after she had a few problems with drinking. It has been done to help her rather than to punish her.”
She then left the soap in 2005 and her life took a tragic turn, when her mother died by suicide at the age of 62.
Nine months later, Elaine suffered another tragedy with the death of her one-year-old son James.
He had breathing difficulties caused by a condition known as diaphragmatic hernia and died just three days after Elaine married his father, former BBC technician Peter Manuel.
She became pregnant again in 2007 but miscarried shortly afterwards. The following year, her father died.
Elaine appeared on I’m A Celebrity in 2005 but was forced to leave after fainting twice on the first day and being airlifted out.
She then largely disappeared from public view, although in 2018 she was seen drinking mini bottles of wine on the street before midday.
She was last pictured in 2020 looking far healthier while out jogging with her husband.