Kim Novak, 92, Reflects on Leaving Hollywood at Career Peak in New Documentary

Kim Novak, the actress best known for Alfred Hitchcock’s Vertigo, says she is “feeling it’s close to the end” as she reflects on aging and her decision to leave Hollywood at the height of her fame in an upcoming documentary, according to a report by People magazine.

In the film, titled Kim Novak’s Vertigo, Novak, 92, recounts the reasons she walked away from a high-profile career in 1966 and described a long-standing desire to reclaim her own story. “It’s not easy getting old,” she says in remarks cited by People. “I’ve been feeling the need to free something….” She told filmmakers that when she left, she was “at the top of my game.” Novak said she feared the same fate as other stars who were consumed by the industry, saying, “Hollywood swallowed people whole,” and citing the death of Marilyn Monroe as a cautionary example. She added, “I didn’t want that to happen to me.”

Novak’s departure from Hollywood followed a series of personal upheavals, including the destruction of her Bel Air home in a mudslide. She relocated to a cliff dwelling in Big Sur and redirected her energies toward other artistic pursuits. The documentary reportedly opens with Novak describing those years and the emotional impetus behind her choice to step away from screen work.

Her decision to leave at what many considered the peak of her career has been part of her public narrative for decades. Novak rose to prominence in the 1950s and early 1960s with roles in films such as Picnic and Vertigo, the latter of which has grown in stature among critics and cinephiles. In interviews excerpted in the documentary, she frames her retreat not as retreat alone but as an effort to preserve autonomy and explore other creative avenues away from Hollywood’s spotlight.

Novak’s reflections in the documentary add to a longer conversation about aging and stardom in Hollywood, particularly concerns voiced by women in the industry about how careers are managed and how public and private lives intersect under intense scrutiny. In recounting her own choices, Novak emphasizes personal preservation and artistic self-determination.

Kim Novak’s Vertigo is positioned to revisit her life and career through her own voice, offering context for her departures from mainstream acting and the life she built afterward. Novak’s comments in the film — acknowledging the realities of aging while looking back on the decision that reshaped her public life — close out a decades-long chapter in which she largely prioritized privacy and private creative work over continued celebrity.

The documentary’s release will bring renewed attention to Novak’s filmography and the choices that led her away from Hollywood during a period when she was widely celebrated. Novak’s candid remarks about aging and mortality reflect the personal lens through which she appears to view her late-life reflections and the legacy of a career that has continued to resonate with audiences and critics alike.