What happened to Kim Novak? Hollywood exit explored as actress criticizes Sydney Sweeney's ‘Scandalous’ casting

Kim Novak has recently criticized Sydney Sweeney's casting as her in the upcoming biopic Scandalous!, which focuses on Novak's affair with Sammy Davis Jr.

While speaking to The Times of London, the Vertigo actress, now 93, said that she would never have approved" of the Housemaid star as she 'sticks out so much above the waist' and 'looks se*y all the time.”

The outlet noted that Novak worries that the film will emphasize the se*ual side of her relationship with Davis, despite their bond being rooted in “so much in common” beyond physical attraction.

Kim Novak left Hollywood at the peak of her career in 1966 to focus on her work as a visual artist and animal rescue. She lived a quieter life in Big Sur and later moved to Oregon. Novak felt that the characters she played on screen eroded her real identity.

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All we know about Kim Novak’s Hollywood exit

Kim Novak gained fame in the early 1950s as one of the best actresses of her time in Hollywood.

After starring in films such as Picnic (1955), The Man with the Golden Arm (1955), Pal Joey (1957) and Alfred Hitchcock's Vertigo (1958), Novak captivated her fans with her blend of sensuality. These roles solidified her image as a leading lady before she left Hollywood.

In 1966, when a mudslide destroyed her Bel Air home, Kim Novak saw it as a “sign” to leave. She packed her belongings and left for Big Sur. In an interview with The Guardian, she said:

“So I rented this van and took what was important to me. I took photographs, I took art stuff, and I thought: ‘That’s what’s important.’ The mudslide was telling me: ‘Your time is up; take off while you can. Get ahead of the game. Don’t wait till you’re too old and wrinkled. Then nobody will want you any more.’”

Amid the natural beauty in Big Sur, she developed her passion for painting. Art has always been an inspiration for Novak. Even as a movie star, Novak never stopped practicing her art skills. She told Fox News that she won two scholarships to the Art Institute in Chicago, and when she got detoured in Hollywood, she kept drawing her character’s sketches. She said:

“I would sketch who I was going to become. That’s how I got to know my characters. And it was wonderful because I got to know them from the inside out.”

She moved to the Pacific coast of Oregon, where she met her second husband, Robert Malloy. He was an equine veterinarian, a specialized doctor who looked after the health of horses. They remained together until his death in 2020. Her first husband was British actor Richard Johnson, whom she married in 1965. They later divorced in 1966.

Sharing with Fox News, as when she left Hollywood, Kim Novak said that she “felt like losing” herself to her characters. Novak explained that this realization made her exit feel "dangerous," which prompted her exit from the industry.

In the 2025 documentary Kim Novak's Vertigo, which premiered at the 82nd Venice Film Festival, Novak referenced Marilyn Monroe's tragic fate while reflecting on why she left Hollywood:

“Hollywood swallowed people whole. I didn’t want that to happen to me.”

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Although Kim Novak left Hollywood during the peak of her career, she repeatedly stated that she has no regrets about her decision. In an interview with The Times, she said that she is “willing to compromise, but I’m not willing to be someone I’m not.”

Novak turned down millions of dollars to write her autobiography 25 years ago. They wanted to reveal her scandalous Hollywood details and behind-the-scenes dirt, which she was not ready to do, and turned down the offer. However, she did write her own autobiography, but the manuscript was reportedly lost in a house fire.

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