Lost: Evangeline Lilly's drastic, unexpected decision

Evangeline Lilly is retiring. No beating around the bush, no half-measures, no marketing gimmicks. The 44-year-old actress is quitting acting, will never act again, and is leaving Hollywood.

She brought the bombshell news through Instagram, where she shared a video in which she gave her reasons for abandoning a successful acting career.

The video she showed was an old one actually, recorded years ago. While she was filming the legendary ABC series 'Lost' in the 2000s, the actress announced on film that she intended to leave acting within approximately 10 years.

Photo: evangelinelillyofficial / Instagram

In the video, we see 27-year-old Evangeline Lilly who set the goals she had to meet within a decade. Now, in 2024, it appears she has met them all.

"I am terrified to admit this to the rest of the acting world," she said in the old video, "but ideally, 10 years from now, I'd like to be a retired actress and I would like to have a family."

The actress added: "I'd like to be writing and potentially maybe influencing people's lives in a more humanitarian way." While she enjoyed the work with 'Lost,' an immensely popular series for which she got a Golden Globe nomination, she wanted to do something else at a later point.

Evangeline Lilly played the role of Kate Austen, a fugitive who had just been caught before the famous 'Lost' plane crashed on a desert island. She freed herself from the officer escorting her and then proceeded to be 'Lost' for six seasons.

After she recorded the video in 2006, not 10 years went by, but 18. Still, she managed to have a respectable acting career and will now be known as the Canadian writer Evangeline Lilly (instead of the actress).

Evangeline Lilly's acting career cannot be described as anything other than successful, both in film and television. Besides in 120 episodes of 'Lost', we've seen her in the biggest projects.

Despite having many forgettable titles in her filmography, the actress has participated in all three installments of 'The Hobbit'.

She has also given life to Hope Van Dyne, aka the Wasp, in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

With her different roles and fashion statements, we have been able to see Evangeline Lilly in highly contrasting appearances.

The former actress has everything going for her to live a normal life. She has the peace of mind that comes with having a net worth of 5 million dollars, according to Celebrity Net Worth.

With a career that has met her expectations, her life projects underway and enough financial cushion to leave Hollywood, the actress could easily leave acting at age 44.

On Instagram, the writer says: "I am so filled with joy and contentment today as I live out my vision. I feel so grateful for my blessings."

She added: "Stepping away from what seems like the obvious choice (wealth and fame) can feel scary at times, but stepping into your dharma replaces the fear with fulfillment."

Evangeline Lilly says she is starting "A new season... and I AM READY…and I AM HAPPY." Here we have a woman who managed to make a life for herself that she can enjoy 24/7.

Of course, she is free as a bird, which means she could always go back to acting. "[I] might return to Hollywood one day," she writes, "but, for now, this is where I belong." So if she's happy, we must be too.

Follow Showbizz Daily to stay informed and enjoy more content!