Julie Christie took the world by storm when she appeared in Darling and, of course, as Lara in Doctor Zhivago. The British actress became one of the most famous people in the industry, cementing herself a place in film history.
Christie was on top of the world when, suddenly, she decided to leave Hollywood for good. Instead, she settled down in a place few people would ever have predicted.
So what made Julie Christie leave in the middle of her successful career? And what is she doing today? This is all you need to know about her!
It wasn’t just any person, but Warren Beatty. The Hollywood legend had a wild private life and dated plenty of women.
Christie and Beatty began their relationship in 1967. They had first met at the Royal Command performance of the film Born Free a year earlier. When the actor saw Christie shaking hands with the Queen Elizabeth II, he had reportedly fallen head-over-heels for her.
It didn’t take long for Christie to reciprocate the feeling, and shortly after that, the pair started dating.
By all accounts, Christie was very much dedicated to making the relationship with Warren Beatty work. At the same time, people around her tried to warn the young actress about the womanizing actor. He was known for his high-profile love affairs with women. Besides Julie, he had affairs with Jane Fonda, Carly Simon, Goldie Hawn, Joni Mitchell, Jackie Onassis, and Madonna.
Director John Schlesinger, who had cast Julie in Billy Liar, urged her to break up with Warren Beatty. He reportedly said the actor “gets through women like a businessman through a dozen oysters.”
Julie and Warren starred together in several films. They both appeared in McCabe & Mrs. Miller, Shampoo, and Heaven Can Wait. The latter two were mostly filmed after their breaking up in 1974.
Why Julie Christie suddenly disappeareed from Hollywood
Despite the relationship not working out, when looking back, Christie didn’t regret her time with Beatty. In an interview with The Guardian, she claimed that it improved her life.
“He gave me a political perspective, which I am very grateful for. I loved the way, say, that he would go to baseball matches and stand up in the interval and talk about getting rid of guns,” Julie said.
“He would be this little tiny figure in this big baseball stadium, and I would be looking down at him, I thought he was wonderfully courageous for doing that.”
Indeed, Christie and Beatty remained great friends despite breaking up.
“When she and her husband come to Los Angeles, they stay in our guest house. We’re very close and she’s a remarkable person,” Beatty told People in 2016.
In 1977, Christie had had enough of fame, despite becoming an icon in Hollywood. She decided to leave Los Angeles and move back to England.
After taking a short break, the actress appeared in several smaller films and low-budget productions. But it was clear that acting in blockbusters wasn’t a priority.
Settled at a farm in Wales
“I was perfectly happy not doing them,” she told the New York Times. “There were just no roles that really appealed to me.”
Christie settled at a farm in Wales, where she lived with a couple and their children. They became her family as she didn’t “really have no family of my own.” Moreover, she also found other passionate causes, including feminism and protecting the environment.
After moving back to the UK, Christie didn’t even have a car and would bake her own bread. In short, she lived an effortless life. Then, in 1979, she engaged in a relationship with journalist Duncan Campbell. They tied the knot, though the couple never revealed the specific date of their marriage.
Fame and status never controlled for Julie, but she would eventually return to the film industry gracefully. In 2006, she starred in the film Away From Her, playing an Alzheimer’s patient older.
The outstanding performance landed her her fourth Academy Award nomination, this time for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role. Yet even though she was, and still is, a major star, Christie doesn’t place much meaning on fame and fortune.
Decades after leaving Hollywood, she still maintains that the reason for her return to England remains the same.
This is Julie Christie today – net worth
“I understand the need for icons,” she said . “I have had idols and there are still people whom I am in awe of because of their talent, so I try to be understanding. But I so hate being a public person rather than a private person – I’m just not as nice as I should be.”
Now 82, Julie previously revealed that she underwent cosmetic surgery in the past. At the same time, she claims having a good make-up artist is the secret to looking fabulous.
After she was forced to have her neck taped while filming, she had a neck lift.
“It saved having to be pinned up and held back with sticky tape,” Julie said. “It was practicality as much as vanity.”
Julie Christie will forever be a true Hollywood icon, even if she’s desperate not to be a part of it. To this day, she looks as beautiful as ever, and is said to have a net worth of around $10 million.
Now, however, Christie says she has “no connection at all” with her young self who portrayed so many good characters during her early work in the film industry.
“That person has gone,” she added.
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