Holly Marie Combs, 52, has announced her retirement from acting, citing a lack of compelling roles and a desire to focus on raising her three sons in Washington state.
Combs revealed her decision on Tuesday's episode of her podcast, "House Of Halliwell." She stated that the roles being offered to her were no longer as interesting as they once were. "The stuff that I was getting and coming across my desk was just nothing that I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, this is really great. I need to do this,'" Combs shared.
She also noted that the job pool for actresses in her age range, 40 to 50, becomes smaller and the roles less compelling. "And being in, you know, that 40 to 50 range, the job pool gets even smaller and and I feel like the roles get a little less interesting," she added.
While Combs expressed some disappointment with the limited opportunities, she acknowledged that there are more roles available for women her age now than in previous years. Her last on-screen role was a guest appearance on "Grey's Anatomy" in 2019. Prior to that, she played Ella Montgomery in "Pretty Little Liars" from 2010 to 2017.
The shift away from acting accelerated during the COVID-19 pandemic, when Combs was focused on her home life with her three teenage sons. "It was a lot of family. During COVID, we had three teenagers. Well, it was three teenagers and a preteen in the house, and it was just mayhem and chaos," she said.
Despite missing the immersive experience of acting, Combs expressed happiness with her decision. She stated that she is busy raising her children, running "15 other businesses," and hosting her "Charmed" rewatch podcast. "We get to escape into this different character with a different set of situations than our own life," Combs said of acting, adding that "there is something about being in that moment that is quite peaceful."
Combs starred on "Charmed" from 1998 to 2006 as one of three witch sisters battling supernatural forces. She later took on a producer role on the series beginning in its fifth season. Recently, Combs paid tribute to her late "Charmed" co-star Shannen Doherty on her podcast shortly after Doherty's death in July 2024, following a battle with breast cancer. "I've had a little bit of time to reflect on that and how everything worked out,' Combs said. 'I think she did as much as she could in the time that she had, but we did think we had more time.'
Combs indicated that she might consider returning to acting once her youngest son, who is currently 17, finishes high school and she has more free time.