Movies

Why did Bijou Phillips stop acting?

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The gifted Bijou Phillips has lived a peculiar life. She lived her formative years in South Africa, California, and New York. In the sport of equestrienne, she excelled. She started modeling at age 13 in order to get out of boarding school and was one of the youngest people to appear on the covers of “Interview” and “Italian Vogue.” Several Calvin Klein advertisements also featured Bijou.

She signed a record deal at age 17 and started writing songs for her album “I’d Rather Eat Glass,” which Talking Heads member Jerry Harrison produced. James Toback eventually chose her for the lead role in Black & White (1999), and critics highly praised her performance there.

She was a “Bully (2001)” cast member, and “The Hollywood Reporter” named her one of 2002’s “Shooting Stars of Tomorrow” in 2002. “The Door in the Floor (2004)”, a movie adaption of John Irving’s novel “A Widow for One Year,” had Bijou in a part opposite Jeff Bridges and Kim Basinger from the previous year.

In 2005’s “Havoc”, written by Oscar-winning author Stephen Gaghan and directed by Oscar-winning documentary director Barbara Kopple, she most recently finished a prominent part opposite Anne Hathaway.

She has a number of projects in the works, including “Venom (2005)”, “What We Do Is Secret (2007)*, in which she played “Lorna Doom” alongside Shane West and was based on the legendary punk band The Germs from the late 1970s.

Why did Bijou Phillips stop acting?

Although it’s been over a decade since the actress made an appearance in movies, we can’t say for sure that she has retired from her acting career. Moreover, she hasn’t publicly released any statement depicting  this assumption.

When people ask what I do for fun, I tell 'em, “I write.”