Why JFK Jr.'s Ex Daryl Hannah Traded Hollywood Glamour For A Quiet Life

John F. Kennedy Jr.'s ex-girlfriend, Daryl Hannah, was a prominent name in Hollywood back in the 1980s and 1990s. While she's well known for starring in the iconic film "Blade Runner," Hannah really shot to superstardom when she landed a role in Quentin Tarantino classics, "Kill Bill: Volumes 1 and 2." The once-beloved star's career started to fizzle out after that, however, and she eventually gave it all up for a quiet life behind the scenes when Hannah was 39. While some speculated that Hollywood's ageism had something to do with this, the "Splash" star also dealt with some personal issues that kept her from returning to the big screen.

During a 2015 interview with The Guardian, Hannah revealed that, while she truly adored acting, she didn't love the fame that came with it. "I always loved the process, but I was very uncomfortable with the other aspects of the job — the publicity and all that stuff," the '80s icon acknowledged. "I didn't realize that, because I was a self-conscious, picked-on kid, when people were looking at me, I'd feel they were making fun of me." Hannah was also diagnosed with autism when she was young, and told The Times that, aside from having to deal with her diagnosis, she is also an incredibly shy person, which made promoting her films a nightmare. 

"I never went on talk shows, never went to premieres. Going to the Academy Awards was so painful for me I'd almost faint just walking down the red carpet," the actor confessed. In fact, she couldn't even pluck up the courage to call people back who wanted to offer her work, which damaged her reputation. Hannah eventually moved from California to live full-time on her ranch in Colorado.

Daryl Hannah's past relationship with John F. Kennedy Jr. means she can never fully escape the glaring Hollywood spotlight. Thanks to "Love Story," which chronicles the tragedy surrounding the Kennedy family, with a specific focus on JFK Jr.'s relationship with his wife, Carolyn Bessette, the "Steel Magnolias" star started making headlines yet again. Since Hannah was a significant part of Kennedy's life (the two dated for five years), she is also portrayed in the show, and the actor has made it abundantly clear that she's none too pleased with how the writers depicted her. 

Not only does her character use drugs, she also hates Jackie Kennedy and feeds stories about the famous family to the media. These are all fictional events, but many fans of the show believed them to be true, and the "Blade Runner" star was harassed online as a result. In an essay for The New York Times, Hannah argued, "It's appalling to me that I even have to defend myself against a television show. These are not creative embellishments of personality. They are assertions about conduct — and they are false." 

She pointed out that the writers had crafted her character to be "irritating, self-absorbed, whiny, and inappropriate." Hannah previously addressed the gossip about her relationship with JFK Jr. in her 2010 interview with The Times. At the time, she made it clear that she had no interest in discussing their romance with the media or the impact it may or may not have had on her career in the '90s. "There's a lot that's been written about relationships I've had over the years, and most of it's wrong," Hannah stated.