The Real Reason Kristin Scott Thomas Never Moved To Hollywood

English-French actress Kristin Scott Thomas spent the '90s entertaining movie lovers in films like 1994's Four Weddings and a Funeral with Hugh Grant, 1996's Mission: Impossible starring Tom Cruise, 1998's The Horse Whisperer alongside Robert Redford, and 1999's Random Hearts in which she appeared with Harrison Ford. She also co-starred in 1996's The English Patient, which brought her both an Oscar and a Golden Globe Award nomination for Best Actress.

With that kind of successful career in show business, you might reasonably assume that you'd be able to find the actress living in one of Hollywood's elite neighborhoods or perhaps residing in an enviable New York residence — somewhere close to a film studio or production company headquarters.

But it turns out that — like stars who live in remote locations, small towns, or modest homes — Thomas decided to do the opposite of what was expected of her as a star and never made the move to Hollywood. Instead, she opted to live outside of the U.S. for both personal and professional reasons that were, in fact, intertwined.

While others move to Hollywood in order to help their professional pursuits by centering themselves in all of the entertainment industry action, Kristin Scott Thomas thinks that relocating to the United States could have hurt her chances of reaching success for a very specific reason. "You're not going to have a great career if you don't have a happy family, and vice versa," she told People in May 2020.

That's why the star instead made her home in Paris along with her children, Hannah, Joseph, and George, as well as her now ex-husband, François Olivennes. "It was a family decision," she explained. "My husband [a French doctor] could not travel as easily as I could, and it meant a big career move for him."

Thomas also thinks that refusing to settle down in a permanent home in Hollywood meant that she was able to pursue other opportunities. She explained, "I don't think I would have done theater, which is a huge part of my life, had I gone to America."

While Thomas may not have moved to the U.S., at least American fans can still enjoy her work on-screen.