Kim Novak’s life is the subject of a new documentary, ‘Kim Novak’s Vertigo’ (Getty)
Kim Novak, one of Hollywood’s brightest stars of the 1950s, is reflecting on age, legacy, and her decision to step away from fame at the height of her career. Now 92, the legendary actress admits she feels “close to the end,” but also at peace with the choices that defined her life.
In a new documentary, Kim Novak’s Vertigo, the former Alfred Hitchcock muse shares personal thoughts about her past, her escape from Hollywood, and the freedom she discovered after leaving an industry that demanded everything.
Kim Novak receives the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement Award during the Venice International Film Festival on Sept. 1. (WireImage)
Choosing to Walk Away at Her Peak
Novak stunned Hollywood when she walked away in 1966. At that time, she was starring alongside greats like Frank Sinatra, James Stewart, and William Holden, with roles that cemented her as a screen goddess.
“When I left, I was at the top of my game,” Novak reflects in the film. “Hollywood swallowed people whole. I didn’t want that to happen to me.”
Her reference to Marilyn Monroe was pointed. Monroe, who died at 36, became a symbol of the industry’s cost on women. Novak made sure she wouldn’t suffer the same fate.
Kim Novak and James Stewart in 1958's 'Vertigo'. Getty
A Turning Point in Big Sur
A mudslide that destroyed her Bel Air home became the push she needed to leave. Instead of rebuilding, Novak found refuge on the cliffs of Big Sur, choosing a secluded life where she could nurture her other passions.
“My survival mode was to paint,” she recalls.
That first morning after leaving Hollywood remains vivid in her memory. Speaking in a 2021 interview, she described waking to waves crashing, birds singing, and her cat purring.
“I felt liberated,” Novak said. “I thought, ‘I’m going to live my dream, not for someone else.’ Hollywood may have offered money and prestige, but nothing compared to that morning. I set up my easel and thought, ‘This is paradise.’”
From Actress to Artist
Novak embraced painting as her second act, pouring herself into creativity that was entirely her own. For decades, she refused to let Hollywood reclaim her story. Even when offered a million-dollar book deal for a tell-all autobiography, she turned it down.
“They wanted all the Hollywood dirt,” explains her longtime manager, Sue Cameron. “Kim said, ‘That’s not who I am.’ She wouldn’t do it.”
Instead, Novak chose authenticity over gossip. She wanted to be remembered as more than a starlet in glamorous roles.
A Fighter in Hollywood’s Golden Age
Cameron describes Novak as “the last living golden goddess of film,” but also highlights her quiet defiance during an era when women had little control.
Kim Novak left her Hollywood career behind in 1966. (Getty Images)
“She was a fighter for women, even in the 1950s,” Cameron says. “Studios tried to force her into heavy makeup, but she’d wipe it off. She was the first woman to start her own production company. She stood her ground when very few could.”
That determination helped Novak step away from the studio machine that shaped and often broke young actresses.
A Life Beyond the Screen
Now, decades later, Novak’s story is finally being told on her terms. Kim Novak’s Vertigo is not, as Cameron stresses, “a Hollywood-y documentary filled with famous names,” but a portrait of Novak as a woman who fought for her independence and artistic soul.
'Kim Novak’s Vertigo' Venice Film Festival
At 92, Novak acknowledges the passage of time with candour. “It’s not easy getting old,” she admits in the film. “I’m feeling it’s close to the end.”
Yet even in those words, there is no regret. For Kim Novak, the decision to walk away from fame gave her the life she always longed for — one filled with art, peace, and the quiet dignity of living on her own terms.
