Charmed star Holly Marie Combs, 52, announces retirement from acting after ditching Hollywood to raise kids in Washington state

Holly Marie Combs has revealed that she's stepping back from acting after becoming dissatisfied with the roles offered to her.

The 52-year-old Charmed star said she had 'retired' from showbusiness on Tuesday's episode of her podcast House Of Halliwell. 

Combs admitted that the roles she was up for simply weren't as compelling as they once were, but she was also less interested in getting back in front of the camera after moving to Washington state to focus on raising her three sons: Finley, 22; Riley, 19; and Kelley, 17. 

'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.

'And being in, you know, that 40 to 50 range, the job pool gets even smaller and smaller. And I feel like the roles get a little less interesting,' she added.

The Daily Mail has reached out to Combs's representatives but has not yet heard back.

While venting about the lack of available roles for women her age, Combs joked that none of the parts she was being offered were 'blowing up my skirt.'

However, she did clarify that there were still more opportunities for women in her age range than there had been years earlier. 

Although Combs has appeared on multiple podcasts in recent years, her last credited on-screen role was a 2019 guest appearance on Grey's Anatomy.

Prior to that, she had starred on Pretty Little Liars as Ella Montgomery from 2010 through 2017. 

Combs, who shares her three sons with her ex-husband, David Donoho, went on to explain that the shift in her career accelerated during the coronavirus pandemic.

“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 clarified.

The Pretty Little Liars actress – who tied the knot with her current husband Mike Ryan in 2019 – admitted that she sometimes yearns for the days when she was regularly acting.

'I miss it occasionally,' she said. 'Because, like you said, there’s those moments when you’re involved and you’re acting and you’re working that are just, I think it’s like being present.

'That’s what escapism is. And we get to escape into this different character with a different set of situations than our own life,' Combs continued. 'And there is something about being in that moment that is quite peaceful, even if you’re doing something highly dramatic.'

However, Combs said she was still happy with her decision to step back from Hollywood, and she was plenty busy raising her children and running her '15 other businesses.'

Her podcast, House Of Halliwell, a Charmed rewatch series that she launched in 2022, has also been keeping her busy and in touch with her most popular show.

Combs made it sound as if she wouldn't consider devoting herself to acting again until her youngest son, Kelley, was done with high school, when she'll have 'lot more time on [her] hands.'

However, it may not be a particularly long wait considering that her son is already 17.

Combs is best known for starring on the CW fantasy series Charmed from 1998 to 2006. 

She starred with Shannen Doherty and Alyssa Milano as a trio of magically gifted sisters who were forced to battle evil forces while trying to keep up their regular lives in San Francisco.

Combs's good friend Shannen Doherty left the series after its third season, and Rose McGowan joined Charmed as a long-lost younger half-sister for the five remaining seasons.

Combs later took on a creative role behind the scenes when she became a producer beginning on season five.

After Doherty died in 2024 following a long battle with breast cancer, Combs tearfully paid tribute to her on her House Of Halliwell podcast, shortly after Doherty had joined her as a guest.

'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.'

She added tearfully: 'And that's the really sad part is, you know, we had big, big plans for this year. And she didn't think she was going anywhere anytime soon.'