Robin Wright, best known for her iconic role as Jenny Curran in Forrest Gump, has become the latest high-profile celebrity to leave the US and start a new chapter abroad.
The 59-year-old actress recently revealed that she has relocated to England, calling the move a liberating and peaceful transition.
In an interview with The Times, Wright explained that her decision to move was motivated by the increasingly chaotic lifestyle she had been experiencing in the US.
"America is a s**tshow. I love being in this country,” Wright said of being in the UK. “There’s a freedom of self here. People are so kind. They’re living. They’re not in the car in traffic, panicked on a phone call, eating a sandwich. That’s most of America. Everything’s rush, competition, and speed.”
Wright joins other prominent figures such as Ellen DeGeneres, Portia de Rossi, Rosie O'Donnell, Richard Gere, and Lena Dunham, who have all relocated to different parts of the world in recent years.
Wright, who was previously married to actor Sean Penn from 1996 to 2010, reflected on meeting her new partner, architect Henry Smith, in England, and described their meeting at a pub as fate.
“Henry was standing at the bar, 6 foot 2, and he put his pint down, came over to me, and grabbed my shoulders. He goes, ‘Who the f*** are you?’ And I said, ‘Who the f*** are you?’ And that was it,” she said.
“I’m turning 60 and I’m, like, ‘Is this it?’ I love being alone, and I’ve done that many times. But I’m, like, ‘I want to grow old with somebody, and travel and see the world,’” she continued, describing her relationship with Smith as deeply fulfilling.
While the Princess Bride actress moved out because of her displeasure with California, other celebs like O'Donnell have cited political reasons for why they sought solace abroad.
The 63-year-old, who relocated to Ireland in January 2025 with her 12-year-old daughter, Dakota, explained in a heartfelt TikTok video that the US political climate under President Donald Trump played a significant role in her decision.
She emphasized the warmth and kindness she and Dakota have experienced in their new home, noting: “The people are so loving and so kind and so welcoming.”
The 63-year-old former talk show host has also expressed a desire for societal changes in the U.S. before she would consider returning. "When it is safe for all citizens to have equal rights there in America, that's when we will consider coming back,” she said.
Meanwhile, DeGeneres and her wife made the move to the English countryside just before the 2024 election and decided to stay after hearing about Trump’s victory.
“We got here the day before the election and woke up to lots of texts from our friends with crying emojis, and I was like, ‘He got in,’” she said, per The Guardian. “And we’re like, ‘We’re staying here.’”
The couple, who first married in 2008, are embracing their rural life. “It’s absolutely beautiful. We’re just not used to seeing this kind of beauty. The villages and the towns and the architecture, everything you see is charming, and it’s just a simpler way of life,” she said.
She added, via BBC News: “It’s clean. Everything here is just better, the way animals are treated, people are polite. I just love it here. We moved here in November, which was not the ideal time, but I saw snow for the first time in my life. We love it here. Portia flew her horses here, and I have chickens, and we had sheep for about two weeks.”