Kim Novak Spoke Out About Why She Had To Leave Hollywood

Kim Novak was a bona fide Hollywood star after bagging a lead in the Hitchcock masterpiece Vertigo. However, only a few years later, she had virtually disappeared from the silver screen. Fans and colleagues alike were left to wonder: What happened to Kim? The true reason for her abrupt absence exposes a dark side to the movie-making business, and just how quickly the bright lights of Hollywood can dim into something much more sinister.

A glittering career saw Novak appear alongside many stellar leading men like Frank Sinatra and Kirk Douglas. The actress also garnered some pretty impressive gongs in her time – including two Golden Globe Awards. But it was a different story off-camera. In reality, she struggled with the demands of the Hollywood movie-making machine.

Young Marilyn Pauline Novak – as she was born – wanted anything but attention. In fact, the young girl was so shy that she would hide away when people visited her family home in Chicago, Illinois. Novak was born in February 1933 to strict Czech parents Joseph and Blanche. The former was a teacher who worked as a railroad freight dispatcher during the Great Depression. Meanwhile, Blanche toiled at a factory making bras and girdles for not much money.

Novak actually won two scholarships to the School of the Art Institute of Chicago as a youngster. As a teenager, the star’s mother also encouraged her to join a youth group to help conquer her shyness, according to The Guardian. Recognising Novak’s startling beauty, the group leader encouraged her to try modeling. So, one summer she joined a tour of the United States showing off Thor refrigerators.

The model’s beauty was once again spotted by an agent during a visit to RKO Studios in Los Angeles. After appearing in two movies as an extra, she won a contract with Columbia Pictures. But the company chief was reportedly a disagreeable man by the name of Harry Cohn. Novak clashed with him from the start – even over her name. According to a 1996 article in The Washington Post, he said that the actress should change her name to “Kit Marlowe,” telling her, “Nobody’s gonna go see a girl with a Polack name!”