Kelly LeBrock lives as 'hermit' with lions and bears after painful Hollywood experience

Kelly LeBrock quickly rose to fame in the 80s after her iconic appearances in The Woman in Red and Weird Science.

The model and actress, who turns 63 today (March 24), was in high demand in Hollywood after being hailed as the “sexiest woman in the world”.

But in the late 90s, she suddenly fled the glitz and glamour that came with her fame in favour of a life as a “hermit”, spending her time shovelling horse manure at a remote ranch in the mountains.

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After vanishing from Hollywood for nearly two decades, LeBrock revealed that she decided to leave Beverly Hills after her nine-year marriage to action hero Steven Seagal ended in a painful divorce.

She told the Daily Mail: “I admit, I became a hermit. When I split with Steven the divorce was very ugly, and details of the case were on the evening news,

“I didn’t want my kids seeing it, so I simply got rid of the TV. I moved my kids out of L.A. so they could grow up with real people — the kids of gas pump attendants, plumbers and real family people.”

LeBrock’s decision to move to a ranch in the Californian countryside wasn’t just to protect her children, but also because she was suffering from low self-esteem.

“I had absolutely no self-esteem. I hated myself. I decided to swap my old life in Beverly Hills for a new one in the country, in Santa Barbara,” she added.

The star moved to a humble single-story farmhouse surrounded by dangerous animals — but still found it safer than Hollywood.

“There are mountain lions – one ate four of my goats. There are also black bears and rattlesnakes. But I’m not afraid. You know where you stand with animals. You don’t in the city with people. It’s not as trustworthy,” she said.

LeBrock loves her independent lifestyle and revealed that her active ranch life has meant she no longer needs to work out.

She said: “I grow all my veggies and make my own cheese and yogurt. It’s bloody exhausting!

“To work the land full time keeps me so fit that I haven’t worked out in seven years. I clean the pool myself, muck out the pigs and the horses.”

“Sometimes I sleep three nights in a row outside with no tent, just under the stars. Just me and my horse. It brings me closer to the earth”, she added.

LeBrock was born in New York and raised in London but moved back to the US as a teenager to pursue her modelling career.

It quickly took off and she soon started making appearances in some of the top magazines at the time, including Harper’s Bazaar and Vogue.

After moving to California, LeBrock married movie producer Victor Drai and set her sights on Hollywood.

Drai cast LeBrock in her iconic role in Woman in Red, where she famously stood atop an air vent in a Marylin Monroe-esque scene that saw her red dress billowing up in the breeze.

The movie catapulted her to fame and when her marriage to Drai ended after just two years, LeBrock struck up a romance with martial artist and film star Seagal, who she married in 1987.

But just a few years into their marriage rumours began swirling of his infidelity and the marriage finally broke down after nearly a decade when it was revealed that Seagal had had an affair with Kelly’s friend Arissa Wolf — who the couple had even named their daughter after.

“I was done by then, she could have him,” LeBrock said.

She admitted that the ordeal had a lasting impact on her. “I feared everything and didn’t want to leave the house,” she said.

But after suffering from self-esteem issues, she revealed her remote ranch life has left her feeling sexier than ever.

She said: “I feel sexier than I did before. People may not think I look sexier, but it’s not about how you look – it’s about how you feel inside.”

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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk