C.C. is the perfect antagonist in The Nanny. Lauren Lane played the character perfectly, so why did she seemingly retire from Hollywood after the series ended? The actress only has three credits on IMDb after The Nanny. She appeared in an episode of Partners in 1999 and then in two shorts later in life.
She is so far removed from Hollywood that she didn’t even know that The Nanny was going to appear on HBO Max until a reporter reached out to her! She said, “I didn’t even know we would be running on HBO Max until maybe three weeks ago. Nobody told me! But I’ve been shocked at the interest. It surprises me. It’s delightful, I’m not complaining. I’m just surprised. It shows me, wow, this meant something to people that I didn’t quite realize.”
Why Lauren Lane left Hollywood after ‘The Nanny’ ended
After The Nanny took off, Lauren said she wasn’t really too comfortable with being famous. When The Nanny ended, Lauren was 40 years old and a single mom. She felt like she didn’t have a place in Hollywood anymore. In addition, she was feeling typecast as a C.C. character. So, she moved back to her home state of Texas and started teaching theater and dance. She thought she may return to acting full-time eventually but she ended up continuing to teach.
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She said, “To be real with you, if I had known, just stick it out and you’ll get a ‘Designing Women,’ or you’ll get a film, I would have stayed. But that wasn’t what I saw ahead and I just didn’t think I could fight all those forces. So I didn’t. I left. It was a really scary decision. I wouldn’t say I regret it. I just felt that too many forces were stacked against me and that would break my heart. I’ve had a whole second career, out of necessity really, and I still do loads of theater.”
She continued, “If I’d had just a little more security? I probably would have stayed because it was what I loved. But I’m at an age now where most actresses by this time have had to give up, unless they’re super famous, because there’s not enough work.”