“It was very difficult to have your privacy just completely disappear, especially if you’ve always been a private person,” Jackson said.

Charlie’s Angels star Kate Jackson on leaving Hollywood for Virginia farm: ‘It’s a good place for me’

"It was very difficult to have your privacy just completely disappear, especially if you've always been a private person," Jackson said.

By Marina Watts

Marina Watts

Marina Watts is a news writer for with seven years experience covering entertainment, pop culture and celebrity news. Her previous work appears in PEOPLE, Bustle and Newsweek.

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on April 27, 2026 3:08 p.m. ET

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Kate Jackson in 2026; Kate Jackson on 'Charlie's Angels'. Credit:

- Kate Jackson is opening up about her life in Virginia on a farm after leaving Hollywood.

- The *Charlie's Angels *alum reunited with her former costars during PaleyFest in Los Angeles in April.

- After leaving Hollywood, however, Jackson kept her SAG and DGA cards, just in case.

Kate Jackson has traded the Hollywood hills for Virginia's mountains.

The *Charlie's Angels* actress opened up about leaving Hollywood for Virginia while speaking with PEOPLE at PaleyFest in Los Angeles in early April, where she reunited with costars Jaclyn Smith and Cheryl Ladd. PaleyFest hosted a 50th anniversary celebration for the drama series.

The actress is also known for her roles in the television series *Scarecrow and Mrs. King *along with *The Rookies *and *Baby Boom*. Her most recent acting credit was a 2007 episode of *Criminal Minds*.

"I love being in Virginia, and I really enjoy the farm," she told PEOPLE of her home base. "I've got chickens, a couple of horses. Most of it's woods, but it's 128 acres and it's beautiful and it's quiet and peaceful. It's a good place for me, and I love being in the mountains. I still get to ski, but I shouldn't."**

She also admitted that despite the major lifestyle change, she has Hollywood on her mind. "I'm in California now and going to see what happens and if there are things to do, if there's work to be had, acting or directing," Jackson said, noting that directing was "really fun" and something she's "pretty darn good at."

Kate Jackson, circa 1973.

She kept her SAG and DGA cards after leaving Hollywood — just in case. "I guess somewhere in the back of my head, I always knew one day I was going to say, 'I think I'd like to do that again,'" she shared.

Jackson, who moved to Virginia in the 1990s per the *Los Angeles Times*, also spoke about how the more famous she became, the more privacy she wanted. "It was very difficult to have your privacy just completely disappear, especially if you've always been a private person," she said.

And don't expect Jackson to post anything online anytime soon.

She told PEOPLE she doesn't "understand social media," or why "people are so fond of taking their picture and telling the world where they are at this very moment. I don't get it."**

'Charlie's Angels' star Kate Jackson says she was 'never credited or paid' for coming up with the iconic show's name

Jaclyn Smith on rare 'Charlie's Angels' reunion with Kate Jackson: 'A friend for the ages'

Part of what also inspired her to step away from the spotlight was adopting her son Christopher in 1995. After becoming a mother, her desire to retreat from Hollywood increased and eventually pushed her to leave the industry as she tried to balance her professional and personal lives.

"I didn't think I could be a good director and a good mom at the same time, and if I'm not a good mom, it really doesn't matter what else I do well," she said. "So I just walked away from everything. I didn't take jobs and after, I don't know, three or four years, they stopped asking. But my life was busy and full and I loved it. I loved everything about being a mom."

Jaclyn Smith, Kate Jackson, and Farrah Fawcett for 'Charlie' Angels'.

She added, "I wanted to be the best mom I could possibly be, and that felt like the way to do it."

***Get your daily dose of entertainment news, celebrity updates, and what to watch with our EW Dispatch newsletter*.**

Jackson and Smith previously had a *Charlie's Angels *reunion at Smith's son Gaston's wedding in 2023. Before the wedding, the last time Jackson was publicly photographed was in 2009 at Farrah Fawcett's funeral. "I came in, I saw her sitting there, and we just hugged," Smith told * *at the time.

"We couldn't stop hugging each other because she's gone her way and not been in the public eye, I've gone mine, and life happens and you don't see each other as much," Smith added. "But it was like no time had passed."

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