‘Charmed’ alum Holly Marie Combs confirms retirement from acting, breaks down her decision

“Charmed” alum Holly Marie Combs “retired” from acting because the roles she was offered became “less interesting.”

“The stuff that I was getting and coming across my desk was just nothing that I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, this is really great. I need to do this,’” Combs explained during Tuesday’s episode of her “House of Halliwell” podcast.

“And being in, you know, that 40 to 50 range, the job pool gets even smaller and smaller. And I feel like the roles get a little less interesting.”

Combs explained that while ageism in Hollywood isn’t as bad as it used to be, she joked that no role was “blowing up [her] skirt.”

She also said she took a step back from acting to focus on her three sons — Finley, 22, Riley, 19, and Kelley, 17 — whom she shares with ex-husband David Donoho.

“It was a lot of family,” she explained. “During COVID, we had three teenagers. Well, it was three teenagers and a preteen in the house, and it was just mayhem and chaos.”

Although Combs, 52, feels confident about her decision and now dedicates her time to her podcast and “15 other businesses,” she admitted that she misses being on screen at times.

“I miss it occasionally,” she confessed. “Because, like you said, there’s those moments when you’re involved and you’re acting and you’re working that are just, I think it’s like being present.”

She continued, “That’s what escapism is. And we get to escape into this different character with a different set of situations than our own life. And there is something about being in that moment that is quite peaceful, even if you’re doing something highly dramatic.”

When asked if she would ever decide to come out of retirement, Combs said to ask her that again once her youngest son graduates high school, as she will “be sitting around with a lot more time on [her] hands.”

Combs started out as a child actor and earned her SAG card at 14 after appearing in a few films.

Her breakout role was playing Kimberly Brock in CBS’ acclaimed drama “Picket Fences” which ran from 1992–1996.

But it was Combs’ role in “Charmed” that made her a household name.

The show follows three sisters, Prue (Shannen Doherty), Piper (Combs), and Phoebe Halliwell (Alyssa Milano), who discover they are powerful witches after moving back into their family’s ancestral home in San Francisco.

The hit fantasy series ran for eight seasons from 1998 to 2006.

Combs’ role as Piper became especially important to the show after Doherty’s departure following Season 3. Piper went from being the middle sister to the eldest, making Combs one of the central figures of the series for its remaining five seasons.

She also became a producer beginning in Season 5, expanding her role behind the scenes.

After “Charmed,” Combs landed a recurring role on “Pretty Little Liars” from 2010 to 2017, which introduced her to a younger generation.

She played Ella Montgomery, the mother of one of the central characters Aria Montgomery (Lucy Hale), throughout the series.

Combs’ last acting credit was on “Grey’s Anatomy” in 2019, where she played Heidi Peterson in the episode “Reunited.”

Fittingly, she appeared alongside her former “Charmed” co-star Alyssa Milano.