‘Pretty depressed,’ Anna Faris says — and here’s why she almost retired from acting

Here’s one of those behind-the-scenes stories that’s got a bit of everything—some heartbreak, a not-so-glamorous glimpse at Hollywood life, and a comeback arc straight out of, well, a Scary Movie sequel. Anna Faris, widely known for her sharp comic timing and forever being caught up in something daft, has opened up about nearly knocking acting on the head for good. Apparently, it wasn’t just the roles drying up that had her considering retirement—it was the lot all at once: career doldrums, a wavering sense of ambition, and a brush with disaster on the actual home front.

Anna Faris reflected on the Dear Chelsea podcast: "I was, in hindsight, I think pretty depressed, like, premenopausal depression without recognizing it. I was just having a distant relationship with this city and my career and wondering if I had enough money to retire."

Downturn After "Mom"

So, after a hefty seven-season run leading Mom on US telly, you’d think Anna Faris could put her feet up happily. Instead, she told Chelsea Handler on Handler’s podcast that she found herself in a bit of a fog. By her own admission, Faris hit her late forties feeling deeply unsettled: ambition had packed its bags, and so had any real sense of where her career was headed. You’d be forgiven for thinking this is the sort of thing only befalls actors in their twenties; turns out, not so much.

She went through a tough patch mentally too, realising with hindsight that it was probably depression creeping in—potentially linked to pre-menopause, as lots of women have to navigate, though rarely discussed in glossy magazine interviews. As far as her own words are concerned, Los Angeles itself had started to feel like a distant acquaintance—and she was crunching the numbers to see if bowing out early from Hollywood would keep her solvent.

The most striking detail: The fires in Pacific Palisades in 2025 destroyed Anna Faris's Los Angeles home during this already difficult period.

That spanner in the works came when her house in the 2025 Pacific Palisades fires went up in smoke—a loss she says still stings daily. Not an ideal backdrop for figuring out your future.

A Nudge from the Past

Ironically, Faris had lined up work on the indie project Spa Weekend before the fire struck. That film seemed to offer some proof that her career still had legs, even as she privately wondered if she was being eased out of showbiz altogether. She’s referred to being on set as therapeutic, but there was a creeping sense she was quietly preparing for a life on the sidelines.

Then, out of nowhere, she got a phone call from Marlon Wayans—the fellow OG of the Scary Movie franchise. The news: the rights to their infamous comedy series were back in their hands, and another sequel was on the cards. That’s what yanked Anna Faris back into the ring. If you’re following the timeline, it means 2026 is set to deliver a new chapter for the franchise that gave Faris her major break.

She’s described jumping on board this new Scary Movie as a full-circle moment—a rare chance to revisit something that started it all. In her words, it put some fizz back in her year: suddenly, maybe the script wasn’t finished for her just yet. Whether you’re a fan of slapstick or you reckon it’s all a bit silly, you’ve got to admit, that’s a bit more eventful than your average Hollywood career blip.