Joan Cusack Chose Chicago Over Hollywood—And She's Never Looking Back

There’s a reason actress Joan Cusack made her first red carpet appearance in 11 years at the Toy Story 5 premiere on Tuesday, June 9. She’s been busy living an entirely different kind of life—one that most people in her position would consider insane to walk away from.

At 63, Cusack has spent decades in the entertainment industry, racking up credits most actors would kill for. Yet when she talks about her career now, there’s a notable shift in what she values.“It’s also great to live your life and raise your kids and be in Chicago and be a normal person,”she told Variety at the premiere.“It’s, kind of, priceless.”

Chicago isn’t some weekend retreat for Cusack—it’s home. Her parents relocated there when she was young, and she decided to stay rooted there even as her acting career took off. While most A-listers maintain sprawling compounds in Los Angeles, Cusack chose to keep her family firmly planted in the Midwest. She’s married to attorney Richard Burke, with whom she shares two sons, and she’s raised them entirely outside the Hollywood spotlight. Her mother still lives there too.

What makes Cusack’s choice particularly interesting is that she didn’t just step back from acting—she built an entirely separate identity. In 2011, she opened Judy Maxwell Home, a lifestyle store in Chicago. In an interview with the New Yorker in 2019, she explained the thinking behind it:“My kids were young, and I didn’t really want to take acting work, because I always had to go away. I was trying to think of something to do, because I’m not really a big cooking person.”The store became her outlet, a way to channel her instincts about life and design without abandoning her family.

This isn’t a cautionary tale about burnout or a cry for sympathy. It’s a portrait of someone who looked at what Hollywood offered and decided something else mattered more. She returns to voice work when she wants to—like her role as Jessie in Toy Story 5—but on her terms. Her kids got to see a parent who’s passionate about work without sacrificing presence, something she learned from her own childhood watching her father find joy in comedy and family moments.

In an era when“work-life balance”is trendy but rarely practiced by high-achievers, Cusack actually did it. She didn’t burn out spectacularly or apologize for her choices. She just quietly lived the life she wanted and showed up when the roles called. That’s the real priceless part.