It’s impossible to talk about iconic actors of our time without mentioning Jack Nicholson and his incredible career. Some of the most unforgettable films from the second half of the 20th century have him as a main or supporting star, making him no less than the most Oscar- nominated actor, an award he has won three times, two for Best Actor and another for Supporting Actor. On top of the impressive accolade list under his name, Jack’s tumultuous personal life is as interesting as his work on the big screen in movies such as “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” and “The Shining”.
Seeing how successful and inspiring Jack has been for his generations, and others that followed, it’s no wonder that his extended break from public life has been causing worry and unsettling assumptions about his health for the past decade.
So what’s going on with Jack Nicholson, and why has he apparently stepped away from public life? Has he made any recent public appearance, or remained willingly reclusive all this time? Keep with us to find out!
Where Is Jack Nicholson Now?
Audiences have been missing Jack Nicholson’s acting for over a decade. Despite Jack’s claims about not being retired, the actor has refrained from appearing in movies since the 2010s film “How Do You Know”.
While the movie wasn’t as well-received as most of his career, it doesn’t seem that it was the reason behind his unofficial hiatus from the big screen, as in 2013 the actor affirmed that he didn’t feel like being ‘out there anymore’. Back then, Jack insisted on wanting to be in movies that ‘move people’, and would bring out emotions, on top of having the brain of a ‘mathematician’, contrary to the rumors about his possible dementia that circulated back then.
Besides his film hiatus, Jack also made very few TV appearances throughout the 2010s. One of those was in the “Saturday Night Live 40th Anniversary Special” in 2015, and interviewed in the short “Joker: Put on A Happy Face” from 2020. Sometimes he attended Los Angeles Lakers basketball games, inevitably making headlines every time it happened due to the rarity of his public appearances.
Jack’s latest TV appearance was in “Saturday Night Live 50th Anniversary Special” in 2025, when he introduced Adam Sandler’s special song for the occasion.
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Health Update
Ever since Jack Nicholson decided that being in movies wasn’t his thing anymore, rumors about him having dementia have circulated non-stop. In 2013, RadarOnline reported that Jack’s lack of big-screen roles was due to his inability to ‘remember the lines’ necessary for the job.
Though the tabloid’s sources affirmed that Jack’s alleged increasing memory loss was due to his age, the then 76-year-old didn’t take long to deny the rumors in an interview with The Sun.
However, Jack’s increasingly rare public appearances didn’t help to convince his fans that the actor could make a return to the film industry. In 2021, RadarOnline and The Times posted unsettling reports on Jack’s health following the statements of some sources allegedly close to the actor, who affirmed that he had been suffering from dementia. The tabloid also affirmed that Jack no longer left his Beverly Hills house, and spent most of his days in solitude.
The rumors didn’t stop there though, as two years later ,RadarOnline made another report in which it was theorized that Jack had chosen a similar path to Marlon Brando, who spent the last years of his life willingly reclusive.
Nonetheless, the rumors about Jack’s health have remained just that, as neither he nor his family have publicly given detailed information about his health, physical and mental.
Jack Nicholson is 87 Years Old & Still Going Strong pic.twitter.com/ltbW5D9k7X
— Cinema Tweets (@CinemaTweets1) January 3, 2025
Other Public Appearances
For several decades, Jack Nicholson has been well-known for being a fan of the Los Angeles Lakers and the New York Yankees. The former considered him a fixture at their games since the 1970s, and Jack demonstrated his commitment to them by starring in some unfortunate ‘court rage’ episodes, such as the time he stepped onto the court in 2003 to yell at a referee for calling a third foul on Shaquille O’Neal. That time, the Lakers were against the San Antonio Spurs and the incident almost resulted in Jack’s eviction from the game.
However, those times are now over for the iconic Hollywood actor. As reported by The Times, Jack stopped attending public events in 2021, much to the chagrin of his fans and other Lakers’ followers. Nonetheless, even before his public life hiatus was official, he was rarely seen around in Hollywood anymore, with some of the rare occasions being when he attended the exhibit “It’s Just A Shot Away: The Rolling Stones In Photographs” in 2013, alongside his daughter Lorraine.
Relationship With His Children
Even if his socializing times are now a thing of the past, Jack Nicholson is reportedly in contact with several relatives, including some of his children. According to a 2023 report about his reclusive lifestyle, Jack is especially close to his son Ray and daughter Lorraine, both of whom he welcomed during his time with the actress and model Rebecca Broussard, in the early 1990s.
Unfortunately, it’s unclear where Jack stands with the rest of his children. Jack fathered six children, with the oldest being Jennifer, whom he welcomed in 1963 with actress and fellow “The Terror” star Sandra Knight, who remains the only woman Jack’s ever married.
Following his divorce from Knight, Jack fathered a son named Caleb with actress Susan Anspach, though he didn’t recognize him until some years later, and reportedly paid for his college education. Nicholson and Anspach didn’t have a stable relationship, and she went on to marry actor Mark Goddard while pregnant with Caleb.
Jack also fathered Honey Hollman, whose mother is the model Winnie Hollman. Although it was later revealed that Nicholson wasn’t the girl’s father, the pair allegedly kept their father-daughter relationship as usual.
Besides Lorraine and Ray, both of whom are aspiring actors, Jack also allegedly fathered a daughter named Tessa in 1994, though information about her is limited.
Despite these ups and downs in Jack’s romantic life, it’s clear that there are people who worry about himand most likely take care of him. Though it’s a shame that he’s no longer active in public life, Jack Nicholson’s legacy has been unerasable.
