Richard Simmons, Daniel Day-Lewis, Jack Nicholson among stars who shun spotlight

foxnews.com:

Richard Simmons hasn’t been seen in the public eye since 2014, but according to himself and his representative, that’s by choice.

Simmons stopped making public appearances and closed down his fitness studio, all of which prompted rumors of something amiss with the fitness icon.

There were allegations in 2016 that Simmons was being held hostage by his housekeeper, which Simmons denied in a phone interview on "Today." "No one is holding me in my house as a hostage," he said at the time. "You know, I do what I want to do, as I’ve always done, so people should sort of just believe what I have to say because, like, I’m Richard Simmons." A 2017 podcast about the "missing" Simmons prompted a wellness check from the LAPD, who told People, "He is perfectly fine and he is very happy.

I don’t know what he is going to do, but right now he is doing what he wants to do, and it is his business." Rumors continued, with the National Enquirer saying he was transgender and had transitioned to become a woman, and a documentary saying the reason for his absence was knee surgery that slowed down his exercise regimen and caused him to "sink into a deep depression."  Simmons, either through social media or his representative, denied all the allegations.