Michael Learned
While Michael Learned was a single mother with no income and kids to raise, she started playing Ma Walton in The Waltons. She had no idea that the TV show was going to become such a huge hit! Six seasons later, she got written out to the disappointment of the fans. The actress explained that she had started to get bored with it and felt that her role became redundant after John-Boy returned. In an interview, she also explained that she would usually be sitting on the set for more than 14 hours with nothing much to do. This was one of the reasons she simply decided to move on to other things!
Michael Learned
Sherry Stringfield
There are actors and actresses who wait their entire lives to look for success in the industry. Sherry Stringfield was not one of them. She lucked out by playing the role of Susan Lewis on ER for three seasons until she left the show to focus on her family. Eventually, she came back but ended up leaving once again. She later joined the NYPD Blue cast to play Laura Michaels Kelly. Sadly, the character was made redundant when the writers could not make any room for her. In the end, the actress just asked the producers to be let out of the contract so that she could work on other projects.
Sherry Stringfield