Robin Wright has officially left the United States behind and says she has no plans to look back. The 59-year-old House of Cards actress revealed in an interview with the UK’s Sunday Times that she is now living on the English seaside with her partner, architect Henry Smith, 52. The move, she said, has given her a sense of freedom she had been missing.
“It’s liberating to be done,” she told the paper with a grin. “Be done with searching, looking and getting 60 per cent of what you wanted.” Wright, who grew up in Texas and California, did not hold back when asked why she left her home country. “America is a s—show,” she said bluntly. “I love being in this country. There’s a freedom of self here.”
She explained that life in England feels calmer and more genuine compared to the constant grind she experienced in the US. “People are so kind. They’re living. They’re not in the car in traffic, panicked on a phone call, eating a sandwich. That’s most of America. Everything’s rush, competition and speed.”
Part of the appeal, she added, is the chance to live quietly with Smith. “I love the quiet,” she said. “And I’ve met my person. Finally.”
Still, Wright admitted she is adjusting to a few cultural quirks in the UK, most notably what she sees as a strong obsession with class. “It’s very evident when you’re in a room and you feel the judgment or the praise of someone who’s more elevated,” she said. “I’m trying to figure it out. Why are you guys so obsessed with who went to this boarding school or this university? Who gives a s—?”
Although she did not give any specific political reasons for her move, Wright’s relocation comes at a time when several American celebrities have made similar decisions following Donald Trump’s return to the White House. Ellen DeGeneres and Rosie O’Donnell both recently revealed they had left the US for Europe after Trump’s reelection.
Mark Hamill also told The Times that he considered leaving. The Life of Chuck star, who has been outspoken in his criticism of Trump, admitted he pitched the idea of moving to London or Ireland to his wife, Marilou York, after the 2024 election.
“She’s very clever,” Hamill said. “She didn’t respond right away, but a week later she said, ‘I’m surprised you would allow him to force you out of your own country.’ That son of a bitch. I thought, ‘I’m not leaving.’”
Hamill, who previously lived in London while filming the Star Wars trilogy, acknowledged that while the political climate has become more polarised, he still believes most Americans reject extremism. “I still believe there are more honest, decent people than there are the MAGA crowd. If I didn’t, I’d move back to England.”
For Wright, though, the choice is made. With a new life by the sea and a partner she calls “my person,” she says she has found a sense of peace that was missing in her old life back home.
