Catherine Zeta-Jones admits avoiding Hollywood 'schmoozing' may have been detrimental to her career

Catherine Zeta-Jones chose New York over Hollywood — and she never looked back.

The Oscar-winning actress is offering a rare glimpse into her life far from Los Angeles, revealing that decades spent on the East Coast with husband Michael Douglas may have affected her acting career.

"It’s interesting whether it’s been detrimental to my career," Zeta-Jones admitted to People. "I never quite know — because I’ve never been in L.A. schmoozing."

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While many stars stay in Los Angeles in search of the next role, Zeta-Jones, 56, has spent years building a life in and around New York City — a choice she said has shaped her family, her friendships and possibly her career trajectory.

The actress made it clear that Hollywood insiders are not exactly regulars at her dinner table, she added in her interview to the media outlet remotely from "40 minutes out of the city."

"I spend more time with New York business people, Wall Street people, art people," she said. "Our friends and the people we bump into are different than if I was in L.A."

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It’s not a dig at Hollywood, she emphasized. "I swing in a few different roundabouts here in the city," she explained.

Zeta-Jones and Douglas, 81, have been navigating those "roundabouts" together for more than 25 years. The pair met in 1998, married in 2000 and raised two children — Dylan, 25, and Carys, 22 — largely away from the Hollywood bubble.

Douglas additionally has a son, Cameron, 47, with his ex-wife Diandra Luker.

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With their younger children officially grown, the couple is entering a new phase.

In June 2024, they listed their massive 11,653-square-foot riverfront estate in Irvington, New York.

At the time, Zeta-Jones told The Wall Street Journal the move made sense now that her children had "left the nest."

What hasn’t changed is her connection to New York’s art world.

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"I used to go and love to look at people’s art in their fancy houses in the Hamptons," she said, as she described herself as "an eclectic collector."

In one of her latest projects, "The Gallerist," Zeta-Jones stars as Marianne, a polished, powerful art consultant. The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival last month.

Despite keeping her distance from Hollywood’s daily grind, Zeta-Jones is far from slowing down.

She’s set to reprise her iconic role as Morticia Addams in Netflix’s hit series "Wednesday," and she's also starring in Prime Video’s upcoming thriller "Kill Jackie."