History Main / ReclusiveArtist

* Legendary French avant-garde director and multimedia artist Christ Marker, best known for directing ''Film/LaJetee'' and ''Film/SanSoleil'', rarely spoke to the press about his work and was rarely ever photographed, preferring to be represented with a cartoon drawing of one of his cats, Guillaume-en-Egypt. (One of the few interviews he ever did, and the last before his death, was done using a Guillaume-en-Egypt avatar in ''VideoGame/SecondLife'', where he kept a virtual museum that's still up to this day) And whenever he did reveal details about his personal life, he was fond of making stuff up: he always claimed to have been born in Mongolia while most sources place his birth in Paris or the nearby city of Neuilly-sur-Seine, and while it was true that he fought in the French Resistance it's unknown whether he also served in the US Air Force as he commonly claimed. When asked why he was so secretive, he always claimed [[DoingItForTheArt "My works should be enough for them"]]

* The person who runs ''Blog/ConstableFrozen''. We know they have the necessary Photoshop skills to make the pictures on their blog. We know they like ''{{WesternAnimation/Frozen|2013}}'' enough to keep producing content for this amount of time. And... that's about it. We haven't even confirmed that they're only ''one'' person.

* Canadian film student Alexander "alexander4488" Badr, better known as the Game Dude, was one of the most infamous of the [[CausticCritic "angry video game reviewers"]] that were a dime a dozen in the early days of the site. At first, he was extremely open with his fans and his critics, even uploading some of his film school projects to his account. But in 2012 he was indicted for stalking a woman and [[RunForTheBorder fled Canada for Las Vegas and then Mexico]], and was never seen again. Allegedly, he resurfaced in a 2015 Skype call with some old fans that he was living in Hong Kong (which was seemingly confirmed in 2019 when he logged into his ancient Twitter account to show support for Hong Kong protestors) but he has not been seen in person since he fled the charges.

* Canadian film student Alexander "alexander4488" Badr, better known as the Game Dude, was one of the most infamous of the [[CausticCritic "angry video game reviewers"]] that were a dime a dozen in the early days of the site. At first, he was extremely open with his fans and his critics, even uploading some of his film school projects to his account.[[note]] For posterity's sake, we once included him on the now deleted DarthWiki/SoBadItsHorrible page for web video, and he vandalized his entry so much that we [[ProperlyParanoid listed his name in binary to avoid him seeing it]] [[/note]] But in 2012 he was indicted for stalking a woman and [[RunForTheBorder fled Canada for Las Vegas and then Mexico]], and was never seen again. Allegedly, he resurfaced in a 2015 Skype call with some old fans that he was living in Hong Kong (which was seemingly confirmed in 2019 when he logged into his ancient Twitter account to show support for Hong Kong protestors) but he has not been seen in person since he fled the charges.

* Canadian film student Alexander "alexander4488" Badr, better known as the Game Dude, was one of the most infamous of the [[CausticCritic "angry video game reviewers"]] that were a dime a dozen in the early days of the site. At first, he was extremely open with his fans and his critics, even uploading some of his film school projects to his account. But in 2012 he was indicted for stalking a woman and [[RunForTheBorder fled Canada for Las Vegas and then Mexico]], and was never seen again. Allegedly, he resurfaced in a 2015 Skype call with some old fans that he was living in Hong Kong (which was seemingly confirmed in 2019 when he logged into his ancient Twitter account to show support for Hong Kong protestors) but he has not been seen in person since he fled the charges.

* Kevin Dunn, the long-time WWE executive and right hand to Vince [=McMahon=], keeps an extremely low profile. He does not use any social media nor does he make any public appearances or do interviews. One of his few appearances on [=WWF/E=] TV (possibly his only appearance), Wrestling/EricBischoff going out to the production truck and yelling at him "Kevin Dunn, what the hell was '''that'''?!?", is often shown on Website/{{Botchamania}} after a clip of a production fuckup. There are only a handful of pictures of him on the Internet and all known information about him comes from third-party sources. Considering that he's not very well-liked by either wrestling fans or anyone in the wrestling business besides his employer, this is probably a wise move.
* Prior to his retirement in 2020, Wrestling/TheUndertaker rarely did any interviews or public appearances and avoided social media for the most part (the few times anything about him popped up on social media, it usually came from his wife Wrestling/MichelleMcCool), likely to preserve the mystique of his character. He joined social media in the late 2010s and became much more open after retiring.

* Tord Larsson, a Norwegian artist and animator mostly known for his involvement in ''WebAnimation/{{Eddsworld}}'' became this shortly after his departure from the series in 2008, due to wanting to pursue his own artistic career and not simply be known for his involvement in the Flash series. Persistent and toxic fans who didn't respect or understand his decision to leave Eddsworld, in part due to neither him nor creator Edd Gould really explaining his leave, began to harass Tord, causing him to go off the grid. He was not only totally distant to fans but also the Eddsworld crew as he was only in contact with Gould and not his co-stars Matthew Hargreaves and Thomas Ridgwell. It should also be noted that the latter claimed that the harassment of Tord got so bad he stopped using his actual name on the internet. He later re-emerged following [[DiedDuringProduction Gould's passing]], releasing a video in which he clarified why he left and dispelling any rumors. For whatever reason this video along with the Youtube channel was deleted. To this day, Tord's whereabouts remain unknown, with him leaving behind lost or dead social media accounts.

* Tord Larsson, a Norwegian artist and animator mostly known for his involvement in ''WebAnimation/{{Eddsworld}}'' became this shortly after his departure from the series in 2008. Persistent and toxic fans who didn't respect or understand his decision to leave Eddsworld began to harass Tord, causing him to go off the grid. He later re-emerged following [[DiedDuringProduction Edd Gould's passing]], releasing a video in which he clarified why he left and dispelling any rumors. For whatever reason this video along with the Youtube channel was deleted, and to this day, Tord's whereabouts remain unknown with his remaining social media staying dormant.

[[AC:WebAnimation]]
* Tord Larsson, a Norwegian artist and animator mostly known for his involvement in ''WebAnimation/Eddworld'' became this shortly after his departure from the series in 2008. Persistent and toxic fans who didn't respect or understand his decision to leave Eddsworld began to harass Tord, causing him to go off the grid. He later re-emerged following [[DiedDuringProduction Edd Gould's passing]], releasing a video in which he clarified why he left and dispelling any rumors. For whatever reason this video along with the Youtube channel was deleted, and to this day, Tord's whereabouts remain unknown with his remaining social media staying dormant.

* Former Platform/YouTube celebrity Miss Hannah Minx left the Internet in late 2013, leaving all her profiles unattended. The crowd-funded film she was supposed to star in was never made. Allegedly, she got bored of her Japanophile persona, [[https://web.archive.org/https://www.reddit.com/r/MissHannahMinx/comments/37ai9x/hannah_is_married_with_children_now got married, had children]] and disappeared off the radar to raise her kids. Still it's surprising that, in this day and age, and with such an active fanbase, nobody managed to confirm this or find anything more about her.

* Christine Weston Chandler, creator of the infamous Sonichu comic, was once incredibly active on the Internet, with a huge archive of everything about her...until she was arrested in August 2021, where she only communicated via letters sent from her jail cell. After being released in spring 2023, her only public appearances have been regulated to a few camera grabs from others seeing her. She has no social media presence whatsoever, and her current whereabouts are unknown.

* Next to nothing is known about animator Naoyuki Yoshinaga (director of the ''Anime/{{Patlabor}}'' TV series and co-director of ''Anime/IrresponsibleCaptainTylor'', among various other things), although an interview with fellow ''Patlabor'' director Creator/MamoruOshii implies he died.

* Chris Sawyer, the creator and designer of the {{VideoGame/RollerCoaster Tycoon}} series reduced his involvement to an advisor role on the third game, and disappeared following the release of his [[SpiritualSuccessor Spiritual Successor]] to {{VideoGame/Transport Tycoon}}, "Chris Sawyer's Locomotion." He briefly returned to supervise mobile ports of the first two RTC games, and maintains ownership of the franchise alongside licensee {{Creator/Atari}}, but generally has no public presence to speak of.

* Chris Sawyer, the creator and designer of the {{VideoGame/RollerCoaster Tycoon}} series reduced his involvement to an advisor role on the third game, and disappeared following the release of his [[SpiritualSuccessor Spiritual Successor]] to {{VideoGame/Transport Tycoon}}, "Chris Sawyer's Locomotion." He briefly returned to supervise mobile ports of the first two RTC games, and maintains ownership of the franchise alongside licensee Creator/Atari, but generally has no public presence to speak of.

* Creator/ChrisSavino was fairly active on social media, and was known for his resume, which included work for studios like [[Creator/WaltDisneyAnimationUnits Disney]], Creator/CartoonNetwork and [[WesternAnimation/TheRenAndStimpyShow Spümcø]] before he was terminated from his own show on Creator/{{Nickelodeon}}, ''WesternAnimation/TheLoudHouse'', in 2017 for sexual harassment accusations. He deleted his social media accounts and vanished from the public eye afterwards, but resurfaced two years later with an [[https://www.chrissavinoauthor.com/ official website]], new stories, pilot ideas, published books, and a comic strip. Time will tell if he'll ever get another chance in the animation industry. In 2022, he and his new wife started a Website/YouTube channel and Instagram page titled "Christian Car Rides", which consist of videos recorded on their car while driving and talking about several subjects, including ''The Loud House''.

* It's not uncommon for many internet residing artists, especially those on sites such as Website/DeviantArt, to be active frequently on their respective profiles but prefer to be private about their personal lives. This largely stems from trolls who try to use that personal info against them (e.g., doxxing, blackmail, smear campaigns, etc.).

* Creator/StudioPixel's Daisuke Amaya. He created the legendary freeware game ''VideoGame/CaveStory'' that later got a commercial UpdatedReRelease on UsefulNotes/WiiWare, [[ToughActToFollow made a few other games]], [[http://blogs.vandal.net/12458/vm/13302725112007 gave a pair]] [[http://www.destructoid.com/cave-story-creator-talks-inspirations-sequel-and-more-168541.phtml of interviews]] full of [[ShrugOfGod Shrugs of God]], and... well, that's pretty much all we know about him.

* Creator/TobyFox, best known as the creator of ''{{VideoGame/Undertale}}'', has plenty of photos and videos that exist of him before then, Fox elected to stop showing his face for any public appearances/events after the release and surprise popularity of the aforementioned game, first taking a photo of himself in a cardboard Ice-E mask as a default image for online sources before settling on various depictions of [[AuthorAvatar the Annoying Dog]]. What's more, outside a couple of appearances in Annoying Dog costumes (one at an award show, the other in the trailer for the UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch port of ''Deltarune''[='s=] second chapter), he avoids showing up physically at all.

* Former Website/YouTube celebrity Miss Hannah Minx left the Internet in late 2013, leaving all her profiles unattended. The crowd-funded film she was supposed to star in was never made. Allegedly, she got bored of her Japanophile persona, [[https://web.archive.org/https://www.reddit.com/r/MissHannahMinx/comments/37ai9x/hannah_is_married_with_children_now got married, had children]] and disappeared off the radar to raise her kids. Still it's surprising that, in this day and age, and with such an active fanbase, nobody managed to confirm this or find anything more about her.

* Similar to the above, WebVideo/IHateEverything, also known as Alex, has also never shown his face in his videos and prefers to keep it that way. This later turned into a joke on his own videos, showing everything EXCEPT his face. That said, he does show his face regularly now on JAR Media, a Website/YouTube channel run by Alex and his friends.

* [[https://www.youtube.com/user/DisneyCollectorBR FunToys Collector Disney Toys Review]] (aka [=DisneyCollectorBR=]) boasts over 11 million subscribers and status as one of the richest and most-watched Website/YouTube channels. The only thing we know about the identity is that she's a Brazillian woman.

* Former Website/YouTube celebrity Miss Hannah Minx left the Internet in late 2013, leaving all her profiles unattended. The crowd-funded film she was supposed to star in was never made. Allegedly, she got bored of her Japanophile persona, [[https://www.reddit.com/r/MissHannahMinx/comments/37ai9x/hannah_is_married_with_children_now/ got married, had children]] and disappeared off the radar to raise her kids. Still it's surprising that, in this day and age, and with such an active fanbase, nobody managed to confirm this or find anything more about her.

* Na-Ga, main character designer of works like ''VisualNovel/LittleBusters'', ''Anime/AngelBeats'', and ''VisualNovel/SummerPockets''. They [[https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/interview/2016-05-31/the-world-biggest-visual-novels-with-visual-art/.102415 refused to appear on the official photos on Anime Central 2016.]]

* Creator/{{Tsukumizu}}, who is known for ''Manga/GirlsLastTour'' and ''Manga/ShimejiSimulation'', started out with his one-shot ''Franchise/TouhouProject'' {{doujinshi}} ''Webcomic/FlanWantsToDie'' and later broke out into the professional manga industry with ''Girls' Last Tour''. Not much is known about his real name or his true identity, as he is mostly known by his surname.
* Chiyomi "Nekojiru" Hashiguchi, whose [[ArtStyleDissonance simply drawn yet darkly cynical works]] inspired ''Anime/NekojiruGekijou'' and ''Anime/CatSoup'', was a highly reclusive person; she rarely left the house, disliked going to public spaces like coffee shops, and generally avoided conversations with others. One of the few people she ever got along with was her husband Hajime Yamano, who took over her characters after her death and continues to make new works with them.

* While Miki Yoshikawa of the ''Manga/YamadaKunAndTheSevenWitches'' and ''Manga/ACoupleOfCuckoos'' fame still occasionally makes appearances at public events and doesn't mind participating in videos and podcasts where you can hear her voice, she has refused to have her face publicized since the mid-2010s. Before that, she was an aversion as she has appeared on photo in several interview articles in her early days of drawing ''Yamada-kun''. Several aspects of her personal life, for example whether she has a partner and/or kids, are also unknown.

* Creator/NaokoTakeuchi, the creator of ''Manga/SailorMoon'' is a notorious recluse. She's done some interviews over the years and made a few public appearances here and there, but she's very shy, and nobody heard much from her for well over 15 years. We know she's married to Creator/YoshihiroTogashi (the creator of ''[=YuYu=] Hakusho'' and ''Manga/HunterXHunter''), but the identities of their two children are kept a closely-guarded secret. However, she's known to be heavily involved with ''Sailor Moon'' behind the scenes, but the extent of her involvement is regularly debated.[[note]]Ranging from ''total'' control over every piece of ''Sailor Moon'' merchandise in the world to only minor involvement and approvals.[[/note]]

** Theodor Kittelsen, another artist, had moved into the vicinity of Munch around 1910. Kittelsen, suffering from severe depression, rarely went outside at this point of his life, and his wife had to take all the errands for him. Inga Kittelsen then encountered Munch on a train, and Munch seemed to be interested in the fact that Kittelsen lived nearby - they were, in fact separated by an open field. "It is good to know Kittelsen lives nearby", Munch stated. "But he must never come and visit me". Kittelsen, when told this, agreed and said almost the same thing.
* Pop artist Lisa Frank (who drew the art featured on those notebooks with the rainbow-colored puppies, kittens, and unicorns) is very reclusive. She has done interviews with her face obscured and one of the few confirmed images of her online ''is her as a child''.
** Not quite. A few more photos of her [[https://thisistucson.com/tucsonlife/lisa-frank-is-hidden-in-viral-video-but-we-have-some-archive-photos-if-youre/article_fe81afd8-206b-11e7-a2b8-87f8596f82ee.html do exist]] but she became more camera shy as time went on and she became famous. Not helping matters are the numerous allegations of workplace abuse against her and her husband, which culminated in a bitter legal battle that massively shrank her business.

* The creator of ''Farlaine the Goblin'' is an interesting case. He does go to conventions and readers can contact him, but nobody knows ''what his name is'' because he is listed as "Anonymous" in book listings. The very few times he refers to himself, he uses "J" and nothing more. The creator said it because he wants people to focus entirely on the comic.
** After a while, though, J started using "Pug Grumble" as a pseudonym because he realized not having a name made it difficult for people to follow up on new books in the series, and also because more and more conventions started requiring some sort of name for use before being given a table space. His real name is still unknown, however.

* Creator/RobertCrumb, [[Main/UndergroundComics underground comics]] artist best known for ''ComicBook/FritzTheCat'', rarely made public appearances after he moved to a remote village in France with his wife and daughter in 1991. After the documentary ''Crumb'' was released in 1994 it won great acclaim but Robert Crumb found the new attention far too much to handle. He grew a beard so he wouldn't be recognized in public. However, he does gives interviews from time to time, especially as he gets older. He also does turn up at exhibitions of his work.
** His older brother Charles never left the house he and his mother shared in his adult years due to his severe mental illnesses, including his paranoia about a self described sexual attraction to younger boys. The footage in the aforementioned Crumb documentary is the only footage of him being interviewed and he committed suicide two years before the movie was released.

* Creator/JohnHughes, writer and/or director of such hits as ''Film/NationalLampoonsVacation'', ''Film/TheBreakfastClub'', ''Film/SixteenCandles'', ''Film/FerrisBuellersDayOff'', and ''Film/HomeAlone'' shunned the media and stopped directing his films after 1993 (his last screenwriting credit was 2008's ''Drillbit Taylor''), living in his beloved Chicago for the rest of his life until August 2009, when he went to Manhattan to see some relatives and died while walking on a sidewalk. It's been said by his colleagues that Hughes' decision was due to a combination of his belief that the stress of show business was what lead to his good friend Creator/JohnCandy's death and a desire to leave the Hollywood scene to ensure his kids won't become like the jerk bullies from his movies.
** [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don%27t_You_Forget_About_Me_(film) A documentary]] was even made by some Canadian filmmakers who tried to track him down.

* Creator/StanleyKubrick kept working right up until his death (completing the cut of ''Film/EyesWideShut'' only a couple of days before his fatal heart attack in 1999), but he granted no television interviews and made no public appearances after relocating to England in the 1960s. He did, however, do several interviews for several magazines (including [[http://www.rollingstone.com/culture/news/the-rolling-stone-interview-stanley-kubrick-in-1987-20110307 Rolling Stone]] and Playboy) and while he generally kept out of the public's eyes, he was still willing to speak with critics if asked and kept in contact with other producers and directors. According to his family, after the release of ''Eyes Wide Shut'', Kubrick fully intended to do a few television interviews to promote his film and to dispel some of the rumors about his personal life but died before he got the chance.
** His reclusive nature extended throughout the entertainment industry. He enjoyed talking on the phone to other filmmakers and artists, but a few (including Ridley Scott and Al Jorgensen) believed his calls to them were pranks and initially hung up on him.

* Prior to his retirement in 2020, Wrestling/TheUndertaker rarely did any interviews or public appearances and avoided social media for the most part (the few times anything about him popped up on social media, it usually came from his wife Wrestling/MichelleMcCool), likely to preserve the mystique of his character. He became much more open after retiring.