Hollywood legend says she’s ‘close to the end’

Legendary actress Kim Novak is coming to terms with her own life in a new documentary.

The 92-year-old actress made a heartbreaking admission in her documentary “Kim Novak’s Vertigo,” which premiered at at the 82nd Venice Film Festival on Sept. 1. The film takes a look at Novak’s life and decades-long career.

“It’s not easy getting old,” Novak said in the film, per Parade.

“I’m feeling it’s close to the end,” she continued, adding, “I’ve been feeling the need to free something.”

A Chicago native who has worked with the likes of Jimmy Stewart and Frank Sinatra, Novak’s career began in 1954. She appeared in several high-profile films straight out the gate before earning her arguably most prominent part in Alfred Hitchcock’s 1958 movie “Vertigo.” Her accolades include two Golden Globe Awards, an Honorary Golden Bear, a Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

However, after about a decade in Hollywood, Novak moved to Oregon and became an artist in 1966.

“I had to leave to survive. It was a survival issue,” the actress told PEOPLE in 2021. “I lost a sense of who I truly was and what I stood for.”

Novak sporadically made movies through 1991. She formally retired in 1992. The actress is now viewing her documentary as a way to “wrap up” her life,” according to Variety.

“Like you would in a confessional, I expressed the things that mattered and meant something to my life,” she said.