Courtney Henggeler as Amanda LaRusso and Ralph Macchio as Daniel LaRusso in “Cobra Kai.”
Cobra Kai star Courtney Henggeler — who announced in March that she was quitting acting after 20 years, is giving a peek into her life now.
Henggeler made the announcement about leaving Hollywood in a March 30 Substack post, which partially reads, “After 20-plus years of fighting the good fight in the acting business, I hung up my gloves on Friday. I called my agents and told them I was tapping out. I no longer wanted to be a cog in the wheel of the machine.”
Henggeler played Daniel LaRusso’s (Ralph Macchio) wife and auto-dealership co-manager Amanda LaRusso in Cobra Kai, which completed its sixth and final season on Netflix in February.
“We survived off the crumbs,” Henggeler noted in her Substack post. “We filled our cup with the possibility; our mugs with delusion. Our plates were empty, but a golden goose hung over our heads. Today might be the day. Today might be the day I reach the golden goose … 20 plus years of this … I’m hungry.”
In addition to Cobra Kai, Henggeler’s acting resume includes a guest role as Missy Cooper, Sheldon Cooper’s (Jim Parsons) twin sister on CBS’ The Big Bang Theory in Season 1, Episode 15 in 2008. Henggeler reprised the role in 2018 in Season 11, Episode 24.
On Monday, two months to the day after her retirement announcement, Henggeler appeared on The Official Big Bang Theory Podcast to discuss the 2008 episode — titled The Pork Chop Indeterminacy — which she said marked her first major guest appearance in a TV show.
After discussing and hearing clips from her 2008 appearance on The Big Bang Theory, podcast host Jessica Radloff eventually asked Henggeler about her life after Cobra Kai.
“I took myself off all the socials. So, I’m like a hermit,” Henggeler told Radloff. “I bought a house in Connecticut and I live like a hermit in Connecticut. So, you can’t know anything. I’m very secretive.”
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – JULY 17: (L-R) Courtney Henggeler and Ralph Macchio attend the special … More
Courtney Henggeler Credits ‘Cobra Kai’ For Providing The Means To Quit Acting
Courtney Henggeler played Amanda LaRusso from the very beginning of Cobra Kai, which ran for two seasons from 2018-2019 on the now-defunct YouTube Red streaming service before it was purchased by Netflix in 2021. The series ran for four more seasons, through 2025.
Now, Henggeler is happy to be living in Connecticut and she credits her work on Cobra Kai with giving her the ability to do so.
“It’s very beautiful. It’s breathtaking [living in] the house that Cobra Kai built,” Henggeler told Jessica Radloff on The Official Big Bang Theory Podcast. “Thank God for that show because I would not be living my Connecticut dream if not.”
And best of all, Henggeler doesn’t miss being plugged into what’s going on all the time online.
“I don’t mess with social media anymore. I think I’m a happier person because of it. But I also don’t know what’s going on in the world. I feel very deaf to things right now,” Henggeler told Radloff. “So you can’t follow me. But if you can find where I live in Connecticut, can, like, look in my windows, I guess.”
Fans who miss seeing Henggeler on Cobra Kai can stream all six seasons of the series on Netflix.
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/timlammers/2025/07/02/cobra-kai-star-who-quit-hollywood-says-she-lives-like-a-hermit-now/