Why Elvis Presley’s Co-Star Dolores Hart Suddenly Left Hollywood Behind

Dolores Hart was once one of Hollywood’s rising starlets. She is known as the woman to give Elvis Presley his first on-screen kiss in the 1957 film Loving You. And the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll wasn’t her only co-lead; she also worked alongside Marlon Brando, and was lauded to become the next Grace Kelly. Despite her Hollywood ambitions, she had a bigger calling: to serve God.

In 1962, five years after starring alongside Presley and other stars, Hart left Hollywood to become a nun. In 2016, the former star, now known as Mother Dolores Hart, celebrated 50 years of serving the Lord at the Abbey of Regina Laudis, an enclosed Benedictine monastery and working farm in Bethlehem, Conn. She released a memoir, The Ear of the Heart: An Actress’ Journey from Hollywood to Holy Vows, where she detailed her transition. Her story was also the subject of an Oscar-nominated short film on HBO, God Is the Bigger Elvis, released in 2012.

In 2021, she spoke with FOX News about her life. At the time she became a nun, she was engaged to Don Robinson. As a nun, Hart took a vow of lifelong celibacy, never able to marry or have children.  

“I think it’s important for anyone to understand that it was a dramatic change. It wasn’t something I planned on. I thought I would go through my time in Hollywood,” she told FOX. “However, this vocation showed me my life’s purpose. Then I started to ask myself, “What am I doing in Hollywood? Where is this going to take me?” The realization became clear and really, it’s a gift. I was so lucky. God called me.”

She discovered the Abbey after a friend suggested she attend a retreat there while on break from production. It was there that she discovered her calling. She admits that she was unsure about her marriage proposal and felt things were moving too quickly for her liking. Making the decision to become a nun wasn’t hard for her. She says the more she visited the Abbey, the more she felt like she’d found the person she was to marry, and that was God.

Her then-fiance turned out to be supportive of her decision. After initially being resistant to the breakup, he changed his tune when she explained her calling. “He then looked at me and said, “I’ve known it. I know this is what you want. I’m going to help you. I promise you that I will,’” she told FOX.

She believes Hollywood can be used for good. Now, she receives calls and emails from people seeking a deeper connection with God.