Entertainment
Candace Cameron Bure left LA because her family ‘didn’t feel safe anymore’
Candace Cameron Bure opened up about why she decided to leave Los Angeles.
The 48-year-old actress, who is starring in the new Christian drama “Unsung Hero,” previously revealed that she had moved away from Hollywood.
During an interview with Fox News Digital, Bure shared that security concerns played a major role in her decision.
“We didn’t feel safe anymore,” the former “Full House” star admitted. “And that was the biggest reason that we moved.”
“Not everyone in Hollywood lives behind guard gates, and we weren’t behind gates,” Bure explained.
CANDACE CAMERON BURE HELPED GUIDE DAUGHTER’S ACTING CAREER: ‘I’VE BEEN DOWN THIS PATH’
Bure recalled that her family had “quite a few problems over the years” with fans taking photos, hiding on their property and coming up to their door.
“It’s amazing what people feel they can do,” she said. “And wanting to be a part of your life in some way. Some of it is innocent, some of it wasn’t. But it’s quite unnerving when you’re just trying to be a person and live life, and you don’t know what’s around the corner.”
Last month, Bure shared a post on her Instagram Story, in which she wrote, “Many of you have asked, ‘Did you move?’ Yes.'”
“‘Why?’ Mostly for security reasons,” she continued. “Also, family dynamics have changed. The kids don’t live in Los Angeles anymore. Mama will go where they go! I travel a lot. The seasons of life.”
Bure and her husband, Valeri, 49, are parents to daughter Natasha, 25, and sons Lev, 24, and Maksim, 22. In a January interview with Fox News Digital, Bure shared how she and Valeri were navigating life as “empty-nesters.”
The “Fuller House” alum explained that the couple have remained close to their adult children due to the “strong relationships” the family built when they were younger.
“We cultivated those strong relationships as they were young and all throughout their years in their small youth and then teenage years,” Bure said. “And now that they’re adults … now’s the time where you get to be friends with your kids. And it’s pretty awesome, but it’s all in the foundation and the groundwork that we get to have this fruitful relationship as adults.”
In August 2023, Natasha announced she was moving from her “little bubble” in Los Angeles to Austin, Texas.
“I have so many friends that I really love, but I want to get out of my comfort zone and try something new,” she explained in a YouTube video.
WATCH: Candace Cameron Bure explains why her family left LA
While Bure didn’t previously reveal where she had moved after leaving L.A., she told Fox News Digital that she still lives in the Golden State.
‘There have been all kinds of stories as to where we moved, and none of them are right,” Bure said. “None of them. We didn’t move to Nashville. We didn’t move to Texas. We’re actually still in California. We just moved up north. We’re no longer in Los Angeles.”
While she is no longer a resident of the city, Bure was born and raised in L.A. The actress rose to fame at the age of 11 when she landed the role of Donna Jo “D.J.” Tanner on the hit ABC sitcom “Full House.”
While speaking with Fox News Digital, Bure credited her parents with helping her stay grounded when she was a child star.
“Even though I had a full-time job and we were on a show, I went home and still had to do chores and take out the trash and do homework and make sure grades were good,” she said. “All the things that we want our kids to do and help them learn to do.”
Bure also said that she was grateful to her parents for helping her avoid the pitfalls that other child stars have faced in Hollywood as she shared her reaction to the bombshell docuseries “Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV.”
The five-part Investigation Discovery series, which premiered last month, explored the toxic culture behind some of the Nickelodeon network’s most famous children’s shows of the 1990s and 2000s.
In the documentary, former child star Drake Bell revealed that he had been sexually abused when he was a minor by Nickelodeon voice coach and convicted sex offender Brian Peck.
Bure told Fox News Digital that she found the docuseries “really difficult to watch.”
“You realize that there are very different experiences in the entertainment industry,” she said. “Some are wonderful. I had a wonderful experience. Not only were my parents wonderful, but so were the people on the show.”
“We had good people around, but there’s bad people in the world, and it’s just so unfortunate to see that sometimes these kids got stuck with some bad people, and it’s awful to watch and really heartbreaking,” Bure continued.
“I feel so much for them and I feel for their parents because especially when you’re new to the industry and you don’t really know, you know, I think there are a lot of parents that want the best for their kids, but they believe everything that they’re being told and they don’t want to ruin it for their kids. And that’s the heartbreaking part, is that they get taken advantage of, too.”
The “Dancing With The Stars” alum urged caution while sharing her advice for people who are just starting their careers in the entertainment industry.
“I would first and foremost try to make sure that whoever they connect with is a trusted name, meaning they have a good reputation, that they talk to enough people and that person has a good reputation,” Bure said. “However, there are people, as we know, even from this documentary that had great reputation, that weren’t good people, when behind closed doors.
“So you gotta trust your instincts. You gotta trust your gut. And if something doesn’t feel right, if there feels like a red flag, you gotta just wave the white flag and, like, get out.”
WATCH: Candace Cameron Bure explains why her family left LA
Bure will next be seen in the upcoming movie “Unsung Hero,” which she also co-produced through her production company, Candy Rock Entertainment.
“Unsung Hero” is based on the real-life story of the Smallbone family, which produced two of contemporary Christian music’s most successful acts. The four-time Grammy Award-winning pop duo for King + Country consists of brothers Joel and Luke Smallbone, while their sister Rebecca Smallbone is internationally known as the Grammy-winning Christian contemporary singer Rebecca St. James.
In addition to starring in the role of his real-life father, Joel also wrote and directed “Unsung Hero” with Richard Ramsay.
Per a plot synopsis, “Unsung Hero” follows family patriarch David Smallbone (Joel), who moves his family from Australia to the U.S. in search of a brighter future after his music company collapses.
“With nothing more than their six children, their suitcases, and their love of music, David and his pregnant wife Helen (Daisy Betts) set out to rebuild their lives from the ground up,” the logline reads.
“Based on a remarkable true story, a mum’s faith stands against all odds; and inspires her husband and children to hold onto theirs.”
Bure played Kay Albright, who becomes the Smallbone family’s neighbor when they move to Nashville, Tennessee, and befriends them at church.
During her interview with Fox News Digital, Bure recalled that she prepared for the role of Kay by calling all of her “Southern friends.”
“I called my Georgia friends. I called my Alabama friends. I had to work on that accent,” she said with a laugh.
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“And I actually got to meet Kay, the real person I was playing. She was on set,” Bure continued. “She’s such a delight. She’s such a sweet, sweet woman. Really bubbly, really happy and had that big old red curly hair. It was great.”
Bure explained that she was able to relate to Kay as well as “so many other characters” in the movie.
“She was an answer to a lot of prayers for the Smallbone family,” Bure said of Kay. “And she listened and saw a need and she helped provide.”
“I want to be more like Kay in life,” she continued. “I hope that I am, but I’m like, ‘I want to be even more like her.’ So she was really inspiring.”
“And yet I can look at Helen, who is the mom in the movie, and I relate to her so much as a mom. Fighting for family, being supportive to her husband, even when things — when they looked so, so bleak and it was. And it’s difficult to support someone when it is just challenging on yourself,” Bure explained.
“I related to David, the dad, so much because he just had to eat humble pie for a really long time. He just couldn’t catch a break. It’s just a beautiful story to watch. I could also relate to Rebecca, who wanted to sing and wanted to share her talents and kind of getting missed and a little glossed over by her dad, at times not quite seeing what was right in front of him,” she added.
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“So anyway, this movie goes beyond the character that I’m playing. For me, it’s just such an incredible story and why I was so happy to be a part of it and be able to bring it to the big screen.”
WATCH: Candace Cameron Bure on relating to the characters in her new movie ‘Unsung Hero’
Bure also reflected on the message that she hopes audiences take away from watching “Unsung Hero.”
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“One of the best quotes in the movie for me, their grandfather says, ‘Your family isn’t in the way. Your family is the way,'” she said. “And there’s a quote in there from Mother Teresa that says, ‘If you want to change the world, go home and love your family.’ And I hope that that’s what everyone walks away from this movie feeling and thinking and being inspired to do.”
“Unsung Hero” will be available in theaters nationwide on Friday.