Dolores Hart was an actress who was bound for such stardom that many said she would be the next Grace Kelly. She gave Elvis Presley his first ever on-screen kiss, and she starred alongside such legendary stars as Marlon Brando and Montgomery Clift.

That’s why it shook Hollywood to it’s core when she left the entertainment industry for good to become a nun in 1962.

Nearly half a century later, Hart is the 82 year-old Mother Superior at her convent, and she still gets letters from fans from all over the world asking for her advice as to how they can get closer to God. Hart was recently asked by Fox News why she decided to leave Hollywood.

“I think it’s important for anyone to understand that it was a dramatic change,” she responded. “It wasn’t something I planned on. I thought I would go through my time in Hollywood. 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.”

Just because Hart left Hollywood, it does not mean that she stopped following the industry. In fact, she has remained a major movie buff, and she has some thoughts about the Hollywood of today.

“I think Hollywood belonged to our time as a way for young people to find an identity, to feel a sense of importance, a sense of being, a sense of belonging,” she said. “I think every generation has to go through their own experience in order to find themselves, to find God. I think Hollywood today belongs to the generations that are asking those very same questions, that yearning of finding their place in the world.”

“I’m so delighted to see how many people of color have found a very prestigious place in Hollywood,” Hart added. “This never happened in the ‘40s or ‘50s… Now there’s an opportunity for people of color to be properly represented. I think there’s an opportunity to do good in Hollywood.”

Finally, after nearly fifty years of being a nun, Hart was asked what advice she would give to someone who wants a closer relationship with God but doesn’t know where to start.

“To find God is to find love,” she explained. “To understand God is to understand love… People write to me every day about their problems and how they’re experiencing loss. We all have this beautiful need to find love and God is that. I take my letters very seriously and I never let anyone go without a response that’s appropriate and true to their lives.”

“I think we all need to walk down that path of self-discovery and truly understanding our purpose,” Hart concluded. “And part of doing that is coming together and sharing our experiences, both the joyful and sorrowful ones. And I truly believe it’s never too late. In all of my letters, I offer gratitude and prayer so that each individual can embark on their own personal journeys.”