Shunned in the US, Scott returned to touring, playing in Europe. There, she was enthusiastically received, even performing for royalty, beginning 1951.

Scott intermittently returned to an America that was cautiously forgiving her blacklisting but forgetting about her music with few records in circulation. Though her commercial success waned, her maturing style garnered newfound niche respect.

Scott moved to a welcoming Paris in 1957 after separating from her husband and resumed acting and performing in nightclubs. Scott’s home regularly attracted fellow influential Black expatriates.

Scott was criticized for distant participation in the emerging Civil Rights Movement—financial struggles reinforced by a fading jazz scene delayed leaving Paris. Scott did endorse the Movement, orchestrating a demonstration at the US embassy backing the historic March on Washington. Upon return to the US, Scott promoted Black feminism.

Scott never regained her popularity, but she acted on television and performed jazz and occasionally pop.

Hazel Scott died in 1981, just months after getting her dream job of playing freely in her own jazz room.