Hollywood can make a star overnight and just as quickly turn its back on them.
For some actresses, promising careers were unfairly derailed by scandals, controversial comments, industry politics, or simply refusing to play by Hollywood’s rules.
Others found themselves caught in double standards that seemed to apply only to women. From an Oscar-winning star who found herself pushed aside to actresses who claim powerful figures quietly conspired to sabotage them, their stories reveal a darker side of the entertainment industry.
Some faced career setbacks after speaking out, while others struggled to recover from controversies that followed them for years.
Here are 11 prominent actresses whose career trajectories were disrupted, along with the circumstances surrounding their experiences.
#1 Ashley Judd
Ashley Judd made her acting debut with a guest role on Star Trek: The Next Generation in 1991 before landing her breakout role in Michael Mann’s Heat in 1995.
Over the next decade, Judd established herself as one of Hollywood’s most sought-after actresses, starring in hits including A Time to Kill (1996), Kiss the Girls (1997), and Double Jeopardy (1999).
However, her career momentum began to fade following the critical and commercial failure of the 2004 psychological thriller Twisted. Although Judd continued receiving acting offers, she was no longer a top choice for major studio productions.
“She was always one of my favorites! I wondered why (she) didn’t get as big as I expected!” one fan said of Judd’s change in fortune.
Judd would later accuse disgraced Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein of sabotaging her career.
In a 2015 interview with Variety, she revealed that a famous producer had summoned her to his hotel room multiple times during the filming of Kiss the Girls, allegedly under the pretense of discussing movie roles.
“I was s**ually harassed by one of our industry’s most famous, admired-slash-reviled bosses,” she said.
In October 2017, Judd named Weinstein in a New York Times report before filing a lawsuit against him in April 2018. She accused the producer of sabotaging her career after she refused his s**ual advances.
Judd reportedly accused Weinstein of spreading “baseless smears” about her, which she said contributed to her losing a role in Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy.
“I lost opportunity, I lost money, I lost status and prestige and power in my career as a direct result of having been s**ually harassed and rebuffing the s**ual harassment,” she said on Good Morning America in 2018.
While her specific lawsuit remained unresolved, Weinstein was arrested in May 2018 and convicted in February 2020.
Judd has largely shifted her focus from Hollywood to activism and politics. Her last prominent role came in the 2024 film Lazareth. However, she is poised to make a comeback with the upcoming indie film 21 Down.
Image source: Paramount Pictures, Arturo Holmes/Getty Images
#2 Katherine Heigl
After starting her career in the late 1990s, Katherine Heigl became one of Hollywood’s rising stars when she landed the role of Dr. Isobel “Izzie” Stevens in the hit medical drama Grey’s Anatomy in 2005.
In 2007, she won her first Emmy Award, taking home Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for her performance in the Shonda Rhimes-created series. That same year, she appeared in Judd Apatow’s Knocked Up, which grossed $219.9 million at the box office.
For a while, Heigl appeared poised for major success in both film and television. However, her rapid rise soon stalled as a series of controversial comments reportedly damaged her reputation within Hollywood.
In a highly publicized January 2008 interview with Vanity Fair, Heigl criticized her storyline in the fourth season of Grey’s Anatomy, describing the character’s affair as a “ratings ploy.”
In June, she publicly withdrew her name from the Emmy race, citing the material she had received as unworthy of consideration.
Heigl’s comments reportedly angered showrunner Shonda Rhimes, who later said Heigl’s role was reduced after the actress requested a lighter schedule to focus on her film career. She eventually exited the series midway through the sixth season.
In the aforementioned Vanity Fair interview, Heigl also criticized Knocked Up, calling the film “a little sexist,” with her comments receiving widespread media attention.
“Why is this how you’re portraying women? Ninety-eight percent of the time it was an amazing experience, but it was hard for me to love the movie,” she said.
Heigl’s comments not only strained her relationship with Apatow and co-star Seth Rogen but also earned her a reputation for being “difficult” to work with.
While she appeared in numerous rom-coms and TV shows during the 2010s, none matched the success of the two projects she had criticized.
In a 2021 interview with The Washington Post, Heigl pushed back against the reputation she had developed for being outspoken.
“I may have said a couple of things you didn’t like, but then that escalated to ‘she’s ungrateful,’ then that escalated to ‘she’s difficult,’ and that escalated to ‘she’s unprofessional,'” she said.
Heigl experienced a brief resurgence with roles in shows such as Suits and Firefly Lane, but she has reduced her screen appearances in recent years to focus on her family life.
Image source: ABC, Frazer Harrison/Getty Images
#3 Rose Mcgowan
Although she had already been working in Hollywood for several years, Rose McGowan’s breakthrough came with the 1996 slasher Scream.
She spent the rest of the 1990s playing supporting roles before becoming a household name as Paige Matthews on Charmed in the early 2000s. McGowan joined the cast ahead of season 4 and appeared in 112 episodes until the show’s conclusion in 2006.
Despite her character’s popularity, McGowan admitted that filming the series was not always pleasant. In her memoir Brave, the actress revealed that she found the “repetitive” nature of filming a TV show ran counter to her “natural rhythms,” which led to her falling sick.
“It was at times a very stressful environment. I started to have panic attacks because of everything I was pushing down,” she wrote.
McGowan continued acting but mostly appeared in independent films over the following decade. However, acting opportunities soon dried up, something McGowan addressed in a 2015 interview with BuzzFeed.
McGowan revealed that her talent agency dropped her after she tweeted about a casting note for a film that she found offensive. In the same interview, McGowan said she had hoped to continue working in films but believed she had been blacklisted.
“Someone blacklisted me in the industry, and I couldn’t get a job in movies,” she said.
Although McGowan refrained from naming anyone, many speculated she was referring to Harvey Weinstein.
In October 2017, The New York Times reported that McGowan was among the women who had received a settlement from Weinstein over an alleged s**ual as**ult in 1997.
The same month, McGowan publicly named Weinstein in a series of tweets accusing the producer of as**ulting her. She also accused Amazon Studios of abandoning a script it had previously purchased after she reported Weinstein’s alleged misconduct.
“I called my attorney & said I want to get my script back, but before I could, #2 @amazonstudios called to say my show was de*d,” she tweeted.
By 2018, McGowan had stopped acting and instead focused on documentaries and activism.
In an interview with The Guardian, she explained that her view of the film industry had changed since she first rose to fame.
“That town is really built on sickness. Very early on I looked at the power structure, the figureheads, the silence, the closed ranks. Nobody tells. It operates like a cult,” she said.
In 2020, McGowan moved to Mexico and became a permanent resident the following year. She later said she had no plans to return to the United States.
Image source: Paramount Pictures, Dave Benett/Getty Images
#4 Evan Rachel Wood
Evan Rachel Wood began her career as a child star, with 1997’s Practical Magic marking one of her earliest roles. She also gained recognition for roles in shows such as Once and Again and True Blood.
Wood rose to greater stardom with her career-defining role as Dolores Abernathy in the HBO sci-fi drama Westworld. The series aired from 2016 to 2022, with Wood earning two Emmy nominations for her performance.
During a 2016 interview to promote the series, Wood revealed that she had suffered physical, psychological, and s**ual ab*se in the past. While she did not name her ab*ser, the actress admitted she was as**ulted by a “significant other” while they were together.
“I don’t believe we live in a time where people can stay silent any longer. Not given the state our world is in with its blatant bigotry and sexism,” she told Rolling Stone.
Over the next few years, Wood remained vocal about her experiences, many of which echoed elements of her character’s story in Westworld.
It wasn’t until February 2021 that Wood publicly accused her former partner Marilyn Manson of grooming and ab*se, alleging that the behavior began when she was still a teenager.
“I was brainwashed and manipulated into submission. I am done living in fear of retaliation, slander, or blackmail,” she wrote in an Instagram post.
That same month, Wood said she had been threatened with the release of photographs that could ruin her career. However, no charges were filed against Manson.
In April 2026, Wood said she continued to face intimidation and harassment related to her allegations against the singer.
Despite the success of Westworld, Wood’s screen appearances have remained relatively limited in recent years.
Some have speculated that her allegations against Manson contributed to the downturn, particularly after Wood was not invited to reprise her role in Practical Magic 2.
One Reddit user argued that Wood was being “punished by Hollywood” over her allegations against Manson.
“It’s really obvious and messed up,” they added.
Image source: Warner Bros, Dia Dipasupil/WireImage
#5 Geena Davis
Geena Davis quickly emerged as a Hollywood star after making her film debut in Tootsie (1982), followed by commercial hits such as The Fly (1986) and Beetlejuice (1988).
By the end of the decade, she had already won a Best Supporting Actress Academy Award for the romantic drama The Accidental Tourist (1988).
Davis cemented her status as a leading lady with Thelma & Louise (1991), earning an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress. Over the next few years, she proved herself a bankable star until a string of poorly performing films significantly slowed her career momentum.
In 1995, Davis appeared in Cutthroat Island, an adventure film directed by her then-husband Renny Harlin. It was a critical and commercial failure, with reported losses of $147 million in inflation-adjusted terms.
In 1998, the film’s producer, Joel Michaels, attributed the box-office failure to a lack of audience interest in watching a female-led action film.
“I think the audience didn’t want to see a woman in a role that has traditionally been held by a man. What woman in the annals of film has been a consistent action star?” he said.
The film’s failure has often been cited as a factor in Davis’s career decline. Her next release, the 1996 thriller The Long Kiss Goodnight, was only a modest box-office performer and reinforced the perception that she was no longer a bankable star.
Davis, however, has disputed that explanation. Instead, she told The Times in 2022 that it had more to do with Hollywood’s treatment of actresses beyond 40.
“Comically, at 40. It was like I drove off a cliff. I’d heard about this very early on, this concept that after 40 the roles dry up. It didn’t worry me at all because I thought it wouldn’t happen to me,” she said.
During an appearance on the Allison Interviews podcast, Davis also discussed ageism in Hollywood. She revealed that she once lost a role after a leading man said she was too old to play his romantic interest, despite being 20 years younger.
Starting in 1996, Davis took a hiatus from acting and returned in 1999 with Stuart Little. Although she reprised her role in the film’s two sequels, Davis increasingly shifted her focus to television.
However, shows such as The Geena Davis Show and Commander in Chief were canceled after relatively short runs. Davis’s run of short-lived television projects has continued in recent years, with Netflix’s The Boroughs also being canceled after one season.
Image source: MGM Studios, Jesse Grant/Variety via Getty Images Jesse Grant/Getty Images for TCM
#6 Winona Ryder
Winona Ryder was just 15 when she made her film debut in the 1986 coming-of-age film Lucas. She rose to prominence with her leading role in the 1986 comedy Beetlejuice.
Her profile continued to rise throughout the 1990s, eventually earning Academy Award nominations for Best Supporting Actress and Best Actress for her performances in The Age of Innocence (1993) and Little Women (1994), respectively.
By the mid-2000s, however, Ryder had largely disappeared from mainstream films.
On December 12, 2001, the actress was arrested on shoplifting charges. She was accused of stealing $5,500 worth of designer clothes and accessories from a Saks Fifth Avenue department store in Beverly Hills, California.
During the trial, prosecutors also accused her of possessing dr*gs after multiple substances without valid prescriptions were found in her possession. However, those allegations were later dropped after Ryder said the substances had been prescribed to her as medical treatment.
While she was acquitted on the burglary charge, Ryder was eventually convicted of grand theft and shoplifting. She was sentenced to three years of probation and 480 hours of community service, along with fines and restitution.
The arrest deeply affected Ryder, who later said it came during a particularly difficult period in her life. She reflected on the period in a 2007 Vogue cover story, saying that prescription medication had clouded her judgment.
In a 2024 interview with Esquire, Ryder said that while she could not fully explain her actions, her disenchantment with Hollywood played a part. The Girl, Interrupted star also said the incident had a “giant effect” on her career.
“I remember being really scared during that time. It felt like there was a shift in the industry and the culture about what became acceptable and what became rewarded,” she added.
Ryder largely remained on hiatus from acting until she completed her probation in December 2005. After returning to acting in 2006, she largely stayed away from mainstream projects, apart from supporting roles in films such as 2009’s Star Trek.
Her career experienced a major resurgence with Stranger Things in 2016, which returned her to mainstream prominence.
“Congratulations on turning your life around! Thank God for your power to overcome your problems!” a fan said of her Hollywood comeback.
Image source: Warner Bros, Swan Gallet/WWD via Getty Images
#7 Elizabeth Berkley
Elizabeth Berkley debuted in 1986 but rose to fame as Jessie Spano in the series Saved by the Bell, which premiered in 1989. Her profile grew further through a recurring role on the hit series Baywatch.
Berkley’s television fame helped her transition to film, with her first leading role coming in 1995’s Showgirls. Despite conducting extensive research for her dancer character, her performance wasn’t well received. The film was also panned by critics and underperformed at the box office.
While it gained a cult following over the years, its failure largely limited Berkley’s career to independent films and television for the next few years.
In a 2020 interview with People, Berkley reflected on the backlash she received, saying she felt like a “pariah” in Hollywood because no one associated with the film spoke out in her defense.
“I was bullied. And I didn’t understand why I was being blamed. The job as an actor is to fulfill the vision of the director. And I did everything I was supposed to do,” she said.
In a 2025 interview, Berkley admitted that the film’s failure negatively affected her career, revealing she was unable to land any acting jobs in the aftermath.
“For a good two years, I wasn’t allowed to audition for things. The hardest part was being literally locked out of something I loved so much,” she told The Hollywood Reporter.
Although Showgirls limited her film opportunities, Berkley rebuilt her career through Broadway and television in the 2000s. She became a television regular with roles on shows such as CSI: Miami and The L Word.
In recent years, she has made guest appearances on several hit shows, including Cobra Kai and All’s Fair, while reprising her role as Jessie Spano in the 2020 revival of Saved by the Bell.
Image source: Ron Wolfson/Getty Images, Emma McIntyre/FilmMagic
#8 Melissa Barrera
Melissa Barrera began her career on Mexican television before transitioning to Hollywood. She gained recognition with her performance in the 2021 musical drama In the Heights.
Barrera became best known for playing Samantha “Sam” Carpenter in 2022’s Scream, the fifth installment in the iconic slasher franchise. She reprised her role for Scream VI in 2023, which became the franchise’s third-highest-grossing film.
In November 2023, Barrera was dropped from the then-upcoming Scream 7 over social media posts that criticized the Israeli government’s actions in Gaza.
Spyglass Media Group, the production company behind the Scream franchise, confirmed her firing and described the actress’s comments as antisemitic.
That same month, a spokesperson for the company told Variety that the company had “zero tolerance” for “antisemitism” and “hate speech,” interpreting Barrera’s social media posts as “false references” to gen**ide and ethnic cleansing.
Barrera’s exit sparked calls to boycott the seventh installment. Original director Christopher Landon also exited the project and later said he had received threatening messages over Barrera’s firing, despite having no control over the decision.
In a subsequent interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Barrera reflected on the controversy’s impact on her career.
“It was the darkest and hardest year of my life, and I had to reevaluate everything. There were times where I felt like my life was over,” she said.
Barrera explained that while she wasn’t completely out of work, she was only offered small parts.
She added, “[The message] was, like, ‘Oh, she probably doesn’t have work; she’ll say yes to anything.’”
Scream 7 was released in February 2026 to negative reviews but still became the franchise’s highest-grossing installment.
In May 2026, Barrera announced plans to launch her own production company. The 36-year-old also made her Broadway debut in Titanique, a musical parody of the 1997 film Titanic. However, she has yet to feature in a major studio project since her firing.
Image source: Paramount Pictures, TheStewartofNY/FilmMagic
#9 Sean Young
After her acting debut in 1980, Sean Young rose to fame as Rachel in the 1982 sci-fi film Blade Runner, opposite Harrison Ford.
Although she appeared poised for stardom, Young saw only moderate success with films such as No Way Out (1987) and Ace Ventura: Pet Detective (1994).
Her career was also marked by several missed opportunities, including her departure from Tim Burton’s Batman (1989) after an accident. By the 2000s, Young’s career had cooled, and she was appearing mostly in independent projects without returning to her early leading-lady status.
In a 2021 interview with The Daily Beast, Young claimed that her career was sabotaged by a handful of “powerful, terribly vindictive men.”
She alluded to a 1989 civil lawsuit filed against her by former co-star James Woods, claiming he had acted out of spite after she declined his romantic advances. Young made a similar claim about Blade Runner director Ridley Scott, alleging that he stopped hiring her after she refused to date him.
In the same interview, the actress spoke about clashes with director Oliver Stone and co-star Charlie Sheen.
“Ever since the movie business began, women have been treated as a commodity. There was always someone grabbing you, and I just ignored it,” she said.
She also recalled a 1992 incident involving Harvey Weinstein, claiming that she developed a bad reputation after rebuffing the producer. Young alleged that Weinstein exposed himself to her while they were working on Love Crimes.
“I’m really glad that I survived whatever I was going through as a famous actress in my 20s and early 30s,” she told People in 2023.
Image source: Warner Bros, Jesse Grant/Getty Images
#10 Mischa Barton
Starting her acting career at age 8, Mischa Barton earned praise for her stage roles in the mid-1990s. She made her film debut in the 1997 drama Lawn Dogs, earning critical acclaim before landing small but memorable roles in Notting Hill (1999) and The Sixth Sense (1999).
In the 2000s, she became a breakout star as Marissa Cooper in The O.C., which emerged as one of the most popular teen dramas of all time. Despite her character being written out in season 3, Barton had already been touted as Hollywood’s next big star.
However, Barton’s career momentum faded in the mid-2000s amid a series of personal and professional setbacks.
In 2007, Barton was arrested in Los Angeles for driving under the influence and without a license. She was also charged with possession of a controlled substance and sentenced to three years of unsupervised probation.
Barton described her arrest as a “low point” in her career. She was also put on a psychiatric hold in 2009, later admitting she had a “full-on breakdown.”
In a 2021 interview with E! News, Barton explained why she left her most popular role. She felt unprotected as a teenager on set with adults and was exhausted by the long hours.
“There were people on that set that were very mean to me. It wasn’t, like, the most ideal environment for a young, sensitive girl who’s also been thrust into stardom to have to put up with,” she said.
Barton also opened up about the pressure of teen stardom, saying unwanted paparazzi attention negatively affected her personal life. She also found it difficult to break free from the shadow of her most famous role.
“It was very hard in my 20s moving into my 30s to not get typecast as doing the same roles as The O.C.,” she told Hello! In 2026.
Despite the setbacks, Barton has continued acting, most recently appearing in the 2026 thriller Sleepwalker, which stars Hayden Panettiere.
Image source: Warner Bros, Felix Hörhager/picture alliance via Getty Images
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