#20. Mira Sorvino
It is hard to believe that after winning an Academy Award and a Golden Globe, Mira Sorvino just disappeared from the limelight. The sad truth is that she did nothing wrong for this to happen.
In 2017, she came forward as one of the victims of Harvey Weinstein and explained that after she rejected his advances, he badmouthed her all over Hollywood and prevented her from getting any work. Director Peter Jackson confirmed that Weinstein convinced him not to cast Sorvino.
#19. Mel Gibson
It is no surprise that Mel Gibson is on this list. What is actually surprising is that he has recently made a Hollywood comeback and is getting a good amount of work nowadays!
There was a time, however, when Gibson was cancelled for a series of awful things he was caught saying on tape, which included threats to his ex-girlfriend, antisemitic comments, and more. His career to a hit for more than a decade, but it seems as though Hollywood is giving him another chance. Do you think he deserves it?
#18. Kirk Cameron
Kirk Cameron is best known for his role in the '80s sitcom Growing Pains playing Mike Seaver. While he enjoyed plenty of fame in his teenager years, his career derailed when he became an adult.
He has found it virtually impossible to find work because of his radical religious views. The problem is that he has said many troubling things about homosexuality that do not fly in modern day Hollywood, and directors and actors do not want to be associated with him.
#17. Roseanne Barr
Roseanne Barr used to be so successful that she even had a show named after her. Roseanne was a beloved comedy that ran for several years and even got a Netflix reboot in 2018.
Unfortunately, the reboot was promptly canceled because of Barr's big mouth. She tweeted racist remarks that Netflix did not approve of and the show was canceled the very same day. Ever since then, she's been MIA.
#16. Tippi Hedren
Tippi Hedren went from fashion model to Alfred Hitchcock's muse in the '60s, starring in two of his movies: The Birds and Marnie. During filming of the latter, things between them got ugly.
According to Hedren, after she rejected Hitchcock's advances he was furious and refused to release her from her contract for two long years. This prevented her from getting any work and she was essentially shut out. Luckily, her career recovered after some years.
#15. Mo'Nique
Mo'Nique mostly worked as a comedian until her big break came with the film Precious, for which she got an Academy Award. She was at the top of her game at that time, but she quickly disappeared.
According to her, she was blackballed because she refused to participate in the movie's Oscar campaign, something that actors are expected to do for their films. Director Lee Daniels confirmed this and explained that her choice not to participate in the campaign harmed her relationship with Hollywood.
#14. Isaiah Washington
You may remember Isaiah Washington as one of the doctors on Grey's Anatomy, which was his last big role. His exit from the show was anything but friendly - in fact, he was fired from the show.
Washington was fired for saying a homophobic slur to co-star T.R. Knight not once, but twice. Ever since then he hasn't found roles as big as the one in Grey's, and it is no surprise that people don't want to work with him.
#13. Thora Birch
Does Thora Birch look familiar to you? That's because she was the little girl in Hocus Pocus, a movie that thousands of people religiously watch every Halloween (and which never gets old!).
Although she had a bright future ahead of her, her career came crashing down when her father, who was also her manager, threatened one of her co-stars in a Broadway production. She was fired and has only gotten minor roles here and there since then.
#12. Jim Caviezel
You may be surprised to see Jim Caviezel on this list because he has been getting plenty of work in the past decade. In fact, he was one of the lead actors in Person of Interest, which ran from 2011 to 2016. However, he didn't have it easy in Hollywood before the show.
His most famous role was in Passion of the Christ, which came with a price. While the film was a success, it was extremely controversial, and he was even warned beforehand about having trouble finding work afterward. It was not easy for him, but after a few years, his career recovered.
#11. Charlie Sheen
This one doesn't need much explaining, does it? In case you don't remember, Charlie Sheen was once the highest-paid actor on TV thanks to his role in Two and a Half Men. His career started going downhill when he demanded a 50% raise to the $1.8 million he was earning per episode.
His relationship with show co-creator Chuck Lorre deteriorated after that, and when Sheen started getting involved in scandals over his substance abuse, he was fired from the show and replaced with Ashton Kutcher. A series of scandals have prevented him from reviving his career.
#10. J.D. Salinger
J.D. Salinger is the famous author behind The Catcher in the Rye. While this book was extremely popular, many of his books were turned down by publishers because of his past.
Salinger fought in World War II and had to seek help in a mental hospital because of the things he witnessed. Sadly, there was a huge stigma back then surrounding mental health, and people thought he was just crazy, so his books were turned down.
#9. The Dixie Chicks
The Dixie Chicks were huge figures in the country music scene back in the day, but their career came crashing down just for one statement they made back in 2003. Although we love preaching about freedom of speech, it comes with a price.
The Dixie Chicks protested the Iraq War in a concert, which essentially got them canceled. Criticizing the President back then was a sure way to get their career destroyed and their songs were banned from radio stations. It took them 13 years to get their careers back and they are now doing pretty well.
#8. Vince Vaughn
There was a time when Vince Vaughn starred in every single comedy that was made, and this went on for years and years. Unfortunately, when you have such little range and essentially play the same character in every movie, your charm starts to wear off.
This caused him to get fewer jobs because Hollywood was looking for something different. Not only that, but certain controversial statements he made also made things worse. The final nail in the coffin was his attempted comeback as a dramatic actor instead of a comedian with HBO's True Detective, which was a flop.
#7. Josephine Baker
Josephine Baker is known for her illustrious career, which mostly took place in France. She appeared in many French movies and was also an activist, and although she became a French citizen in the '30s, she was actually born in America.
Sadly, she was exiled from the United States and wasn't even allowed to re-enter the country because he was a suspected Communist. It took her years to finally be able to re-enter the US, and her heart was always in France.
#6. Brendan Fraser
It is heartbreaking to learn the reason why Brendan Fraser was shut out of Hollywood. He was once a bona fide star with countless movies in his resumé, but then he just... disappeared. After several years of being away from the spotlight, he opened up about it in his memoir.
There, he wrote that Phillip Berk, former Hollywood Foreign Press Association president, assaulted him and, because Fraser refused his advanced and escaped, Berk blacklisted him and stopped him from getting roles. Not only that, but he fell into a depression and isolated himself from the world.
#5. Stacey Dash
Stacey Dash rose to fame thanks to the movie Clueless, but after a few years she started to get involved in politics. It wasn't her conservative views that got her cancelled but certain racial remarks and other controversial statements she made against transgender people.
But the biggest problem she's had to face was her domestic abuse arrest in 2019, which was the final nail in the coffin for her. A celebrity can survive one scandal or two, but you can't make a long-lasting career out of being controversial.
#4. Vanessa Williams
Vanessa Williams is doing just fine nowadays, but back in the '80s, her career took a huge hit that left her almost jobless for years. In 1984, Williams was crowned Miss America and was a rising star in the entertainment business.
Not long after she was crowned, however, photos of her in compromising positions were published by Penthouse magazine and she was forced to give up her crown. This would not be a scandal nowadays but back then it was huge. It was the lowest point in her life and it took her a lot to recover, but luckily she did.
#3. Rose McGowan
It is unfortunate that we have three people in the same circumstances on this list, but this is a big problem in Hollywood. Basically, the same thing that happened to Mira Sorvino happened to Rose McGowan.
The Charmed star was cancelled after she stood up against Harvey Weinstein. Director Robert Rodriguez confirmed that Weinstein pushed him not to cast her in Grindhouse and when he did, Weinstein did everything he could to make the movie flop. She spent a long time without any work because of him.
#2. Sondra Locke
Sondra Locke used to be a huge name in Hollywood. She had been nominated for an Academy Award and had a bright future ahead of her when it all came crashing down after her very public breakup with famed actor and director Clint Eastwood.
Eastwood had a lot of power in Hollywood and, according to Locke, he shut her out of all major studios in Hollywood. For about ten years, nobody would hire Locke. She actually had to sue him twice so that he would stop, and eventually, he did.
#1. Katherine Heigl
This list would not be complete without Katherine Heigl, the Grey's Anatomy star who was once the most sought-after actress in Hollywood. She enjoyed a few good years until rumors about her diva behavior started floating around.
She then famously turned down an Emmy nomination because she thought the writing of Grey's did not deserve it. She also bashed the movies she was in and of course, people did not want to hire her after that. You know what they say, don't bite the hand that feeds you!