Winning an Oscar is no sure path to greater success. Whether it's poor choices, bad luck or something else, sure-thing status may elude performers -- at least for a time. Mo'Nique, who won a best supporting actress Oscar for 2009's "Precious," said she was "blackballed" after winning. She has a new movie, "Blackbird," due out in April.
Lionsgate
Halle Berry (shown here with Billy Bob Thornton) won a best actress Oscar for 2001's "Monster's Ball," but didn't exactly burn up the box office thereafter (except in the X-Men films). Her films since include "Cloud Atlas," "The Call," "Movie 43" and "Catwoman," for which she won a Razzie for worst actress. She came to accept it, too.
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Gwyneth Paltrow was Hollywood's It Girl after winning for 1998's "Shakespeare in Love." But that status didn't hold after such box office duds as "Bounce," "Possession" and "Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow." Paltrow is now a mainstay of the "Iron Man" films as Pepper Potts.
Miramax
Renee Zellweger won an Oscar for 2003's "Cold Mountain," hot off performances in "Bridget Jones' Diary" and "Chicago." But after "Mountain," her films included "Leatherheads," "New in Town" and "Case 39." After a five-year break, she's got two films scheduled for 2015.
Miramax
Charlize Theron went from her Oscar-winning turn in 2003's "Monster" to such fare as "Aeon Flux," "Battle in Seattle" and "A Million Ways to Die in the West." She did get good reviews for her turn in "Young Adult," however.
Sweetland Films
Mira Sorvino was just 27 when she won best supporting actress in Woody Allen's "Mighty Aphrodite." Then? Well, there was "Romy and Michele's High School Reunion," but also "Mimic," "The Replacement Killers," "WiseGirls" and "Gods and Generals." In recent years, Sorvino has been appearing in more indie films, as well as the occasional TV role.
Adrien Brody, who won an Oscar for 2002's "The Pianist," remains the youngest best actor winner in history. His choices since then have been ... unusual, including Peter Jackson's "King Kong," "Splice," "Predators" and three Wes Anderson films.
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Helen Hunt won an Oscar for 1997's "As Good As It Gets" (here with Jack Nicholson), but her record since is sparse, from a small part in "Cast Away" to "Dr. T and the Women," "The Case of the Jade Scorpion" and the little-seen "Every Day." She's done some directing, including episodes of "Californication" and "Revenge."
TriStar Pictures
Cuba Gooding Jr. won best supporting actor for making Tom Cruise show him the money in 1996's "Jerry Maguire." He then made some odd choices as a leading man, starring in 2002's "Boat Trip" and "Snow Dogs," among others. He's received raves, however, for his supporting performances in 2013's "The Butler" and 2014's "Selma."
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It took awhile for Marisa Tomei to find good roles after winning the Oscar for 1992's "My Cousin Vinny." Such films as "Four Rooms," "The Guru" and 2004's "Alfie" remake failed to click, although she earned a second Oscar nod for 2001's "In the Bedroom." She's been on a better streak recently, though, thanks to such films as "Before the Devil Knows Your Dead," "The Wrestler" and "Love Is Strange."
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It's probably unfair to include Mercedes Ruehl on this list because the actress, who won for 1991's "The Fisher King," has often preferred the stage to the screen. Still, the films she's been in since her Oscar, such as "Out of the Cold" and "Zeyda and the Hitman," have been little-seen at best.
Marcia Gay Harden is one performer who's not afraid of saying how disappointed she was after her Oscar (for 2000's "Pollock"). Yes, there was "Mystic River," but also "Welcome to Mooseport," "American Dreamz" and "The Hoax." She called the Oscar "disastrous on a professional level."
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Talk about an up-and-down career. Kevin Spacey's '90s films included "Seven," "The Usual Suspects," "L.A. Confidential" and his Oscar-winning turn in "American Beauty." Then came "Pay It Forward," "The Shipping News" and "K-PAX," among others. But Spacey today is back on top, thanks to his brilliance in Netflix's "House of Cards."
DreamWorks SKG
If anyone's had an unusual career, it's Nicolas Cage. After winning for "Leaving Las Vegas," he went the action route and had box office hits with "Con Air" and "Face/Off." But "8mm"? "Gone in Sixty Seconds"? The 2006 "Wicker Man" remake? Last year's "Left Behind"? What will he do next?
Lumiere Pictures
Forest Whitaker generally picked offbeat roles before winning for 2006's "The Last King of Scotland" -- his resume includes everything from "The Crying Game" to "Battlefield Earth" -- and he didn't change much thereafter, winning raves for "The Great Debaters" and "The Butler" and "huh?"s for "Winged Creatures" and "Repo Men."
Fox Searchlight Pictures
Reese Witherspoon is back, thanks to an Oscar nomination for "Wild" and a nice turn in Paul Thomas Anderson's "Inherent Vice." But there was a long stretch after her "Walk the Line" Oscar -- including "Rendition," "Four Christmases" and "This Means War" -- that made audiences wonder.
Fox 2000 Pictures
Kim Basinger proved she wasn't just a pretty face with an Oscar win for "L.A. Confidential," but subsequent choices like "The Door in the Floor," "Cellular" and "Charlie St. Cloud" didn't have audiences streaming to theaters. Her next film, "The Nice Guys," is due in 2016 and includes her "Confidential" co-star, Russell Crowe.
