It is never easy to become famous in show business - and it is even more challenging to remain relevant in this competitive industry. Over the last decades, we have seen great talents vanish, and struggle to get new roles and release a new hit. However, some stars have made remarkable comebacks and proved that the best of their career was yet to come.
Robert Downey Jr. is an excellent example that some people just deserve a second chance. But he is not alone. Here are some beloved celebrities who made a comeback, and we hope that they stick around!
10 Robert Downey Jr.
Robert Downey Jr. was extremely popular during the 80s and had many teen movies on his portfolio. Unlike most teenage stars, his career was just starting, and he achieved more things as the years went by. In 1993, he received an Oscar nomination for Chaplin, and it seemed that nothing could stop him. However, he had problems with drugs and was arrested many times between 1996 and 2001.
Most people thought his career was over, but he proved everyone wrong when he was cast as Iron Man in 2008. It seems that the best was yet to come.
9 Mayim Bialik
Mayim Bialik got her breakout role when she was a teenager and became the star of Blossom during five seasons. After the show ended, Bialik focused on her studies and got a Ph.D. in neuroscience, and acting was not her priority.
Although she got occasional roles, nothing seemed to give her the popularity she had on Blossom. But things changed in 2010 when she was cast to play the character of Amy in The Big Bang Theory.
8 Ed O'Neil
During the 90s, Ed O'Neil was one of the most famous faces on television thanks to his role as Ted Bundy in Married...With Children during eleven seasons. After the end of the show, in 1997, he struggled to get new parts, and we had the feeling that Ed O'Neil was forgotten. However, he would prove that his career was not over yet.
In 2009, Ed O'Neil was cast as the Modern Family patriarch, and he won America's heart all over again.
7 Britney Spears
Britney Spears was the pop princess and one of the most famous faces in the music industry during the late 90s and early 2000s. She had a high-profile relationship, was earning millions and collecting prizes. Unfortunately, Britney had a public breakdown in one of the saddest moments of pop culture and was later diagnosed with bipolar disorder.
Even the most faithful fans were concerned she had stepped out of the spotlight forever, but she made a remarkable comeback. Britney Spears released two albums (the last one in 2016) since then had a long-standing residency in Vegas.
6 Neil Patrick Harris
Neil Patrick Harris was the star of Doogie Howser, M.D. during the 80s and Harris plain the main character, a teenage doctor, until 1993. His career started to slow down, and it seemed he would be like many other teen actors that struggle to get new roles when they grow up and end up following another career.
However, he appeared as himself in Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle in 2004, and people loved it. The following year, he was cast as Barney in How I Met Your Mother and had his comeback. He also reached a new public that didn't know him from Doogie Howser, M.D.
5 Alexis Bledel
Alexis Bledel became famous thanks to Gilmore Girls during its seven seasons. In the meantime, she also starred in some movies like the successful The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. But it seemed that people would always remember her as Rory Gilmore, and she struggled to have relevant roles after the show.
Things changed slowly, and she got a small part on Mad Men. She was there for just a few episodes, but it was enough to see how she evolved as an actress. In 2017, she made her comeback in The Handmaid's Tale, and she is flawless.
4 Jason Bateman
Jason Bateman is another name on this list who became famous thanks to teen movies like Teen Wolf, but his career slowed down in the 90s. It is not that he hasn't worked, but his roles never got critics' and fans' attention.
Things changed in the 2000s when he was cast in Arrested Development. Since then, Jason Bateman's career has been stable, and we have seen him in huge successes like Horrible Bosses.
3 Mandy Moore
Mandy Moore was a perfect star when she appeared in late 1999. She became a household name thanks to the songs Candy and I Want To Be With You. She was also the star of A Walk to Remember, one of the most popular romantic movies in the last decade, so it was a surprise when Mandy Moore disappeared from the spotlight. She was then cast to be the voice of Rapunzel in Tangled, and even that wasn't enough to make her have a comeback.
However, This Is Us took her career to a whole new level. Moore plays Rebecca in three different phases of her life and also has the chance to sing. Thanks to the show, she received a Golden Globe nomination, and we hope she is back for good!
2 Winona Ryder
Winona Ryder had it all in the 90s. She was one of Tim Burton's favorite actresses to work with, dated Johnny Depp, who was just as popular as she was, and had a prominent career ahead of her. However, she was arrested in 2001 for shoplifting, and the media could not forgive her. The actress decided to take a break from Hollywood, and later she struggled to have new roles.
She made her comeback with Stranger Things, a show that is all about the 80s. Ryder was a perfect choice and is another name on this list that we hope have other relevant roles when the show ends.
1 Robin Wright
Robin Wright wrote her name into the movie industry's history when she starred in classics The Princess Bride and Forrest Gump. Sadly, those films were not enough to guarantee that she would have relevant roles, and Wright struggled for two decades.
It was only when she appeared in House of Cards that the industry remembered how amazing she is! The actress also got a supporting role in Wonder Woman.
