By Wonderwall.com Editors
8:13am PST, Jan 10, 2020
Hollywood is a fickle mistress: One big hit doesn't necessarily ensure a lifetime in the spotlight. In honor of the 92nd Annual Academy Awards — which air on Feb. 9, 2020 —Wonderwall.com is taking a look back at a few Oscar one-hit wonders… starting with Mo'Nique, who took home the Academy Award for best supporting actress for her performance in "Precious" in 2010. Keep reading to find out what she and more one-time-only Oscar winners are up to now…
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Mo'Nique lost more than 80 pounds after she won her Oscar in 2010. The mother of three — who's been married to third husband Sidney Hicks since 2006 — starred in "Blackbird" opposite Isaiah Washington in 2014 and "Almost Christmas" alongside Gabrielle Union and Danny Glover in 2016. She also scored her first Emmy nomination in 2015 for her work in the HBO made-for-TV movie "Bessie." In 2017, Mo'Nique claimed that Lee Daniels, Oprah Winfrey and Tyler Perry had been blackballing her ever since she declined to do much promotion for "Precious" in 2009. She made headlines again in 2018 when she called for a Netflix boycott over equal pay. "When Chris Rock and Dave Chappelle received their offers, they were $20 million and they were very public about the offers. When Amy Schumer initially received her offer, it was $11 million," Mo'Nique — who reportedly was only offered $500K by the streaming service for a stand-up special — said on "The View."
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Mira Sorvino took home the Academy Award for best supporting actress in 1996 for her work in "Mighty Aphrodite" — her first and only Oscar nomination.
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In 1998, Mira Sorvino ended her two-year relationship with director Quentin Tarantino. The Harvard grad went on to woo Olivier Martinez for four years before she wed actor Christopher Backus in 2004. They have four children together: daughters Mattea and Lucia and sons Johnny and Holden. Mira found success on television in 2014 with "Falling Skies" and "Intruders," but she's perhaps remembered best for her role in a film that came out two years after she won the Oscar: "Romy and Michele's High School Reunion." In October 2017, Mira — who, along with dozens of actresses, accused Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein of sexual harassment and misconduct early in her career — told The New Yorker she "felt iced out and that my rejection of Harvey had something to do with it." Director Peter Jackson then confirmed Mira's suspicions that she'd been blacklisted. "I recall [Harvey's company] Miramax telling us [that Mira and fellow Harvey accuser Ashley Judd] were a nightmare to work with and we should avoid them at all costs," he told Stuff, adding that in hindsight, he believes it was a "smear campaign." In 2018, Mira played Amy in the psychological thriller "Look Away," and in 2019, she worked on two movies, "Stuber" and "Beneath the Leaves."
First-time nominee Adrien Brody took home the Oscar for best actor for his performance in "The Pianist" during the 2003 Academy Awards.
Adrien Brody wooed Chris Hemsworth's future wife, Spanish actress Elsa Pataky, from 2006 to 2009 and then coupled up with model Lara Lieto in 2012. In 2019, he was romantically linked to Harvey Weinstein's ex-wife, Georgina Chapman. In 2014, the Oscar winner appeared in "The Grand Budapest Hotel" and starred as the titular magician in the History Channel's "Houdini" miniseries, for which he earned his first Emmy nomination in 2015. In 2017, he earned critical praise for his performance as a vengeful gangster on Season 4 of the hit British drama "Peaky Blinders." The following year, he starred in "Air Strike." Next up, Adrien is set to appear in "El Tonto" and "The French Dispatch."
Justin Henry was just 8 years old in 1980 when he scored his first and only Oscar nod for his performance as the child torn between Meryl Streep and Dustin Hoffman's dueling exes in "Kramer vs. Kramer."
Justin Henry went on to portray Samantha's obnoxious little brother Mike in "Sixteen Candles" before quietly stepping away from Hollywood. He earned a degree in psychology from Skidmore College and worked as a sales director at a marketing company. Justin is currently a platform director for AOL.
Keisha Castle-Hughes earned her first and only Oscar nomination in 2004. The Australia-born, New Zealand-raised star was just 13 when she got the best lead actress nomination for her performance in "Whale Rider." Charlize Theron won the Oscar that year for her performance in "Monster."
Keisha Castle-Hughes was just 17 in 2007 when she welcomed her first child, daughter Felicity-Amore. She and the baby's father, Bradley Hull, parted ways in 2010 after seven years together. Keisha, who struggles with bipolar disorder, wed writer Jonathan Morrison in 2013. The couple split three years later. The "Nativity Story" actress starred as Obara Sand on HBO's "Game of Thrones" and most recently appeared in 2018's "On the Ropes."
Cuba Gooding Jr. took home the best supporting actor Oscar in 1997 for his performance in "Jerry Maguire."
Cuba Gooding Jr.'s career has been quite varied since his Oscar win. He enjoyed some success with 1998's "What Dreams May Come" and 2000's "Men of Honor" but then faced some hard times during the aughts — like when he appeared in flops "Snow Dogs," "Boat Trip" and "Norbit." Cuba then got a lot of attention when he played the titular former football star on "The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story." He even scored an Emmy nomination for his work in the hit 2016 FX miniseries! Two years later, he starred in "Bayou Caviar." But his love life has been less successful: In January 2017, Cuba filed for divorce from wife Sarah, who'd previously filed for separation in 2014 after two decades of marriage and three kids together. In 2019, Cuba made headlines when he was hit with criminal charges for alleged sexual misconduct with multiple women. He has maintained his innocence since he was arrested in June 2019 in a related groping case.
Tatum O'Neal was just 10 years old when she took home the best supporting actress Oscar in 1974 for her work in "Paper Moon." She hasn't been recognized by the Academy since!
Tatum O'Neal romanced Michael Jackson and Leif Garrett before marrying tennis star John McEnroe in 1986. They have three children together — sons Kevin and Sean and daughter Emily — but it wasn't meant to be: They parted ways in 1992. In 2008, the former child star, who struggled with drug abuse throughout her life and even battled heroin addiction, was arrested for criminal possession of cocaine and crack. Tatum, who starred on "Rescue Me" from 2004 to 2011, eventually turned to reality TV, competing on "Dancing With the Stars" in 2006 and chronicling her attempts to patch up her relationship with her father, actor Ryan O'Neal, on "Ryan and Tatum: The O'Neals" in 2011. She made an appearance on Tori Spelling's reality show "True Tori" in 2014, and made headlines again when she briefly romanced Rosie O'Donnell in 2015. In 2018, she starred in "God's Not Dead: A Light in Darkness," the third film in the "God's Not Dead" trilogy.
Jennifer Hudson went on to star in "Sex and City" (the movie) and "The Secret Life of Bees" and enjoyed guest appearances on "Empire" and "Smash" after winning her Oscar but eventually shied away from the acting world. She chose to focus much more on her music career, releasing three albums over the past 10 years. She also joined both "The Voice UK" and "The Voice" as a coach in 2017. In 2019, she will star as Grizabella in the film adaption of "Cats." J.Hud, who also starred in "The Color Purple" on Broadway in 2015, split from longtime fiancé David Otunga, the father of her son, David Jr., in 2017.
Timothy Hutton scored his first and only Oscar nomination in 1981. He took home the Academy Award for best actor in a supporting role for his performance in "Ordinary People."
In 1986, Timothy Hutton wed actress Debra Winger, with whom he shares son Noah. They parted ways in 1988, and the Oscar winner went on to briefly romance Angelina Jolie and Uma Thurman before marrying for the second time. Timothy and wife No. 2, illustrator Aurore Giscard d'Estaing, called it quits in 2009. They have a son, Milo, together. Timothy appeared on "Leverage" from 2008 to 2012 and starred on ABC's "American Crime," for which he earned an Emmy nomination in 2015. In 2018, he appeared on the hit Netflix show "The Haunting of Hill House" and ABC's "How to Get Away with Murder."
Marlee Matlin claimed top honors during the 1987 Academy Awards. The first-time nominee took home the Oscar for best lead actress for her work in "Children of a Lesser God."
Marlee Matlin had a volatile romantic relationship with "Children of a Lesser God" co-star William Hurt and then romanced Rob Lowe, "MacGyver" star Richard Dean Anderson and writer-producer David E. Kelley before she wed police officer Kevin Grandalski in 1993. They have four children together: daughters Sarah and Isabelle and sons Brandon and Tyler. In her 2009 memoir "I'll Scream Later," Marlee opened up about her history with drug abuse — and revealed that she'd been molested as a child. She starred on Freeform's "Switched at Birth" from 2011 to 2017 and has appeared on Syfy's "The Magicians." In 2018, she appeared on "Quantico" and "Gone." Marlee has earned four Emmy nominations since 1994.
Cambodia-born actor Haing S. Ngor won the best supporting actor statue at the 1984 Academy Awards for his work in "The Killing Fields." The win was a major history-maker for the Oscars as Haing was only the second non-professional actor Oscar winner in history and also the second-ever acting prize winner of Asian descent.
Haing S. Ngor starred in a few other projects after his Oscar win — most notably "Heaven & Earth," "China Beach" and "My Life" with Nicole Kidman in 1993 — but his career was sadly cut short. The 55-year-old actor was murdered by a Los Angeles street gang during a robbery attempt in 1996.
In 1992, first-time nominee Mercedes Ruehl claimed the best supporting actress Oscar for her work in "The Fisher King."
Mercedes Ruehl continues acting, predominantly on television and on the stage: The Tony winner portrayed Vince's mother on "Entourage," appeared on several episodes of "Frasier" and was on "Power" in 2017. That same year, she starred as Ma in Harvey Fierstein's "Torch Song" on Broadway. In 1995, she and her longtime partner, artist David Geiser, adopted a son, Jake. The following year, Mercedes reunited with the son she gave up for adoption two decades earlier.
Joel Grey took home the Oscar for best supporting actor during the 1973 Academy Awards. The triple threat was honored for his work in the movie musical "Cabaret." It was his first and only nomination.
In 1982, Joel Grey parted ways with his wife of 24 years, Jo Wilder. They share two children: "Dirty Dancing" actress Jennifer Grey and son James, a chef. In January 2015, the Broadway star came out as a gay man. He appeared on a 2014 episode of "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" and directed "Fiddler on the Roof" for the National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene in 2018.
Linda Hunt made history with her 1984 Oscar win. The 4-foot-9 actress was the first and only performer to win an Academy Award while playing a (non-transgender) member of the opposite sex. She took home the best supporting actress trophy for her work in "The Year of Living Dangerously."
Since playing Chinese-Australian photographer Billy Kwan in "The Year of Living Dangerously," Linda Hunt's career has been relatively stable. She has starred in a host of movies and TV shows such as "Silverado," "Pocahontas," "Stranger Than Fiction" and "NCIS: Los Angeles" but has not recaptured the major recognition she had during her winning award season despite working regularly for decades. In 2018, she voiced Lady Proxima in "Solo: A Star Wars Story." Linda has also enjoyed a stable personal life: The actress has been with wife Karen Klein since 1978, whom she legally married in 2008.
Sandy Dennis achieved instant fame when she won the best supporting actress statue for her work in "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" at the 1967 Academy Awards. The actress is pictured here receiving a congratulatory kiss from her then-husband, Gerry Mulligan, after she received the news that she had won. Sandy was in New York filming "Sweet November" at the time and couldn't attend the show.
Sandy Dennis went on to star in a host of other projects after her Oscar win, most notably "The Out of Towners" in 1970 and "Up the Down Staircase" in 1967. The two-time Tony winner achieved quite a bit of critical success during her career but never reached the level of fame she once held. Sandy went on to divorce husband Gerry Mulligan in 1974 and dated live-in boyfriend Eric Roberts from 1980 to 1985. Her final role was in Sean Penn's directorial debut, "The Indian Runner," right before she died from ovarian cancer in 1992.
