Top 10 Celebrity Comebacks

There are a number of stars, like Meryl Streep and Brad Pitt, who seem to be consistently in the limelight, but others…well, they’ve had a different path to stardom. Just like most professionals, celebrities often take a break from their hectic lifestyle to regroup, lead a normal life or, as a result of an unfortunate event (or two), leave their career on the back burner. We wanted to celebrate those stars who hit it big, took some time off and are back in action—bigger than ever. Call it a comeback, because these 10 stars are shining brighter than ever.

Patrick Dempsey

Patrick Dempsey has always been a heartthrob. He won girls over with his 1989 performance as a not-so-typical college hunk in Loverboy and stayed on the same basic trajectory up until 2002’s Sweet Home Alabama. After disappearing for a couple of years, he landed the role as Dr. Derek “McDreamy” Shepherd on Grey’s Anatomy in 2005 and made his way back into the minds—and hearts—of fans again. From left to right: Photo by WireImage; Photo courtesy of ABC.

Paula Abdul

In the late ’80s and early ’90s, Paula Abdul’s hits like “Straight Up” and “Forever Your Girl” made her a household name. But after those breakthrough albums, we didn’t hear much from Abdul until her career picked up again in 2002 with the reality show American Idol, where she had a sometimes-controversial run as a judge until last year, when she was replaced by Ellen DeGeneres. Photos by Getty Images.

Kiefer Sutherland

After his three major hits in the 1980s—Stand by Me, The Lost Boys and Young Guns—we didn’t see much of Kiefer Sutherland. Though he had parts in a few memorable movies (Flatliners, A Few Good Men, A Time to Kill) it wasn’t until he landed on a different kind of screen—TV—in 2001 as the infamous Jack Bauer in the hit show 24 that he became a fixture on the red carpet again. From left to right: Photo courtesy of Warner Bros.; Photo courtesy of Fox.

Robert Downey Jr.

Robert Downey Jr. was widely praised by critics and fans in 1987 after he played a junkie in Less Than Zero and again in 1992’s biopic Chaplin–earning him an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor. After that, it seems he took a turn for the worse, and was arrested on numerous occasions for drug-related crimes. Once Downey sobered up, he starred in smaller films (Kiss Kiss Bang Bang and Zodiac), but it wasn’t until his turn as Tony Stark in Iron Man that he finally made it back to where he belongs. From left to right: Photo courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox; Photo courtesy of Marvel Entertainment.

Mickey Rourke

Hits like Body Heat, Year of the Dragon, 9½ Weeks and Angel Heart cemented Mickey Rourke’s status as a critically acclaimed actor in the 1980s. After those successes, Rourke earned a reputation as hard to work with, and in 1991 he chose to drop out of the Hollywood scene to focus on his boxing career. Though he continued taking small roles (Once Upon a Time in Mexico, Man on Fire), his “comeback movie” is often considered 2005’s Sin City, though he really blew audiences away in 2008’s The Wrestler. From left to right: Photo courtesy of FilmMagic; Photo by FilmStills.net/Retna Ltd.

Teri Hatcher

Now she stars in everyone’s favorite guilty pleasure, Desperate Housewives, but Teri Hatcher hasn’t always been on top. After minor parts in a number of TV shows, Hatcher finally landed a starring role in 1997 on Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman. That same year she got the coveted Bond girl role in Tomorrow Never Dies, but then we didn’t see much of her until 2004, when she started playing Susan Mayer. Photos by Getty Images.

Whitney Houston

With the release of her first album in 1985, Whitney Houston’s rise to fame began with hits like “You Give Good Love” and “Saving All My Love for You.” In 1992, Houston landed her first film role in The Bodyguard and gained an even wider fan base. Though she had a few popular songs after that, around 2000 her life kind of went downhill with drug allegations and drama in her personal life. She finally got back on track in 2007 when her greatest-hits album, The Ultimate Collection, was released. Photos courtesy of Amazon.com.

Neil Patrick Harris

After the 1989 to 1993 successful run of Doogie Howser, M.D., it was almost as if Neil Patrick Harris wasn’t in the business anymore. But his hilarious cameo in 2004’s Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle left fans wanting more, which became apparent when he landed a role in the sitcom How I Met Your Mother. Now on a roll, he’s earned three consecutive Best Supporting Actor Emmy nominations—and even hosted the 2009 Tony awards. From left to right: Photo by Retna; Photo courtesy of CBS Broadcasting.

Alec Baldwin In the 1980s and 1990s, Baldwin appeared in box office hits like Beetlejuice and The Hunt for Red October. And though he never quit acting, there weren’t many roles being offered to him after a vicious voice mail he left for his daughter was leaked to the press. Fortunately for viewers, his many appearances as the host of Saturday Night Live helped Tina Fey see his comic side and led to his official comeback role as Jack Donaghy in the hit show 30 Rock. From left to right: Photo courtesy of Warner Bros.; Photo by WireImage.

Kylie Minogue

Although her recent hit “Can’t Get You out of My Head” is probably still stuck in your head, this Australian singer’s career has faded in and out over the years. In 1987, she remade the popular hit “Locomotion,” but didn’t follow with anything significant and was all but forgotten about. Popping back in 2000 with “Spinning Around” and again in 2001 with the hit mentioned above, it looks like she’s back (again)—hopefully for good this time. From left to right: Photo by WireImage; Photo by Getty Images.

By Olivia Putnal