Oscar Winners: Where Are They Now?

Oscar Winners: Where Are They Now?

Roberto Benigni
Won for: Best Actor, 'Life Is Beautiful' (1998)
Where Is He Now? Benigni followed 'Life' with another award-winning performance -- he earned a Worst Actor Razzie for his turn as a very (weird) adult 'Pinocchio.' Alas, his 2006 bid to return to 'Beautiful' form, with 'Tiger and the Snow,' evoked near-universal disdain.

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Kim Basinger
Won for: Best Supporting Actress, 'L.A. Confidential' (1997)
Where Is She Now? Recently, Basinger has been in the news mostly for her 2002 divorce from Alec Baldwin as well as their subsequent bitter custody disputes. Her next-highest-profile role was as a less-devoted mom, Eminem's in '8 Mile'; and she showed up as First Lady in 'The Sentinel.'

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Cuba Gooding Jr.
Won for: Best Supporting Actor, 'Jerry Maguire' (1996)
Where Is He Now? Taking Rod Tidwell's "Show me the money!" mantra to heart, he's since acted in such "masterpieces" as 'Chill Factor' and 'Boat Trip.' In 2007 he starred in Fred Savage's 'Daddy Day Camp' AND Ridley Scott's 'American Gangster.' That's range.

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Mira Sorvino
Won for: Best Supporting Actress, 'Mighty Aphrodite' (1995)
Where Is She Now? In classic Best Supporting Actress fashion, Sorvino's star faded soon after her surprise win. She was mostly relegated to TV movies like 'Covert One: The Hades Factor' (actual title) until coming back strong with a role in 2007's 'Reservation Road' and a prominent guest spot on 2008's post-Super Bowl episode of 'House.'

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Mercedes Ruehl
Won for: Best Supporting Actress, 'The Fisher King' (1991)
Where Is She Now? Ruehl was among the best women working in Hollywood in the early '90s, but unfortunately Oscar's honor was her pinnacle. Though 'The Minus Man' (1999) was her last major film (ouch), she's enjoyed a bit of a resurgence as Vince Chase's mom on HBO's 'Entourage.'

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Joe Pesci
Won for: Best Supporting Actor, 'Goodfellas' (1990)
Where Is He Now? Yeah, where is Joe Pesci? Everybody loves Joe Pesci. But after winning us over in Scorsese mob flicks, Pesci's career closed for business (see 'Gone Fishin''). His tiny, barely publicized appearance in Robert De Niro's 'The Good Shepherd' was his first film role in eight years.

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Marlee Matlin
Won for: Best Actress, 'Children of a Lesser God' (1986)
Where Is She Now? Although she never hit it big in film, TV has been kind to the hearing-impaired actress. She was recently kept busy with a hilarious recurring role on 'My Name Is Earl' and a saucy lesbian turn on 'The L Word.' Yep, deaf becomes her.

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F. Murray Abraham
Won for: Best Actor, 'Amadeus' (1984)
Where Is He Now? The poster boy for post-Oscar disappearing acts -- "F. Murray syndrome" has its own Wikipedia entry -- Abraham is still acting, mostly on the stage and in films tending toward the "big in Europe" variety: e.g., an Italian comedy whose U.S. title was 'Too Much Romance ... It's Time for Stuffed Peppers.

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Linda Hunt
Won for: Best Supporting Actress, 'The Year of Living Dangerously' (1983)
Where Is She Now? The only actor to win an Oscar for playing a member of the opposite sex, Hunt seems to prefer being heard, not seen: She voiced roles in Disney's 'Pocahontas' and HBO's 'Carnivale,' and since 1997 she's been the host of NPR's 'City Arts & Lectures.'

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Louis Gossett Jr.
Won for: Best Supporting Actor, 'An Officer and a Gentleman' (1982)
Where Is He Now? Gossett's been everywhere, you just have to have known where to look. He's regularly in theaters (like 'The Perfect Game'), on TV (like the animated 'Batman') and hopefully, in your DVD collection (they do make an 'Iron Eagle' box set, yes?).

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