Even after that, she was in Mr. Deeds and that film was a hit. After that though, she kind of disappeared, showing up in a couple of indie movies and small roles in big movies (Star Trek, Black Swan).
https://www.reddit.com/r/movies/comments/ogsun9/did_the_saks_scandal_really_end_winona_ryders/
I think mostly yes, but she's doing fine in Stranger Things, and received a Golden Globe nomination, hope she can keep the momentum. Shame that her career was pretty much dead for 15 years after the scandal, she was very popular in the 90s and too talented to only star in minor roles.
It was probably the kind of thing where it wasn’t ended permanently, but the erratic public behavior and drug use probably made her someone that was risky to cast from an occupational perspective (will she act well, show up on time, not be on drugs) and definitely a PR problem.
Then you get forgotten a bit, and have to work to find someone who thinks the past is the past enough and is willing to give you a role that through skill and luck reboots your career.
While Mr. Deeds was released after her arrest the reality is it was filmed in the Spring of 2001, she wasn't arrested until December of 2001. So the producers had no clue she was a klepto. And yes, it probably tanked her career and got her knocked off some lists that producers might have shortlisted her on for movies. I doubt they cared whether she was a thief as much as it spoke of a mental problem and no one wants a nut job in a movie when their going off the rails could impact the production schedule. It probably also increased the cost of insurance in anything she was in as well. Producers are all about the money so when an actor starts acting flaky it makes them risky to the bottom line in lots of ways.
shareWinona Ryder always kinda struck me as an introvert and I imagine that did not endear people to her. When her career started to skid, she didn't exactly have directors/fellow thespians trying to go to bat for her.
You mean 2001, not 2021.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winona_Ryder
I don't know every actress says the roles dry up after their 20s. The shoplifting thing would coincide with her entering her 30s and having reached her peak demand. Compared to a person like Lindsay Lohan, Winona's drama was nothing.
shareI think she was tied to too many iconic films from the 80s and 90s. I think that kind of thing actually works against you as the world moves on. And it's pretty much specifically why she was picked for such a nostalgia laden show like Stranger Things.
shareHer career was stalled by several roles in which she made it clear she can't do a British accent. As others have said, she's recovered nicely. She's the only reason to watch Stranger Things.
shareI just think she stopped picking good roles sadly. I've seen acting talent bounce back from criminal stuff and people forgetting about it after a while as long as you are knocking great roles. Her peak really as a top star really was 1999's Girl Interrupted, so two years before the whole criminal thing. Something like Mr. Deeds would have been a hit with or without her as Adam Sadler was huge then.
She's had some good performances and films since like A Scanner Darkly, The Iceman and Black Swan. Wasn't until Stranger Things when she really got a role that put her back on the map.
But like most young actresses, her time came and went as a leading lady. She's still remembered fondly by many and she was a bit of pin up as that hipster/gothy type for many guys and girls. But her time in the spotlight just passed onto other young actresses.