Why didn’t Paula Patton's career take off after the success of Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol (2011)?

https://www.quora.com/Why-didn-t-Paula-Pattons-career-take-off-after-the-success-of-Mission-Impossible-Ghost-Protocol-2011/answer/Jon-Mixon-1

Multiple reasons, including:

Her well-publicized domestic turmoil with her former husband, singer Robin Thicke - Basically both of their careers suffered serious damage from their divorce and the allegations of abuse, so Patton's appeal as a performer dimmed.

She's never been a box office draw on her own - No one was flocking to films starring Paula Patton before Ghost Protocol, and no one did afterward. Patton wasn't bringing home the bacon.

The MI series is about its star, Tom Cruise, not his costars - The purpose of the MI franchise of films is to showcase Cruise, not to enhance the careers of his fellow performers. Paula Patton was “scenery" in the film, not someone who was hired to be a substantial asset.

She was “too old" - Patton was 34–35 when Ghost Protocol was released. While that's not very old in normal work environments, it's virtual ancient in Hollywood, especially for a female performer. Patton was close to the age range where female actors transition from romantic interests to motherly/grandmotherly roles and that rarely comes with the added benefits of fame and box office success.

Hollywood is pretty racist - Patton, being a biracial woman, is difficult for a lazy and somewhere racist Hollywood system to categorize. Like Jessica Beale, Lisa Bonet, and Thandie Newton (who was also an MI alum) before her, Patton has had extreme amounts of difficulty finding roles that would have boosted her career. While some of that might be blamed on her limited range, racism has also played a significant role.

Again, Patton is 44, biracial in Hollywood, and has a well-documented history of personal turmoil. Ghost Protocol's success was never going to assist her career with so many other things working against it.