Actress Alicia Silverstone was once the prom queen of a generation, as was the well-meaning
rich girl, Cher, in Clueless, and the video girl in Aerosmith’s "Cryin."
With her blonde locks, doe-eyed gaze, and adorable grin, Silverstone seemed positioned
to be Hollywood's next big thing.
So why did Silverstone's thermonuclear career cool?
Here’s the real reason we don't hear about Alicia Silverstone anymore.
The Batman curse
In 1997, Silverstone played Batgirl in Batman & Robin, but the film was considered "a curse"
that damaged the careers of everyone associated with it, including Chris O'Donnell and director
Joel Schumacher.
The film received scathing reviews, and while it was eventually profitable, it was considered
a bomb.
It was the beginning of the end for Silverstone, who won the Razzie for Worst Supporting Actress.
It was a bad break, but it wasn't the main reason her success in Hollywood took a dive.
She never wanted to be a star
At the end of the day, Silverstone is more of an indie girl.
All that showbiz pressure that came after Clueless just wasn't her thing.
In 2015, Silverstone told The Guardian,
"I was just a theater kid.
I never wanted to be in movies or TV.
There's no support or schooling on what do you do when you suddenly found yourself famous
as a young woman.
It was just too much for me."
Without the drive to hurl herself toward the top of the Hollywood food chain or navigate
the industry's brutal games, Silverstone pretty much let the other starlets cruise past her.
Saving the world
The actress also told The Guardian that she preferred to use her fame for good rather
than chasing high-profile roles or competing with a new crop of actresses.
"I decided I would use this to spotlight for something that is very meaningful to me.
I went on a quest to change the world, to make things better—for children, for the
earth, for animals.
I wasn't paying attention to my career, I was paying attention to something else."
She eventually realized that she could act and be charitable at the same time, but perhaps
that realization came a bit too late, and at the cost of an A-list career, saying,
"There's a lot more to it that obviously is personal and private.
But that's where I'm at.
I can happily have a husband and a child and a life, and I get to contribute in a really
meaningful way to the world and I also get to be an actress.
And that's a wonderful thing to be."
Left of center
Silverstone’s values have always been left-leaning, which doesn’t always cater to the mainstream.
She was widely ridiculed for a video on her YouTube channel that showed her feeding pre-chewed
food to her son, Bear.
Later, there were revelations about her eating her own placenta, in pill form.
Though Hollywood often embraces oddities, Silverstone's crunchiness may have been too
much to digest.
"I love my dog so much and I slept with my dog and kissed my dog.
And I just had to wonder why I was choosing to love him so much, but these other animals
I was cutting them up and eating them.
Her animal rights activism remains one of her life's passions, which she expressed in
her book, The Kind Diet.
"I'm Alicia Silverstone and I'm a vegetarian.
There's nothing in the world that changed me as much as this."
While so many fads are co-opted by the A-list, Silverstone has remained steadfastly committed
to her core beliefs, and that makes her a bit of an anomaly in a Tinseltown.
"Now you go in and actually try to help sick animals."
"I went there for a very specific cause, it's called sloppy trunk syndrome."
"Sloppy trunk syndrome?"
"Yeah, it's not funny."
"You know I had that once."
She was never a celebutante
Silverstone never cultivated a reputation as a girl who partied, and that kept her name
out of the headlines, which can be both a blessing and a curse.
It indicated that she was mature and serious, but it also meant she flew under the radar,
which isn't helpful when competing with so many peers for quality roles.
Silverstone resurfaced on the red carpet at the 2016 Tribeca Film Festival to promote
King Cobra, where she has a leading role alongside James Franco, Molly Ringwald, and Christian
Slater.
So, it may be too soon to count Silverstone out just yet.
"As if!"
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