Hollywood's Biggest Comeback Kids

Patrick Dempsey made a name for himself in the '80s with teen comedies like Can't Buy Me Love and Loverboy. However in the '90s, Dempsey's was mostly off the radar until he won a high-profile role in 2002's Sweet Home Alabama. In 2005, he shot to stardom when he became the lead in Grey's Anatomy. Since then Dr. McDreamy has been the crush of women all over the world. Recently, Dempsey starred in Transformers: Dark of the Moon.

Rob Lowe's breakthrough role was in the 1983 film The Outsiders. He then went on to star in St. Elmo's Fire, Class and About Last Night ... and cemented his role in the iconic "Brat Pack." From 1988 to 1992 he took a break from acting after a sex scandal with a 16 year old surfaced. Lowe's public image was damaged greatly. However in 1992, Lowe came back on the scene with the sleeper hit Wayne's World. Since then Lowe has starred in hit shows The West Wing, Brothers & Sisters and Parks and Recreations.

When Kirstie Alley was on Cheers, everybody knew her name. The brunette won an Emmy for her role on the sitcom. In 1989, Kirstie starred in Look Who's Talking with John Travolta. After Cheers ended in 1993, the actress didn't come back to TV until 1997 when she starred in Veronica's Closet. At this point in her life, Kirstie's weight was yoyoing and was the subject of tabloid fodder. After Veronica's Closet ended in 2000, Kirstie didn't have a major role until 2005 when she starred and created the show Fat Actress. In 2006, she famously revealed her bikini body on Oprah after losing 75 pounds. However she eventually gained the weight back. At age 60, she got a huge boost when she did Dancing with the Stars. After being a contestant on the hit show, she announced in September she had lost 100 pounds and weight from a size 14 to a 4. Her spin the dance floor light up her career and she and her partner Maksim Chmerkovskiy came in second. Kirstie is currently working on a new pilot for a new TV series.

John Travolta reached TV fame in 1975 when he starred as Vinnie Barbarino in Welcome Back Kotter. Soon the actor's star was too bright for the small screen and he went to star in smash hits Saturday Night Fever (1977) and Grease (1978).
However a series of box office and critical flops like Perfect
sidelined his career and suddenly he was no longer on Hollywood's
A-list. He stepped back into the spotlight with the Look Who's Talking
series, however the actor was not taken seriously. Then in 1995 all
that changed with his role as a hitman in Quentin Tarantino's Pulp
Fiction. The film earned him an Oscar nomination and Travolta once again
became the toast of Hollywood. He went on to star in big budget movies
like Face/Off and Primary Colors. He is slated to star in Oliver Stone's Savages in 2012.

In 1976, Sylvester Stallone scored a hit with the ultimate underdog story movie, Rocky, which he also wrote. In 1982, he starred as Rambo in First Blood and its three sequels earned another $725 million. However with lackluster films like Oscar, Stop or My Mom Will Shoot and Judge Dredd, Sylvester's career slowed down. In 2006, he went back and found new success with Rocky Balboa and then recently he starred in the blockbuster The Expendables, which earned over 275 million dollars. The Expendables 2 hits theaters in 2012.

Pop star Britney Spears shot to super stardomin 1999. However in 2007, Britney hit rock bottom with public meltdowns, a rocky divorce, losing custody of her children and reports of late night partying. Four years later, Britney's life has made a 360 degree turn. At 30 years old, Britney is dating her agent Jason Trawick, loving mother to sons Sean and Jayden and she's recently produced three Top 10 singles.

Paula Abdul was a cheerleader for the Los Angeles Lakers in the 1980s before scoring several pop hits in the late '80s and early '90s. However in the mid '90s her career was all but washed up and she and husband Emilio Estevez had divorced. Not until 2002 did Paula have her comeback when she became the oh-so-supportive judge on American Idol until she left in 2009. She also did a Bravo reality show Hey Paula and is now a judge on the hit show The X Factor with former Idol judge Simon Cowell.

From superstars to on the outs and back to A-listers, Hollywood's stars have their share of ups and downs. Take a look at Hollywood biggest comeback kids!