
Just this past week,
HBO announced the addition of
Gretchen Mol to the cast of its upcoming series 'Boardwalk Empire,' starring
Steve Buscemi as Atlantic City gangster Nucky Thompson. With a string of respectable supporting roles, Mol's made a career out of not-quite making it, starting with her
famous 1998 'Vanity Fair' cover that asked the entirely premature question: "Is Gretchen Mol Hollywood's New It Girl?"
But though Mol didn't exactly fade into obscurity (she earned kudos for her eye-opening turn in the indie
'The Notorious Bettie Page' and co-starred in ABC's short-lived
'Life on Mars'), neither did she become the huge success the industry predicted she would be. What happened? Was it luck, timing, bad choices or simply a case of too much hype? Whatever that case, Mol's casting got us thinking about other "Almost It" girls that Hollywood left behind about as quickly as it tried to make them mega-stars.