Mira Sorvino Tears Up at 90s Con While Recalling How Harvey Weinstein 'Stifled' Her Career

Mira Sorvino got candid about her experiences in Hollywood at 90s Con this weekend.

On Sunday, Sorvino 56, appeared alongside Geena Davis and Susan Sarandon on a panel — hosted by PEOPLE's Editor-in-Chief Wendy Naugle — centered around each of the group's memorable work in the 1990s. During the conversation, the Romy and Michele's High School Reunion star opened up about the hardships she's faced in her career.

"When I was nominated versus won, there were clauses in my contracts that were present at the time that 'if she wins, she gets this...' But I definitely got more money because I made $10,000 for the film I won the Oscar for. I moved into a different echelon at that point," she said during the event held in Hartford, Connecticut.

"For me, it was definitely an upgrade in terms of scripts being offered, but I was basically not known before," she continued. "I mean, it was my 10th film, but I wasn't a household name. I had some press on a few different projects, like Quiz Show and Barcelona, but people didn't really know who I was. So it turned me through that Oscar season into a known actress rather than an unknown actress."

Sorvino, who earned her Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress in 1996 for her work in the movie Mighty Aphrodite, added: "For a time, I had a lot of wonderful offers and then, my career was stifled by Harvey Weinstein. So, I stopped doing [major] studio movies after 1998."

The actress apologized to the crowd as she began to tear up, noting that in 1998 she "rejected him the third time."

Weinstein, 70, was found guilty of rape and sexual assault in 2020. He received a 23-year sentence that has since increased by 16 years.

Sorvino previously came forward with allegations of sexual misconduct against Weinstein.

During Sunday's panel, she pointed to the repercussions the events had on her career. "I stopped being a viable movie actress," she said. "I still did indies and I still did television, but that was very hard."  That work, including her performance in Shining Vale on Starz, has been lauded by critics. 

Sorvino said she "didn't know at the time what was happening" to her career, but she was allegedly no longer getting offers for roles. "It became, you know, a sort of feeling like fate was just not going on my side but it was going to be just a matter of time 'till I was gonna get back my status," she said.

"But then, I got married. I became a mother," she continued. "I became a UN Goodwill Ambassador in Human Trafficking, [which has] just been a huge part of my life. It's a position I've held since 2009, officially. But yeah, my family. My family is my everything and I don't see my worth as being a famous actress. I see my worth as being a good person."

Piggybacking on Sorvino's comments, Sarandon said: "I don't think people talk enough about the people who facilitated the Harvey Weinsteins of the world that are still functioning that are equally responsible. that knew when they were sending people to a hotel, who didn't pay attention when someone complained."

"Sexualization is like a mainstay of this business. So it's very confusing to be, you know, a young girl and know that they're checking on your viability, according to how sexy you are. You know that right? You do know that there's something going on," Sarandon, 77, continued. "They call it a chemistry thing or whatever they want to call it. But that is part of what you're bringing to the table. Whether you like that or not, that exists. There was this big flourish of this whole thing and then Harvey Weinstein, thank God was punished against all odds. But I don't think we've done the cleanup afterwards that we should be doing."

In recent years, Sorvino nabbed roles in Sound of Freedom (2023), Lamborghini: The Man Behind the Legend (2022), After Ever After (2022) and Impeachment: American Crime Story (2021). She also recently appeared in the critically-acclaimed, yet, short-lived Starz series, Shining Vale.

"I also just want to say that thanks to the work of Geena [Davis]'s Institute. I believe the show that unfortunately just got canceled, but that I loved so much, that was Shining Vale with Courteney Cox and Greg Kinnear, that had a 50/50 crew," she shared. "It had [an] all-female writers room except for Jeff Astrof, our honorary woman, and it had all female directors. Every single episode for two seasons was directed by female directors. So, there are changes happening."

All three panelists and Oscar winners were part of some of the most beloved films from the '90s: Davis memorably starred in A League of Their Own (1992), Stuart Little (1999) and The Long Kiss Goodnight (1996). She won her Oscar in 1989 for her role in The Accidental Tourist. Sarandon's movies from that decade include Stepmom (1998), Little Women (1994) and Dead Man Walking (1995), for which she won Best Actress in a Leading Role at the 68th Oscars.

Of course, Davis and Sarandon remain well known for their immensely popular 1991 movie Thelma & Louise, directed by Ridley Scott. The film featured the stars as two women who take on a road trip that devolves into a crime spree.

Both Davis and Sarandon received Oscar nominations in the Best Actress category for those roles, and the movie was entered into the Library of Congress' National Film Registry in 2016. Thelma & Louise also starred Harvey Keitel and Michael Madsen. It is also remembered as featuring one of Brad Pitt's early standout performances.

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This March's edition of 90s Con featured cast reunions from shows like 7th Heaven, Boy Meets World, Dawson’s Creek, Full House and Step by Step, as well as Davis and Sarandon's Thelma & Louise reunion.

If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, please contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) or go to rainn.org.