Hollywood Actresses Who Fell Victim To Oscar Curse

With Oscars just around the corner it won't be unusual if you hear/read people talking about 'Oscar curse' - an apparent, mysterious jinx that has plagued winners of the Academy Award. Especially the female winners!
Well, this may be a mere coincidence or a curse but the numbers do have something to say. Who would have thought that there could be something as existential as an Oscar curse had it not been for researchers - Michael Jensen and Heeyon Kim - who actually vested time in analysing the negative consequences of a positive status shifts, the shift being winning the golden statuette.
Controversies that rocked the Oscars
While we may think after winning Hollywood's biggest award the winner will have everything going for them, sure professionally but sadly that isn't valid for the personal lives. According to researchers at the University of Toronto, Canada the female winners of the top acting award (Best Actress and Supporting Actress) have a 63 per cent chance of having a shorter marriage(or relationship) than non winners. Cher who won the Oscars for Best Actress for her role in Moonstruck in 1988 was no longer love struck a year later when she split from boyfriend, Rob Camilletti. Helen Hunt, Sandra Bullock, Hillary Swank and Jennifer Lawrence are the few notable names who became a single lady after taking home the Oscars, having their professional and personal lives go the opposite direction.
While we debate whether it's just a coincidence or a curse, here take a look at the top actresses who fell victim to the 'Oscar Curse'
Claudette Colbert (1935, It Happened One Night) Divorced her husband actor Norman Foster in August 1935 ' six months after winning Oscars for Best Actress for It Happened One Night.
Barbra Streisand (1969, Funny Girl) Then 26, Barbra Streisand won her first Oscar for her performance in Funny Girl. And two years later her high profile marriage to actor Elliott Gould came to an end. #Funfact Streisand was the first and the only actress who had to split her Oscar award with another nominee cum winner - Katharine Hepburn.
Liza Minnelli (1973, Cabaret) Liza Minnelli split with husband Peter Allen in 1974, a year after celebrating her Best Actress Oscar for the musical Cabaret.
Cher (1988, Moonstruck) Cher won the Oscars for Best Actress for her role in Moonstruck in 1988, but she was no longer love struck a year later when she split from boyfriend.
Emma Thompson (1993, Howards End) In September 1995, Thompson and husband husband Kenneth Branagh announced announced their separation, 2 years after Thompson won the Best Actress Oscar for Howards End.
Helen Hunt (1998, As Good as It Gets) Helen Hunt married husband Hank Azaria in 1999, a year after she won the Best Actress Oscar for As Good As It Gets. But their marriage couldn't last long, it was over within 18 months.
Gwyneth Paltrow (1999, Shakespeare in Love) After an on-off three-year relationship with actor Ben Affleck (1997-2000), the couple eventually broke up in October 2000 - 19 months after Paltrow picked up Oscars for Best Actress for Shakespeare in Love.
Hilary Swank (2005, Million Dollar Baby) They say Swank's marriage to actor Chad Lowe survived the Oscar curse, the first time, when she won Best Actress for Boys Don't Cry in 2000. But sadly the curse followed when the couple separated two years after Swank's 2005 win for Million Dollar Baby.
Angelina Jolie (2000 Girl, Interrupted) Jolie separated with second husband - actor Billy Bob Thornton in June 2002 ' 2 years after she won the Oscar for her supporting role in Girl Interrupted.
Julia Roberts (2001, Erin Brockovich) Roberts' romantic relationship with actor Benjamin Bratt could only last a few months after her Best Actress Oscar win for Erin Brockovich in March 2001
Halle Berry (2002 Monster's Ball) Within months of winning the 2002 Best Actress award for her performance in Monster's Ball, her then-husband Eric Benet entered rehab clinic to treat sex addiction which was followed by separation in the early October of 2003 - a year after the Oscar win. They eventually divorced in 2005.
Charlize Theron (2004, Monster) The Mad Max: Fury Road actress and longtime boyfriend Stuart Townsend called it quits in 2010 after 5 years of her winning Best Actress Oscar for her performance in Monster in 2004.
Ren'e Zellweger (2004, Cold Mountain) Zellweger parted ways with boyfriend Jack White within a year of winning an Oscar for her performance in Cold Mountain.
Reese Witherspoon (2006, Walk the Line) Six months into winning the Best Actress Oscar for her performance in Walk The Line, Reese Witherspoon and her then-husband Ryan Philippe announced their separation. While the divorce was finalized in 2007.
Jennifer Hudson (2007, Dreamgirls) Rumoured to have promised to marry then-boyfriend James Payton if she won an Oscar, Jennifer Hudson ended her 8-year old relationship months after winning Oscar for Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her performance in Dreamgirls.
Kate Winslet (2009, The Reader) February 2009 was the year Kate Winslet recieved the Best Actress Academy Award for The Reader. A year later on March 2010 the Brit star announced her separation from husband director Sam Mendes. Their divorce came through that October.
Sandra Bullock (2010, The Blind Side) Barely a week after her Oscar win for The Blind Side in March 2010, rumors surfaced that Sandra Bullock's then-husband Jesse James was allegedly having affairs. Despite a public apology from James the marriage couldn't be saved, 3 months later their divorce was finalized in June 2010.
Jennifer Lawrence (2013, Silver Linings Playbook) Even young love couldn't esape the Oscar curse. Jennifer Lawrence and boyfriend Nicholas Hoult first began dating in 2011 but the couple soon split after Lawrence took home the Best Actress Oscar for Silver Linings Playbook.
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