Oscar Divorce Curse is Real, Says Study
J.K. Simmons, Patricia Arquette, Julianne Moore and newcomer Eddie Redmayne after winning their Oscar at the 87th Annual Academy Awards.
Will these newly crowned Oscar winners fall victim to the dreaded “Oscar Divorce Curse?” According to a new study in the January edition of the journal Organization Science, Oscar winning and nominated men apparently are more susceptible to the “Divorce Curse” than woman, however we may have to refute that since most recent examples of the “curse” have affected famous Oscar-winning actresses (see our gallery below).
The “Oscar Curse” has been attributed to actresses who have divorced in the years following their big win like Reese Witherspoon, Sandra Bullock, Hilary Swank, and Kate Winslet. New research, however, claims that men are more likely to be “cursed” rather than women who win Academy Awards. That’s bad news for Redmayne, a newlywed who won Best Actor for his portrayal of Steven Hawkins in The Theory of Everything at the 87th Academy Awards. A younger marriage is more at risk than established couples.
According to this study, an Oscar win signifies a “sudden positive status shift” which leads to negative consequences in personal lives namely with marriage or relationships. The new study cites that the divorce rate is much higher for male Oscar winners and nominees than females.
Despite the new findings, the most recent occurrences of the “Divorce Curse” has affected female Academy Award winners such as these famous ladies.
Sandra Bullock couldn’t enjoy her Oscar win in 2010 for Best Actress when a cheating scandal rocked her marriage to Jesse James a few days later.
Kate Winslet & Sam Mendes in 2009 at the Oscars prior to winning her Best Actress award for “The Reader.” They later divorced in 2011.
The same year she won her Best Actress Oscar for “Walk The Line” in 2006, Reese Witherspoon filed for divorce from Ryan Philippe.
Two-time Oscar winner Hilary Swank in 2004 after her win for Best Actress in “Million Dollar Baby” with then husband Chad Lowe. They later divorced in 2007.
