The Curse of the Best Actress Oscar?

With the news of Sandra Bullock's husband's alleged infidelity and Kate Winslet's impending divorce from Sam Mendes, we realized that the last two winners of the Best Actress Academy Award both have had marital issues.
Looking back, it's more than just these two whose relationships disintegrated after they won the coveted award. Reese Witherspoon scooped up the honor in 2006, and lost husband Ryan Phillippe in 2007. And there are many more.
It may be every actress' dream to win a Best Actress Oscar -- but unfortunately, it may come at the cost of the men in their lives. We have to ask -- is the award cursed? Bonnie Fuller,
Editor-in-Chief of HollywoodLife.com, believes it is.
"I absolutely think it's cursed. It's sad but true that in this day and age it's a rare treasure of a man who can handle being married to a hugely successful woman -- especially one who's more successful at the current time than they are," she tells PopEater.
More importantly, how does Oscar hurt relationships? "Many men feel emasculated by strong women and this can be an especially big problem if women are in very visible positions -- and what can be more visible than winning an Oscar. If the men are also in a competitive profession, i.e. they're also an actor or in a similarly artistic profession, they may feel insecure about their wife or girlfriend's success. And that can really damage their relationship," Fuller adds. (
Watch Bonnie Address Jesse James Here)
See whom it's affected and what went wrong after the jump!
Sandra Bullock: 'The Blind Side,' 2010
Just weeks after she accepted her Oscar, rumors of husband Jesse James' infidelity reportedly led Bullock to move out of the home they shared together
Did Oscar play a role? James is a reality TV star and Bullock's the first woman to headline a movie that made over $200M. You do the math.
Kate Winslet: 'The Reader,' 2009
The same week that Sandra fled her house, Winslet announced she and husband Sam Mendes were separating. The couple married in 2003 and have one son, plus Kate's daughter from a previous marriage.
Did Oscar play a role? Mendes is an Oscar-winning director. But he's been much more inconsistent than Winslet. With six nods and one win, Kate is always at the top of her game, while Mendes has received mixed reviews for his post-'American Beauty' work -- including 'Revolutionary Road' with his estranged wife. (She won a Golden Globe for her role in that film, but the movie itself failed to click on the awards circuit.)
Reese Witherspoon: 'Walk the Line,' 2006
Over a year after taking home the award for playing June Carter Cash, Witherspoon filed for divorce from husband Ryan Phillippe, despite seven years of marriage and two children, amid reports he was cheating with his 'Stop Loss' co-star Abbie Cornish, with whom he later had a relationship.
Did Oscar play a role? Ryan's career has lagged way behind Reese's since 'Cruel Intention' -- he even lacks his own page on Box Office Mojo, a site that tabulates stars' box office ratings. (His latest star turn, 'Loss,' grossed just 10.9 million.) The Oscar highlights this disparity.

Hilary Swank: 'Million Dollar Baby,' 2005, and 'Boys Don't Cry, 2000
Swank and her husband of almost 10 years, Chad Lowe, announced their decision to split in January of 2006, finalizing their divorce later that year.
Did Oscar play a role? The last thing we remember Lowe doing is an episode of 'Bones.' That doesn't hold up well to a two-time Academy Award winner.
Charlize Theron: 'Monster,' 2004
Theron and longtime boyfriend actor Stuart Townsend, who had been dating for 9 years, broke up this past January.
Did Oscar play a role? Townsend who? Have you seen 'Maggie Hill,' 'Chaos Theory' or any episodes of 'Night Stalker'?
Halle Berry: 'Monster's Ball,' 2002
Berry and husband, singer Eric Benet, ended their four year marriage in 2003, allegedly due to his sex addiction.
Did Oscar play a role? Think of it this way. When was the last time you listened to Benet's music on your iPod?

Julia Roberts: 'Erin Brockovich,' 2001
Although they dated for four years, Roberts and Benjamin Bratt dissolved their union months after Julia's big Oscar night.
Did Oscar play a role? Sure, Bratt is recognizable from his 'Law & Order' days, but he's nothing compared to the tour-de-force that is America's sweetheart.
Gwyneth Paltrow: 'Shakespeare in Love,' 1999
The normally very secretive Paltrow thanked Ben Affleck in her acceptance speech, but a few months later, they permanently called it quits after three years of an on-again, off-again romance.
Did Oscar play a role? This could be the one exception. Affleck already had his own Oscar, and Paltrow and he were equally well-known. (And at the time, he may have been more so.)
Helen Hunt: 'As Good as It Gets,' 1998
Engaged in 1997 and married in 1999, Hunt's relationship with 'Simpsons' voice-actor Hank Azaria didn't last long after her 'Good' achievement.
Did Oscar play a role? When they first got together, Hunt was a small-screen star who became the first to be paid $1 million per episode for 'Mad About You.' Then, in her first leading big-screen appearance,' she wins an Oscar. Azaria, on the other hand, is best known for his 'Simpsons' characters.

Susan Sarandon: 'Dead Man Walking,' 1996
There was a significant amount of time between her win and the crumbling of their 23 year partnership, but Sarandon and actor Tim Robbins broke up in late 2009.
Did Oscar play a role? Robbins also has his own statuette. But it was for Best Supporting Actor. One could only imagine what would have happened if he'd won for lead actor.
Emma Thompson: 'Howard's End,' 1993
Married in 1989, director-actor Kenneth Branagh and Thompson were divorced in 1995, two years after Emma earned gold.
Did Oscar play a role? Branagh has four Oscar nominations, but zero wins to Emma Thompson's two. (She also won for best adapted screenplay in 1996.)
We'd like to believe that winning Best Actress doesn't automatically reduce the chances that your marriage or relationship will last. (We're rooting for Helen Mirren and Taylor Hackford to make it.) But 61% of the award's winners since 1993 have had troubles in their love lives after. Those just aren't great odds. In the end, however, it could just be one big coincidence.
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It's not an Oscar curse.
The average Hollywood marriage is over before they celebrate their 5th anniversary, and most even earlier than that.
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Not a curse, MEN ARE PIGS, AND CANT CONTROL THEMSELVES!
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NO GOD! Our foes the supposed athiests and all their Kenite buds out there will be the fall of man. Men cheat because they are weak minded. They cheat because the penis rules their entire life. What a joke! They cheat because there is no God in their life except thenselves.
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Bad boys like Jesse are always an exciting roller coaster ride. But, I had some good advice given to me from a counselor once... She said to marry a boring man and go to Las Vegas for excitement; much easier on the heart. Good luck, Sandra. Best of luck Jesse
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You'd have to be pretty simple to think an Oscar can jinx a marriage. Rare is ANY Hollywood marriage that lasts, so the odds are against them from the start, Oscar or not. HAd she not won, she'd still be facing this because her man was cheating all along, not from the moment she won the Oscar on, right. Get real, there is no such thing as a CURSE!
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CHEATING = WOMEN , just check the Bible.. want a troubles and be ashamed.. Women always will acuse the men... BUT always be the reason
Cheating 4 women is like lottery, she whole life winner or NO
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Listen Greg, men will cheat and decide to cheat all by themselves. Men are not like puppets in the hands of women. Men choose to cheat and that choice was made by them.
Listen if that man is going to cheat he will cheat no matter what. There is no oscar curse but there are just men who want to cheat and bang any woman walking around. Hollywood actors have no morals and that is why their marriages don't last long. And as for Jesse James. Well, once a cheater always a cheater. There is a reason Sandra is the 3rd wife. If he will cheat on Sandra then he will cheat on anyone. Sandra has nothing but support him and allow him to be himself. And has shown him nothing but love. Jesse James is ugly and should feel honored to even know Sandra.
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so charlize theron wins the oscar in 2004 and in 2010 its to blame for her break up? 6 years later?
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U Sandra have always been a fav. of mine. Please don't discard of the award, even mentally. He seems like just another nondisserving dogn in need 24/7, and U are better then that.
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jesse is white TRASH
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That's nothing new unless you remember this one. Elizabeth Taylor and Eddie Fisher divorced two years after she won her oscar in "Butterfield 8". Next Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton divorced after she won her second oscar in "Who Afraid Of Virgina Wolf"
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Whoa - must be a slow news day.
The divorce rate in the US is over 50% any way.
What is the divorce rate for Hollywood stars in general?
Jesse James' former wife was a porn star - maybe Sandra was not getting it done for him
Halie Berry went for sex addiction
The spilts were going to happen any way - they kept appearances uyntil after the awards.
What piece of fluff writing.
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I bet he can talk his way out of this one. I'm thinking he has a magic tongue.
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Who are the men cheating with? WOMEN.
Jesse James had been married to a porn star - maybe SB was not getting it done.
Hallie Berrie was / is a Sex Addict
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There are a few out there who never cheated, like Tom Hanks, for example. But the majority of Hollywood marry for a couple years, tops, and then move on. How they can take marriage seriously is beyond me. Why not just shack up if you are going to make a mockery out of it? These people trade partners like they change underwear.
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Hey Kissit, health care reform,,, YES !!!!!
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it's very simple, these woman were on top!! the media was loving them saying how wonderful they were, the men were not being stroked enough, so they went were they could be, in the arms of some whore who could tell them how WONDERFUL they were. someone they could cry to someone who would make them feel better about themselves. it's the reason why most men cheat all across the board not just in hollywood. when wifie is busy raising kids working so on she doesnt expect to have to keep mothering her man and boosting up his ego all of the time so he goes else where and blames it on the wife not an oscar curse, the curse of a weak man!!!
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Seven year itch? Many of these marriages seem to have broken up after between 6 and 9 years.
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