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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Sandra, you are beautiful, a great actor, and I have it from a reliable source, you are a strong and charming person. Keep your head up and keep up the good work.
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Cheating has little to do with pure sex, it always reflects a missing emotional need in the relationship, not antropology.
I know many divorced types who still love former spouses they
abandoned for "cheating" and they wonder why they still have
feelings for former SO's. It's still the same old story, still, or did "Sex in the City" really change some things ?
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Its sad to say that old jesse used his other head for judgement. But hey we are human. The real problem is that what will his kids think of him, after sandra faught for the kids with him in court. Sad, sad i might say. But after all its there decision if they stay or break..
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THERE IS NO CURSE . THEY ALL THINK THAT THEIR SH#T DON'T STINK BECAUSE THE WON THE OSCAR.
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It's not the Oscar that's cursed, it's childish men that can't deal with career devoted women who have to place the majority of the attention elsewhere for an extended period of time....
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The ladies always put it on the guys, oh he couldn't handle her success. If you ask me i think it has as much to do with the guys (jelous, yes i know its not spelled correctly but i'm still tired XP) and the women (don't you see how great I am!). The EGO'S in hollywood are huge as it is and a win like this makes them even bigger.
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I don't think many people have a real idea about what a relationship is. The Oscar, like many things that impede relationships, are not the material of a relationship at all.
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I think it's interesting that they all wear makeup when they are out like that. What do they expect their men to think when they wh#re themselves up when they go out? My woman know not to do anything to attract herself when we go out to Agway or any where ther are going to be men of the opposite sex. Thats what is wrong with Hollywood, too many women wh#ring themsleves out.
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A rediculous statistic. The Oscars have nothing to do with it. Let's see a list of actresses who had martital problems who didn't win an Oscar. It would be just as high. (I wish some of these fan writers had graduated at least from high school...)
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This year's Best Actress Oscar should have gone to Gabourey Sidibe for "Precious".
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The men that leave their women after the women win an Oscar are just jealous.
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If you watched the Grammy's and Sandra's speech, there was a clue Jesse was cheating. She mentioned how he works 12 hrs a day. Uhmmm...right!
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Toate gagicilesuntfutabile imipare raucanusunt deala care are 12
neveste ca le-as lua EU pe toate s,i le-as, foote pe rand....!!!!
In fiecare zi cate doua, ce are pulanpizda cu viatza de toate zilele Sunt frumoase si footachioase dar cand te gandeshti ca se caca si nu se shterge bine la kur....mai bine lipsa niste bagaboante I AM the agent 007 I kiss all the GIRLS and when I have to do a Job I Do IT Well. I have a licennce to kill via love
this is what this is all about. MORE POWER TO YOU IF YOU won't mary michelle b-oistershell(Hiroshima,Nagasaki) I'll mary her.If Sandra divorces you....I'll marry HER GOD Bless all three of U, BEAUTIFUL People !!!! GOD Bless America the Beautiful as you are.
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Ummm,what?
I think you're looking at this all wrong. Could it be the ladies let this new fame go to their heads and were impossible to live with?
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so typical to blame the women for being successful!!!! would this kind of poll be out there for men??? i think not!
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UGH Would they please quit saying these women ''lost their husbands'' possibly they happily kicked the cheating Ahole out. THey didn't ''lose'' anything but they gained their self respect. Get a clue.
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The bikers creed.....Sworn to Fun -Loyal to None
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There is no such thing as a "curse". Put that together with "sex addiction". Tabloid fodder, that's all. Human beings make choices, sometimes with bad judgment. Some people salivate at other peoples' trouble. She is smart not to make her next appearance to promote her movie. The media would be all over her.
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As to this curse idea, the only issue is that these women are driven to be successful...and have achieved much success AND attention - most men especially those who are NOT as driven to succeed or be "best" just cannot handle their significant other's notoriety. What the heck Bullock saw in this guy to begin with is the question. Ditch the loser, better to go it alone than with the cheater...I believe the old adage "once a cheater ALWAYS a cheater". Rehabilitation is about as effective as with a sex offender..NADA....
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