What is the Oscar Love Curse? Is it authentic? Real life examples

There exists a theory that winning an Oscar can have an adverse effect on an actor’s career and sentimental relationship with their partner. This has been especially attributed to affecting female actors. However, research into the matter paints a different picture.

While there are cases where actors have seen their careers and lives stumble after achieving Hollywood’s most prestigious honor, the majority go on to appear in more and higher quality films after winning an Oscar as well as nominees. However, receiving an Academy Award for Best Actor or Best Supporting Actor can take a toll on personal relationships, but not equally among male and female recipients.

The Oscar Love Curse affects men more than women

Looking at 1,023 leading actors and actresses between 1930 and 2005, researchers found that male winners of an Academy Award were three times more likely to get divorced in their first year of marriage. Male actors who were nominated for an Oscar were twice as likely as non-nominated actors to get divorced during their first year of wedlock. According to Michael Jensen and Heeyon Kim, authors of the study this could be more true for men as they may be more susceptible to status disruption or deprivation.

The divorce rate among celebrities in general far outpaces that of the general public according to another study carried out by the Marriage Foundation. The higher divorce rate among Oscar actors compared to their peers could be attributed to opportunity brought on by status disruption from a rapid increase in standing, creating more chances to have access to a greater number of potential attractive spousal alternatives. Infidelity is one of the leading causes of divorce. For those who were nominated but didn’t, the almost having won but failing can cause status deprivation in the form of disappointment which can take a mental toll harming those actors’ relationships.

Where did the Oscar Love Curse originate and what are some real-life examples?

Popular 1930s film star Luise Rainer is said to be the source of the “Oscar Curse”, blaming her two Best Actress Academy Awards for a declining career thereafter. While some actors have felt that the Oscars dampened their future prospects due to the “huge expectation” that gets placed on an actor once they’ve won as Halle Berry told The Guardian of her experience, the professional curse is a myth.

“There was no evidence of a professional curse: both male and female actors had longer and more successful careers after being nominated for or winning the Oscar compared to those never nominated,” said Kim.

As for the “Love Curse” according to the researchers it mainly affects male actors but only increasing for female actors when they are married to male actors. This Kim explains comes down to the female becoming higher status compared to her male partner.

However, without the science, it would seem the contrary given that there is far more information available about female actresses’ relationships being adversely affected by an Oscar win. Some examples include Sandra Bullock, Kate Winslet, Reese Witherspoon and Halle Berry who all divorced their partners within a year of winning an Academy Award. However, in all those cases it was ongoing infidelity on the part of their respective partners that came to light at the time.