What’s the B.A.C.?


Are you curious?

Let me enlighten you.

In recent years, media and tabloids alike have noticed an eerie trend that unfolds post-Oscars.  Many recipients of the Best Actress Oscar have later faced detrimental marriage issues (aka the Best Actress Curse) that lead to very public divorces.  Of the 10 actors who have received the Oscar nod in the past decade, of which 5 were single at the time and thereby exempt, 4 of them have been struck by the curse.  Only the great Helen Mirren survived this seemingly absurd coincidence (although her husband of 13 years is currently the President of the Directors Guild of America and in fact has a directing Oscar under his own belt).  Hilary Swank, Reese Witherspoon, Kate Winslet, and most recently Sandra Bullock all filed for divorce from their husbands within two years of receiving the award.


Interestingly enough, the Best Actress Curse (B.A.C.) that has plagued our Hollywood starlets is not mere fluke.  A study conducted by the organizational behaviour department of the Rotman School of Management under the  University of Toronto found that Best Actress winners from 1936 to 2010 have a 63% chance of divorce sooner than Best Actress nominees.  The median marriage duration for Best Actress winners was 4.3 years (keep in mind that this includes the marriages of people like Frances McDormand and the previously mentioned Helen Mirren, whose respective husbands are Oscar-winning directors and have been married for ages), while the median marriage duration for non-winners was 9.51 years.

So why this huge gap between winners and non-winners?  The article that I read points out that because traditionally, males have a dominant and higher status in the family, and when that “norm” is violated with an Oscar for the leading lady, couples consequently feel confused with what their future holds.  Should the wife take on more chores to “compensate” or “make-up” for her career achievement so that the ‘equilibrium’ can be re-established?  Inevitably, however, the wife will receive a confidence boost from the award, and the husband may either feel intimidated or ashamed at his own relative un-success.  Problems easily stem from this issue of power dynamics, and happiness in the relationship is hugely threatened.

Whether or not the Best Actress winner in two weeks will undergo a divorce cannot truly be predicted.  But the study results are there.  How do you decipher them?  What factors do you think should be considered to determine the accuracy of this ‘Oscar jinx’?

Regardless, I myself am looking forward to watching the hosts of the 53rd annual Academy Awards on February 27th.  James Franco, as you can tell from my previous blog, is one of my favourites.  And Anne captured my heart since the first installment of the Princess Diaries; I hope she sings sometime during the show!

Enjoy!



Further reading: Does a Best Actress Oscar Lead to Divorce?