Winning an Oscar may mark the pinnacle of an actress's career, but it can also lead to a low point in her marriage. Although Hollywood is known for its liberal social views, some traditional gender mores still appear to be in place in Tinseltown--and as a result, many actresses end up in divorce court soon after leaving the red carpet.
Tiziana Casciaro, Colleen Stuart, and Sue Moon looked into the correlation between winning Hollywood's greatest honor and divorce. The researchers found that actresses who on a Best Actress Oscar had a 63 percent chance of getting divorced sooner than those who did not receive this honor. However, there was no difference in the divorce rates for actors who won an Academy Award for Best Actor and those who did not.
"Research has shown that, in the general population, gender differences have historically given roles with greater power and status to men and roles with lesser status and power to women. Studies have demonstrated that breaching this social norm within a marriage--for example, when a wife earns more than her husband--can strain the relationship," said Casciaro. "It appears that even the marriages of Hollywood actresses at the top of their careers are not immune to the consequences of violating social norms that affect the wider population. Our results suggest that the sudden success reduces the longevity of their marriages."
(Source: The Oscar Curse? Study Says that Oscar Win for Best Actress Increases the Risk of Divorce. Retrieved from www.rotman.utoronto.ca.)
