The Curse of the Best Actress Oscar

Julia Roberts, Reese Witherspoon, Halle Berry, Nicole Kidman , Gwyneth Paltrow, Helen Hunt, Charlize Theron, Sandra Bullock- all of their careers went flat after they won Best Actress Oscars. Davis, Hepburn, Streep all had better roles after they won Oscars. Is the Oscar cursed, or are the actresses above not up to the standard of the award? Is there a standard?

Anonymous
• Or maybe none of the above. Maybe some actors are simply awarded the Oscar at the peak of the careers.

• The curse also includes their/husband of boyfriend dumping them right after they own (Nicole's dumped her before the Oscar, and Gwyneth didn't have one when she won....) AND please add Hilary Swank to your list.

  Ms.%20Bening

• Charlize Theron's career did not go flat after winning the Oscar. It's too soon to tell with Sandra Bullock.

• I love that Kidman, after winning, chose roles that were a challenge for her. Yes, I know there is "Bewitched" and "The Invasion", but there's also "Dogville", "Birth", "Margot at the Wedding", "Rabithole". Some of her best work has been post-Oscar. I don't think she belongs next to the likes of Roberts and Whiterspoon; they only went outside their comfort zone (kind of) to win the award and that was it. Charlize will never top "Monster", but she definitely had a great role and performance in "Young Adult". She was better than most of the actress nominees last year.

• "Julia Roberts, Reese Witherspoon, Halle Berry, Nicole Kidman , Gwyneth Paltrow, Helen Hunt, Charlize Theron, Sandra Bullock- all of their careers went flat after they won Best Actress Oscars. Davis, Hepburn, Streep all had better roles after they won Oscars. Is the Oscar cursed, or are the actresses above not up to the standard of the award?" Doesn't the list in your second sentence disprove the thesis in your first sentence? What are you trying to say, exactly?

• Some of these women were in their mid to late 30's when they won, and we all know that it's hard for women to find roles after 40, so naturally, their careers tend to slow down right after their biggest triumph. Good lead roles are difficult to find for women at any age-even a younger woman can struggle to find anything decent. Berry is also burdened by the race issue; not only is she 40something, but she's also black.

• What about Monique? (I know she is supporting) Where is she? i thought she was quite good in precious...she seems to have left acting. Did she just want to go out on top?

• YES!

  GLENN

• She's been at a spa for a year so getting her legs shaved.

• Jane Wyman left Ronnie right after she won hers...he simply could not deal with her success.

• Sandra Bullock's career is fine, OP. She *voluntarily* took time off after she adopted her son AND she had the divorce scandal. It was smart of her to step away from the spotlight for a few years. She returns to the screen in 2013 with TWO major films.

• R11? Hissssss!

  The Hissing Eldergay (THE)

• [quote]erry is also burdened by the race issue; not only is she 40something, but she's also black. plus she is bat shit crazy.

• Marisa Tomei is another.

• I've heard a couple of theories about this very issue. Sometimes the actor has already wrapped a film or two before the oscar buzz even begins, so these follow-up roles have already been made or at least contracts signed without the win. Also, producers will throw outrageous sacks of cash at a recent winner and they are tempted to strike while the iron's hot, making some stinkers that were put into production without the proper development. Also, the second list of actors who maintained a quality body of work would have been choosy all along. How many great performances did we get from Ms. Streep during her Oscar drought? I'd say all of them. Many well-liked actors don't get award-worthy roles very often, so when they strike silver the Academy does a little dance and awards them gold over better actors who rarely fail.