Bullock latest victim of Oscars 'curse'

Jesse James cheated on wife Sandra Bullock.

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SANDRA Bullock is the latest in a long line of best actress Academy Award winners who have fallen victim to what has become known as the "Oscars curse".

Bullock, 45, confirmed to People magazine on Wednesday that she had filed for divorce from her husband Jesse James - less than two months after collecting a best actress Oscar for her performance in The Blind Side.

It followed reports that James - who Bullock proudly stated had "got her back" during her win at the Golden Globes in January - had cheated repeatedly with a tattooed stripper and other women.

Yet Bullock was only the latest woman to have been brought back to Earth after receiving the crowning glory of a best actress Academy Award.

In the past 12 years, eight other best actress winners have split with their husbands or long-term partners after winning one of the gold statuettes - Kate Winslet, Reese Witherspoon, Hilary Swank, Charlize Theron, Halle Berry, Julia Roberts, Gwyneth Paltrow and Helen Hunt.

Six of those partings - involving Bullock, Winslet, Swank, Witherspoon, Paltrow and Roberts - occurred less than a year after an Oscar triumph.

Berry and Hunt split with their respective partners, Eric Benet and Hank Azaria, less than two years after collecting Oscars.

More often than not, Oscar-winning actresses have paid tribute to their significant others during their acceptance speeches.

Witherspoon praised her "wonderful husband" Ryan Philippe when she was honoured for Walk the Line in 2006 while Swank described husband Chad Lowe as "my everything" when she won for Million Dollar Baby in 2005.

Bullock did not mention James during her acceptance speech at the Kodak Theater on March 7, but her burly husband could be seen welling up as his wife poignantly paid tribute to her late mother.

James meanwhile could be said to have fallen victim to a curse affecting reality television stars.

James, the star of the series Monster Garage, first met Bullock after she arranged for her 10-year-old godson to tour the set of the show.

Now James has joined Britney Spears, Jessica Simpson, Whitney Houston and Carmen Electra as personalities whose marriages have ended after participation in reality television shows.