Will Natalie Portman fall victim to legendary Oscar’s curse?

MELBOURNE - A study conducted by the University of Toronto has found that actresses who win an Academy Award have either broken up with their husbands, boyfriends or lovers just months after winning.

And if the new research is to be believed, then actress Natalie Portman, who is the hot favourite for the top award for her performance in ‘Black Swan’, could end up being the next to feel the curse, the Daily Telegraph reported.

The study showed that Best Actress winners have a 63 percent chance of ending up divorced, and that winners were proven to be 1.68 times more likely to head to the divorce court than those who were nominated but didn’t take home the gold.

Betting agencies are already giving punters the chance to bet on the likelihood of the newly engaged and pregnant Portman, 29, succumbing to “the curse”.

Sports Interaction is just one US site who will pay 1.50 dollars if the actress and her fiancee Benjamin Millepied remain together officially until December 31, 2012.

Stars who were affected by the Oscar’s curse are:

Sandra Bullock 2010 - Her five-year marriage to Jesse James ended just days after her Oscar win for ‘The Blind Side’ when she discovered he had been having an affair with a tattoo model.

Kate Winslet 2009 - A year after winning the Best Actress award playing a concentration camp guard in ‘The Reader’, Winslet’s marriage to director Sam Mendes ended.

Reese Witherspoon 2006 - Witherspoon accepted the Best Actress award for her role in ‘Walk the Line’. By the end of the year, she had left her husband and father of her two children, actor Ryan Philippe.

Hilary Swank 2005 - Swank split from husband Chad Lowe, whom she had called “my everything” during her acceptance speech, a year after winning for her role in ‘Million Dollar Baby’.

Charlize Theron 2004 - As Theron accepted her Oscar for ‘Monster’, she said of long-time boyfriend Stuart Townsend: “I have to thank my incredible partner in crime. You are one hell of a partner to have. Thank you for standing by me.”

The couple ended their nine-year relationship in January 2010.

Halle Berry 2002 - Berry became the first black woman to win an Oscar for ‘Monster’s Ball’ and a year later she left husband Eric Benet.

Julia Roberts 2001 - Roberts took home the Oscar for ‘Erin Brockovich’ and thanked boyfriend of four years Benjamin Bratt in her speech. Three months later they parted ways.

Gwyneth Paltrow 1999 - Paltrow won her best actress Oscar for ‘Shakespeare in Love’ and at the time was reportedly deeply in love with Ben Affleck. The couple split two months later. (ANI)