Hollywood stars make plenty of headlines when they win Oscars, but they also get similar levels of attention when they start dating fellow actors. Throughout the years, there have been a number of acting stars who have scooped the most coveted film award and found love with a fellow winner.
While some received the prestigious Academy Awards while they were together, others got them either before they paired up or after they went their separate ways. But no matter which category they fall in, they can all pride themselves in having shared years of their lives with people who not only had similar passions but proved themselves to be the best in the business too.
Michael Douglas & Catherine Zeta-Jones
Douglas and Zeta-Jones got married in the year 2000 and are still together as of 2022. Douglas has two Oscars, one for One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest which he produced, and another for Wall Street, for which he scooped the coveted Best Actor award. Interestingly, the latter isn't one of Michael Douglas' most critically acclaimed movies. On her part, Zeta-Jones has a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for the movie musical Chicago.
The couple has proven that age should indeed never be a factor when choosing a life partner as Douglas is 25 years older than Zeta-Jones. It's also not the first time Douglas has dated a fellow Hollywood heavyweight. He previously had a 6-year relationship with actress Brenda Vaccaro too. Zeta-Jones was also with a fellow movie star, but her engagement to Scottish actor Angus Macfadyen only lasted a few months.
Nicolas Cage & Patricia Arquette
Cage and Arquette got married in 1995 but parted ways in 2001. The former won a Best Actor award for Leaving Las Vegas while Patricia Arquette scooped a Best Supporting Actress award for Boyhood.
Cage and Arquette have both taken on very different types of roles in their careers. While Cage has mostly focussed on action and drama movies, Arquette has been focused on the thriller and romance genres. Cage's acting abilities have always been ridiculed too, which made his Oscar win surprising to some. To this day, Nicolas Cage's weirdest movie moments are often subjects of discussion on the internet. Arquette, meanwhile, has always been widely respected because of her numerous accolades that stretch to the TV landscape as well.
Sam Mendes & Kate Winslet
Mendes and Winslet were together from 2003 to 2011. Mendes won Best Director for American Beauty while Winslet, who has been nominated 7 times before, won Best Actress for Reader.
As two of the most celebrated individuals in their craft, it would have been great for them to stay together forever. Sadly, it was not to be. Mendes and Winslet are also one of few Hollywood couples to have worked together during their relationship. Mendes directed Winslet in the Award-Winning movie, Revolutionary Road, shortly before their separation. Interestingly, when he first met Winslet, his intention was to cast her, only for the two to end up falling in love.
Javier Bardem & Penélope Cruz
Bardem and Cruz have been married since 2010. Bardem gave one of the best performances in No Country For Old Men, earning himself an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor. Cruz has a Best Supporting Actress award for her role in Vicky Cristina Barcelona, a movie in which Bardem also starred. It was during filming that the two fell in love.
Perhaps the secret to Barem and Cruz's marital success lies in how well they work together. The two have starred in multiple movies alongside each other. Cruz even portrayed Bardem's love interest in Loving Pablo, where the actor starred as the infamous Colombian drug lord, Pablo Escobar.
Brad Pitt & Angelina Jolie
The once-popular power couple had a nasty split but there is no denying that they are both gifted performers. Pitt has a Best Supporting Actor award for Once Upon A Time In Hollywood as well as a Best Picture award for producing 12 Years A Slave. Jolie has a Best Supporting Actress award for Girl, Interrupted.
Given their star power, Pitt and Jolie made countless headlines before and after their marriage. Many scandals surrounded their relationship, including the fact that they reportedly cheated on previous partners in order to be together. Nonetheless, they will always be remembered among Hollywood's greatest ever power couples.
Laurence Olivier & Vivien Leigh
Olivier and Leigh were married from 1940 to 1960. Leigh was nominated for Best Actress twice, winning both times for A Streetcar Named Desire and Gone With The Wind. Olivier was nominated 13 times, winning three times throughout his career. Olivier was nominated for Best Actor numerous times but only won for Hamlet.
Olivier and Leigh will go down in history as two of Hollywood's most celebrated actors. Apart from their love for Hollywood blockbusters, the two also shared a passion for theater, working together on a number of productions. Sadly, they had to part ways, with Olivier going on to marry Joan Plowright.
James Cameron & Kathryn Bigelow
Bigelow and Cameron were married from 1989 to 1991. Cameron won Best Director for Titanic while Bigelow also won the same award for 2008's The Hurt Locker.
It's not often that two exes get to compete for one award but that's what happened at the 2008 Academy Awards where Cameron lost to Bigelow. Cameron had been widely expected to win for Avatar, but Bigelow's success was even more groundbreaking as she became the first-ever woman to win the Best Director award.
Humphrey Bogart & Lauren Bacall
Bacall was married to Bogart from 1945 until his death in 1957. Bogart's Oscar win came after his performance in The African Queen whereas Bacall has an honorary Oscar for her contribution to film.
Most of Humphrey Bogart's iconic roles involve him playing gangsters or tough individuals that don't care much about romance but it is obvious things were very different in real life. Aside from their 25-year age gap and Bacall being just 19 when they first met, their marriage was without scandal - though Bacall would go on to date Frank Sinatra and get re-married after Bogart's death in 1957.
Paul Newman & Joanne Woodward
Newman was married to Woodward from 1958 until his death in 2008. Newman won Best Actor for The Color of Money and was nominated 9 times. Woodward was nominated 3 times, eventually winning Best Actress for The Three Faces of Eve.
It's easy to see why the two were so good together. Both were not only into acting but had a deep interest in politics, going as far as to publicly support Democratic party candidates in various elections. They also set up several non-profit organizations together to help people suffering from various illnesses.
Blake Edwards & Julie Andrews
Edwards and Andrews were married from 1969 until Edwards' death in 2010. Edwards has an Honorary Oscar for directing and writing over 30 movies. Andrews has a Best Actress Oscar for Mary Poppins.
Edwards and Andrews could also give a masterclass in marriage, thanks to their peaceful four-decade union. The two never appeared in the press for the wrong reasons. Edwards publicly supported his wife's other ventures too such as her singing career and her stint as an author of children's books.