Aging and the Oscars: How Getting Older Affects Stars’ Chances
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Photo by Paul Hawthorne/Getty Images(LOS ANGELES) — Are the Oscars ageist?
Actresses have long bemoaned the unfair way they’re treated in Hollywood, but turns out it’s another group that has the hardest time scoring Oscar gold: young men.
Only one man under the age of 30 has ever won a Best Actor award (Adrien Brody, when he was 29) and only 10 have won between the ages of 30-34. The Best Supporting Actor race is similar. Only one man has won under the age of 25 (Timothy Hutton won at 20) and just seven have won between the ages of 21-34.
Of course it gets better for men as they age. Thirty-six men ages 45 and older have won a Best Actor award, and 47 have scooped up a Best Supporting Actor.
Women have an easier time being taken more seriously by the Academy at a younger age, but their older counterparts are recognized a fair amount, too.
The Best Actress award has been given out 86 times, 21 of which have gone to stars over the age of 40. (It is worth noting, however, that three of those belong to Katharine Hepburn, who won at ages 60, 61, and 74.) This year, it is likely to happen again, as four of the five nominees are over the age of 40. The only one who’s not? Amy Adams, who will turn 40 in August.
Older actresses seem to have even better odds of wining the Supporting Actress award. In the 77 times that it has been distributed, 35 have gone to stars who are 40 or older. However, this year, the two favorites, 12 Years a Slave star Lupito Nyong’o and American Hustle’s Jennifer Lawrence, are both in their 20s.
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