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Does age help or hurt Oscar-nominated actors’ chances of winning a statuette?

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  • Peña, Pablo A.

Abstract

Using publicly available data from 97 Academy Awards ceremonies between 1929 and 2025, we analyze whether the chances of winning an Oscar for best actor in leading or supporting roles are associated with the age of the nominee relative to the pool of nominees in the same year and category. We find that among male nominees, age helps their chances of winning. Among female nominees, age neither helps nor hurts. Thus, among young nominees, women have better odds of winning than men, whereas among older nominees, men have better odds than women. We discuss potential causes and differences with other sectors. Lastly, we document other patterns among Oscar nominees: (i) the age gap across genders has been stable; (ii) the growth in average age matches US population trends; and (iii) having received an Oscar hurts the chances of winning another statuette.

Suggested Citation

  • Peña, Pablo A., 2025. "Does age help or hurt Oscar-nominated actors’ chances of winning a statuette?," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 254(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecolet:v:254:y:2025:i:c:s0165176525003209
    DOI: 10.1016/j.econlet.2025.112483
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. David Neumark & Ian Burn & Patrick Button, 2019. "Is It Harder for Older Workers to Find Jobs? New and Improved Evidence from a Field Experiment," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 127(2), pages 922-970.
    2. Nelson, Randy A, et al, 2001. "What's an Oscar Worth?," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 39(1), pages 1-16, January.
    3. Peña, Pablo A. & Choi, Jun Ho, 2021. "Female representation among notable people born in 1700–2000," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 206(C).
    4. Withisuphakorn, Pradit & Jiraporn, Pornsit, 2017. "CEO age and CEO gender: Are female CEOs older than their male counterparts?," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 22(C), pages 129-135.
    5. Iain Pardoe & Dean K. Simonton, 2008. "Applying discrete choice models to predict Academy Award winners," Journal of the Royal Statistical Society Series A, Royal Statistical Society, vol. 171(2), pages 375-394, April.
    6. Donald A Redelmeier & Sheldon M Singh, 2022. "Long-term mortality of academy award winning actors and actresses," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 17(4), pages 1-14, April.
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