text: (The Frisky) -- By T-minus 18 days until the Oscars and, of course, we are all starting to place bets on who we think will walk away with little golden men this year. Luckily, the Academy has proven itself to be pretty darn predictable over the years. If you're America's Sweetheart, you'll probably win Best Actress. If you sing in a flick, you are almost guaranteed Oscar gold. But there's another trend we've been noticing lately: the winners for Best Actress and Best Actor tend to be the person who's taken on the based-on-a-true-story role. In fact, 10 of the 20 top honors given in the 2000s went to actors who portrayed real people. Let's take a look, shall we? 
  
  Last year, Sandra Bullock won Best Actress -- just days after taking home a Razzie -- for playing Leigh Anne Tuohy, the Southern mom who took in Michael Oher and helped coach him toward football greatness. The real Leigh Anne was in the theater to see Sandra accept her award. 
  
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  In 2008, Sean Penn won the Academy Award for Best Actor -- again! -- for playing Harvey Milk, the first openly gay man to be elected to public office in California. 
  
  I still remember the gorgeous mermaid-scale gown that Marion Cotillard won when she accepted the Oscar for Best Actress in 2007 for her role in "La Vie En Rose." In the movie, she played Edith Piaf, an extremely popular singer in France who was also known for her out-of-control social life. In many ways, Marion won for playing the Britney Spears of 1950s France. 