Oscar-winning ‘The Artist’ star Jean Dujardin announces divorce

French actor Jean Dujardin, who won an Oscar for his role in “The Artist”, said Wednesday he had divorced his wife, following months of rumours the French golden couple had split up.

The 41-year-old French heart-throb Dujardin, who won the best actor Academy Award in February for his role in the silent black and white film, confirmed his separation from actress Alexandra Lamy, 42, on the sidelines of an awards show.

“It has been eight months that tabloids have been trying to make me out as depressed, an alcoholic, a womaniser… This is no more, or less, than the story of a couple who are separating, like any other couple,” Dujardin told journalists.

The dark-haired star said he was “well and very happy” and was busy filming for both Martin Scorsese’s “The Wolf of Wall Street” in which he stars alongside Hollywood actor Leonard DiCaprio and George Clooney’s “The Monuments Men”.

Between 1999 and 2003 Dujardin and Lamy starred in the massively popular French production of an originally Canadian comedy series which tracks the life of a loving couple dealing with humorous ups and downs in their relationship.

Their roles in “Un gars, une fille” (A guy and a girl) — a show which has been remade in over a dozen countries — became reality as they fell in love and eventually married in 2009.

Dujardin has been a huge star in his homeland for years but was virtually unknown elsewhere before the Oscars triumph for “The Artist,” which made him the first French actor to win an Academy Award.