Poor Sienna Miller. Not only has she been, allegedly, dumped by her billionaire-cum-part-time-actor-and-former-drug-addict boyfriend Balthazar Getty, but, increasingly labelled a “homewrecker” and general romantic loose cannon, she risks being dumped by the Hollywood establishment itself.

For the latter patriarchal institution is notoriously thin-skinned when it comes to contemplating sexual misadventures of the female kind. Indeed, the careers of iconic actresses as diverse as Natalie Wood, Jean Harlow and Clara Bow (pictured) all stalled in the face of scandalous press coverage.

Bow, like Miller, was the It girl of her era. A 1920s box-office sensation, she was nonetheless dropped into obscurity at the age of 23 by Paramount Studios after a series of public affairs with actors such as Gary Cooper and Bela Lugosi. Similarly, Harlow’s reputation was tainted by rumours about the death of her studio-executive husband, and a torrid affair with Clark Gable. Natalie Wood drifted from A-list limelight into gossip-column hell when she left her husband Robert Wagner for a string of dalliances, including one with, ho ho, “womaniser” Warren Beatty.

Even the golden girl Julia Roberts experienced a mid-1990s slump when reports of affairs with Daniel Day-Lewis, Jason Patric et al dominated her image, and paltry roles in flops such as Mary Reilly and I Love Trouble were her métier. Roberts, however, recovered nicely and is still one of the biggest stars in Hollywood. Which must be encouraging news for Sienna.

Times recommends

• Who killed Jade Goody?
• Daisy Goodwin: This is better than real sex
• Foods that can help to prevent swine flu