Marion Cottilard won one of the most competitive categories of the evening, Best Actress for “La vie en rose.” She became the first French actress to win the Oscar for a French-speaking film.
It was the second win for the Edith Piaf biopic, which netted makeup honors for Didier Lavergne and Jan Archibald.
Cotillard, who aged onscreen as the drug-ravaged singer, had won a Golden Globe and BAFTA award leading up to the Oscars.
Julie Christie had also won a Golden Globe (in the drama category), along with the Screen Actors Guild award for her turn as a woman slipping into Alzheimer's disease in “Away From Her.” She also won many critics laurels and had been a sentimental favorite for her long career.
It was Cotillard's first Oscar nomination. She thanked director and co-writer Olivier Dahan — “You truly rocked my life,” she said — in addition to Picturehouse and members of the Academy, concluding, “It is true, there are some angels in this city.”
Besides Christie, Cotillard was competing against “Juno” star Ellen Page, “The Savages” star Laura Linney and Cate Blanchett for “Elizabeth: The Golden Age.”