At 61, Dame Helen Mirren is the new queen of Hollywood. She won the Oscar for best actress for her spot-on portrayal of Queen Elizabeth in The Queen.
The British actress said: "All kids love to get gold stars, and this is the biggest and the best goldstar that I have ever had in my life."
Saluting the "courage and consistency" of Queen Elizabeth, Mirren raised her golden statuette and told the audience: "I thank her because if it wasn't for her I most certainly would not be here."
The 79th Academy Awards was a big night for favourites. Forest Whitaker won the best actor award for his performance as Idi Amin in The Last King of Scotland. Veteran Martin Scorsese finally won not one but two Oscars - for director and best picture - for his crime tale The Departed.
Scorsese, 64, had five previous best director nominations - one of the highest-profile losing streaks in the event's history. Paradoxically, his victory came for a populist effort released with no intention of seeking awards. Scorsese gathered an all-star cast, headed by Jack Nicholson, Leonardo DiCaprio and Matt Damon, for a story about official corruption in Boston.
"We wanted to make a nice genre movie, you know, and look what happened," said Scorsese.
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