THE OSCARS: C'est la vie! French outsider Marion Cotillard stuns Hollywood with best actress win
If there were an Oscar for best fairytale ending for an Academy Award winner, it would go to best actress winner Marion Cotillard, the French-born outsider who pipped veteran British actress Julie Christie to the post, denying Christie her second Oscar.
With an critically acclaimed performance as legendary French chanteuse Edith Piaf in 'La Vie En Rose' Cotillard pulled off an unexpected upset for the best actress award over Julie Christie, who had been the favorite to claim a second Oscar 42 years after she first won for 'Darling'.
Cotillard became the first French woman to win the best actress Oscar in almost 50 years.
Overjoyed: Marion Cotillard was the surprise winner of the best actress Oscar at last night's Oscar's for her role in Edith Piaf biopic La Vie En Rose
Little Sparrow: Marion as the tragic French chanteuse Edith Piaf in film 'La Vie En Rose'
The 32-year-old beat Julie Christie to the title for a second time, after doing the same thing to the British veteran at the Baftas.
It is thought to be only the second time in Oscars' history that the award had gone to a performance in a non-English speaking role, the other winner being Sophia Loren.
Simone Signoret won the best actress Oscar in 1960 for her leading role in "Room at the Top" and was the last French woman to do so, although several others, including Catherine Deneuve and Isabelle Adjani, have been nominated.
And Marion's win, alongside fellow European actors, Javier Bardem, Tilda Swinton, and Daniel Day-Lewis meant was the first time in more than 40 years that no American secured a top acting honour at the Oscars.
On accepting her award, a visibly overwhelmed Cotillard, dressed in a stunning mermaid-style Jean Paul Gaultier gown said: "Thank you so much....I'm speechless... It is true there are some angels in this city."
Overwhelmed: The actress beat Julie Christie at the Baftas last month, and last night at the Oscars to become the first French actress to take home the best actress award for 50 years
Backstage, her delight was even less restrained. She added: "It feels so good. I'm totally overwhelmed with joy and sparkles and fireworks and everything which goes like
bom-bom-bom," Cotillard said.
The French actress has appeared in Hollywood films as 'Big Fish' with Ewan McGregor and 'A Good Year' but 'La Vie En Rose' has been her breakthrough film with worldwide audiences.
Cotillard, 32, triumphed over a strong field of actresses from around the globe.
Tearful: A tearful Marion said in her speech 'It is true...there are some angels in this city'
Along with veteran British actress Christie, the nominees were Australian Cate Blanchett for 'Elizabeth: The Golden Age' American Laura Linney for 'The Savages' and Canada's Ellen Page for 'Juno.'
The best-actress category had been considered a two-woman race between Cotillard and Christie, with the latter the front-runner for 'Away From Her' in which she gives a heartbreaking performance as a woman succumbing to Alzheimer's.
But last month's Bafta best actress win for Cotillard should have been an indicator that Christie wouldn't have it all her own way.
And two days before her Oscar triumph, Cotillard - who also has a Golden Globe to her name - won the best-actress Cesar for 'La Vie En Rose'.
The 32-year-old actress stunned audiences and critics at home and abroad with her physical transformation in the film that traces the life of Piaf, who achieved international fame after being raised by her grandmother in a brothel but saw her life cut short by drug and alcohol abuse.
The role of France's most loved popular singer, known as 'La Môme Piaf' (The Sparrow), has proved to be something of a tour de force for the actress, and has cemented her entry into Hollywood's elite.
Born in Paris, Cotillard grew up in a stage family, with both parents actors.
She performed in plays starting at age 3 or 4, but acted only occasionally during childhood, settling on a career in drama in her late teens.
Cotillard found steady work in French film and television. Her credits include producer Luc Besson's action comedy 'Taxi' and its sequels and Jean-Pierre Jeunet's acclaimed drama 'A Very Long Engagement' the latter earning her the supporting-actress prize at the Cesars, France's equivalent of the Oscars.
Stars in their eyes: Elton John and partner David Furnish cosy up to the hottest new actress in Hollywood, Marion Cotillard
Celebration: Marion celebrated her win with Hollywood's A-listers, including Sharon Stone at Elton John's party in Hollywood last night
With musical films making a comeback, Cotillard was the latest in a string of performers winning for music-themed pictures, including Jennifer Hudson for 'Dreamgirls' Reese Witherspoon for 'Walk the Line' Catherine Zeta-Jones for 'Chicago' and Jamie Foxx for 'Ray'.
Like Foxx, Cotillard had to learn the fine art of lip-synching, mimicking Piaf's expressions and body language while mouthing along to tracks pre-recorded by French singer Jil Aigrot, who re-created Piaf's distinctive vocals.
Playing Piaf from her fiery teens through her fragile 40s, Cotillard offered a remarkable embodiment of the singer, who grew up in a brothel, belting out tunes in the streets to become an international star in the 1930s, '40s and '50s. Piaf died in 1963 at age 47.
"I really dedicated my life to the movie and to Edith Piaf for a few months," Cotillard said backstage.
"My aim was to understand her. To understand her heart, her soul.
"And so I went as deep as I could. I tried to do my best to find her inside me. And but it was not so hard, because I really love her."
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C'est la vie ! Marion stuns Hollywood with Best Actress Win
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