Cotillard wins best actress at Oscars

Actress takes trophy for 'Rose'

By DIANE GARRETT

Marion Cotillard in 'La Vie en Rose.'

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Marion Cotillard won one of the most closely watched categories of the evening, winning the statuette for "La vie en rose."

It was the second win for the Edith Piaf biopic, which netted makeup honors for Didier Lavergne and Jan Archibald.

Cotillard, who aged tremendously 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 a raft of critics' laurels and had been a sentimental favorite for her long career.

Both were heavy presences on the kudos circuit, charming many at soiree after soiree. 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."