Marion Cotillard won the Academy Award as best actress for her portrayal of legendary chanteuse Edith Piaf in "La Vie en Rose" to become the first French performer since 1960 to earn an Oscar in the category.

"I'm speechless now," Cotillard said on stage, visibly surprised and overjoyed. "Thank you life, thank you love. It is true there (are) some angels in this city."

Cotillard tearfully thanked her director, Olivier Dahan.

"Maestro Olivier, you rocked my life. You have truly rocked my life," said Cotillard, a French beauty who is a dynamo as Piaf, playing the warbling chanteuse through three decades, from raw late teens as a singer rising from the gutter through international stardom and her final days in her frail 40s.
In the best actress category, Cotillard competed with Julie Christie ("Away From Her"), newcomer Ellen Page ("Juno"), Laura Linney ("The Savages") and Cate Blanchett ("Elizabeth: The Golden Age").

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.




Publication date: 25 February 2008   

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