It's been a night of beautiful gowns and elated speeches at the 2012 Academy Awards in LA, with this year's ceremony delivering jokes, tears and even the odd yap (courtesy of Uggie, The Artist's dog).
Punters' favourite Meryl Streep walked away with the best actress gong for her impersonation of Maggie Thatcher in The Iron Lady, drawing an enormous whoop of appreciation from the star-packed audience at the Hollywood & Highland Center.
Meryl, the most nominated actress in Oscar history with 17 nods, was self-deprecating as she accepted her third Academy Award - and first since 1983 for Sophie's Choice.
"When they called my name I imagined half of America going 'Aw, no! Her! Again!'" she joked, before thanking all her friends, her voice shaking with emotion.
She saw off a headline cast of formidable contenders with the win, including Viola Davis, Michelle Williams, Rooney Mara and Glenn Close.
Earlier on in the evening, an overwhelmed Octavia Spencer fought back tears as she picked up the gong for best supporting actress for her role in The Help, the movie adaptation of Kathryn Stockett's best-selling novel.
"I'm wrapping up! I'm freaking out!" she told the crowd, after thanking her family in Alabama and a string of others.
Over in the best actor category, Jean Dujardin brought a smile to many peoples' faces with his elated acceptance speech for his lead role in silent movie The Artist.
"I love your country," he announced. "If George Valentin (his character in The Artist) could speak, he would say: Merci! Formidable!"
The Artist also saw victory in the best picture shortlist, beating off competition from eight other films, including Martin Scorsese's animated adventure flick Hugo (the most nominated film of the evening). Michel Hazanavicius won best director for the homage to Hollywood's golden era of film.
Billy Crystal returned as Oscars host for the first time in eight years, in what some critics lambasted as a play-safe performance. The veteran presenter opened the ceremony with a video sequence that showed him getting kissed by George Clooney. "You're a lucky girl. He's a very good kisser," he told the star's girlfriend Stacy Keibler. The customary jokes followed, including a dig at Christian Bale, one of the evening's presenters, for his infamous on-set rant.
A host of A-List stars comprised the rest of the evening's guest presenters, including Ben Stiller and Emma Stone, the cast of Bridesmaids, Gwyneth Paltrow and Robert Downey Jr., and Angelina Jolie. Miss Piggy and Kermit the Frog also put in an appearance.
Sacha Baron Cohen created a stir on the red carpet earlier on in the evening by dressing up as The Dictator, the star of his latest movie, and pouring ashes "from the urn of Kim Jong-Il" over radio host Ryan Seacrest.
See all the red carpet Oscar looks, from Angelina Jolie in Versace to Penelope Cruz in Armani, here. Or scroll below to see a list of all major winners at the 2012 Oscars.
What do you think? Did the best people win or did anyone miss out on a well-deserved gong? Let us know on Twitter or in the comments section, below.
2012 Oscars: Winners List
Best actress
WINNER: Meryl Streep - The Iron Lady
Michelle Williams - My Week with Marilyn
Rooney Mara - The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo
Viola Davis - The Help
Glenn Close - Albert Nobbs
Best actor
WINNER: Jean Dujardin - The Artist
George Clooney - The Descendants
Brad Pitt - Moneyball
Gary Oldman - Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Demián Bichir - A Better Life
Octavia Spencer - winner, best supporting actress
Best picture
WINNER: The Artist
War Horse
The Tree Of Life
The Descendants
Hugo
Midnight in Paris
The Help
Moneyball
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
Best director
WINNER: Michel Hazanavicius - The Artist
Alexander Payne - The Descendants
Martin Scorsese - Hugo
Terrence Malick - The Tree of Life
Woody Allen - Midnight in Paris
Christopher Plummer - winner, best supporting actor
Best supporting actress
WINNER: Octavia Spencer - The Help
Bérénice Bejo - The Artist
Jessica Chastain - The Help
Melissa McCarthy - Bridesmaids
Janet McTeer - Albert Nobbs
Best supporting actor
WINNER: Christopher Plummer - Beginners
Kenneth Branagh - My Week With Marilyn
Jonah Hill - Moneyball
Nick Nolte - Warrior
Max Von Sydow - Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
Meryl Streep - winner, best actress
Best original screenplay
WINNER: Midnight in Paris
The Artist
Bridesmaids
Margin Call
A Separation
Best adapted screenplay
WINNER: The Descendants
Hugo
Ides of March
Moneyball
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Jean Dujardin - winner, best actor
Cinematography
WINNER: Hugo - Robert Richardson
The Artist - Guillaume Schiffman
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo - Jeff Cronenweth
The Tree of Life - Emmanuel Lubezki
War Horse - Janusz Kaminski
Costume Design
WINNER: The Artist - Mark Bridges
Anonymous - Lisy Christl
Hugo - Sandy Powell
Jane Eyre - Michael O'Connor
W.E. - Arianne Phillips
The Artist - winner, best picture
Animated Feature Film
WINNER: Rango - Gore Verbinski
A Cat in Paris - Alain Gagnol and Jean-Loup Felicioli
Chico & Rita - Fernando Trueba and Javier Mariscal
Kung Fu Panda 2 - Jennifer Yuh Nelson
Puss in Boots - Chris Miller
Art Direction
WINNER: Hugo Production Design: Dante Ferretti; Set Decoration: Francesca Lo Schiavo
The Artist
Production Design: Laurence Bennett; Set Decoration: Robert Gould
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2
Production Design: Stuart Craig; Set Decoration: Stephenie McMillan
Midnight in Paris
Production Design: Anne Seibel; Set Decoration: Hélène Dubreuil
War Horse
Production Design: Rick Carter; Set Decoration: Lee Sandales
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