
Olivia Colman has become the new queen of Hollywood after taking home the Best Actress award at Sunday evening's 91st Academy Awards for her role as troubled Queen Anne in The Favourite.

The 45-year-old British actress was overjoyed as she accepted the gong, during which she reached out to little girls everywhere in an inspiring and sweet speech. She said: 'Any little girl who's practicing your speech on the telly, you never know! I used to work as a cleaner and I spent quite a lot of my time imagining this.'

While she grew tearful and emotional during, the overwhelmed Peep Show star was urged to wrap up her speech by Academy bosses - yet hilariously blew a raspberry and made a crass gesture at the teleprompter.

Reigning supreme: British actress Olivia Colman won best actress for her role in The Favorite at the Academy Awards on Sunday night

Olivia's speech was laden with emotion as she paid tribute to her many aides and supports however she tickled audiences when she made the crass gesture.

She was up against Glenn Close for The Wife, Yalitza Aparicio for Roma, Lady Gaga for A Star is Born and Melissa McCarthy of Can You Ever Forgive Me?, said: 'It's genuinely quite stressful. This is hilarious. I got an Oscar'.

In the heartwarming speech, she graciously gave a nod to her colleagues: 'I have to thank lots of people. Yorgos [Lanthimos], my best director and the best film with Emma [Stone] and Rachel [Weisz], the two loveliest women to fall in love with and go to work with every day. You can imagine it wasn't a hardship.'

Olivia was stunned as she beat out the category favourite Glenn, who was widely expected to win her first Oscar for her role in The Wife - after a record seven unsuccessful nominations. She gazed at Close in the audience and said: 'You've been my idol for so long and this is not how I wanted it to be.'

Haha! While she grew tearful and emotional during the speech, the overwhelmed Peep Show star was urged to wrap up her speech by Academy bosses - yet hilariously blew a raspberry and made a crass gesture at the teleprompter

Overwhelmed: Olivia could not contain her glee as she gushed to her co-stars and her fans during the speech

'This is quite stressful': The first time nominee was close to tears as she delivered a charming speech

Over the moon: Colman added the Oscar to her earlier wins at the Golden Globes, BAFTAs and National Society of Film Critics for the role

She can't believe it! Behind-the-scenes, it seemed Olivia would not let go of the golden award as she rubbed shoulders with her fellow stars in a delighted display, while also pulling a number of silly faces

Glenn's nods remain the most without a win than any other living actor. The actress, 71, came into the end of awards season riding a wave of momentum that included wins at the Golden Globes, SAG Awards and Independent Spirit Awards.

Olivia added the Oscar to her envious stream of earlier wins for her roles at the Golden Globes, BAFTAs and National Society of Film Critics for the role in the period drama. An emotional Olivia thanked her agent who took her on 20 years ago, and her children - and admitted she wasn't sure if they were watching at home.

'My kids who are at home and watching, look!' she exclaimed. 'If you're not, then, kind of well-done, but I sort of hope you are. This is not going to happen again.'

A winning performance: Her role as Queen Anne won hearts and awards all over the globe (pictured with co-star Rachel Weisz, who starred as Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough in the movie)

WOW: Olivia was stunned after beating out Yalitza Aparicio, Glenn Close, Lady Gaga and Melissa McCarthy for the Oscar

Happy days: An emotional Colman thanked her agent who took her on 20 years ago, and her children, who she wasn't sure if they were watching at home

Gracious Close: She gazed at Close in the audience and said, 'You've been my idol for so long and this is not how I wanted it to be' as Close smiled and laughed

'To my husband Ed, my best friend, I love you so much. 25 years, you've been my best supporter and... he's gonna cry,' which got another big laugh from the audience, before adding, 'I'm not.'

'Thank you so much, Fox, everybody, the cast the crew,' even turning to presenters Francis McDormand and Sam Rockwell, thanking them, before turning to Best Actress nominees Gaga and Melissa.

She turned and blew a kiss at her fellow nominees, as Lady Gaga blew a few back at her in one of the night's most memorable moments.

To her kids: 'My kids who are at home and watching, look!' she exclaimed. 'If you're not, then, kind of well-done, but I sort of hope you are,' adding, 'This is not going to happen again'

Heartfelt speech: She continued her heartfelt speech by reaching out to little girls everywhere

Speech: 'And any little girl who's practicing your speech on the telly, you never know! I used to work as a cleaner and I spent quite a lot of my time imagining this'

Proud of her pal: Her co-star Emma Stone was totally overjoyed to see her pal

Speaking backstage at the Dolby Theatre: 'None of it... It's not an every day occurrence, I don't know how everyone is composed and remembers everything, it's a very weird situation... I've no idea. I could not tell you what I'm feeling. Next year I'll be able to put it into words but I don't know what to do with myself at the moment.'

When the Oscar nominations were announced in December, Olivia gave a rousing interview in which she spoke of her long-lived desire to win one of the most coveted prizes in the industry and her doubts over her chances.

She said: 'If I’m really honest, I’ve always dreamed of holding an Oscar. But I’m really trying to sort of keep everything in check, keep calm...

Sheer excitement: Olivia couldn't contain her excitement for Hollywood's biggest night in film

Supportive husband: 'To my husband Ed, my best friend, I love you so much. 25 years, you've been my best supporter and... he's gonna cry,' which got another big laugh from the audience, before adding, 'I'm not'

Her pride and joy: Colman wasn't the only Brit to win one of Tinseltown's biggest awards on Oscar Sunday, though her win was the most prominent

Acting winners: After her big win, Colman posed backstage with the rest of the acting winners, Best Actor winner Rami Malek (Bohemian Rhapsody), Best Supporting Actor winner Mahershala Ali (Green Book) and Best Supporting Actress winner Regina King (If Beale Street Could Talk)

'This is silly. What are the chances? I don’t want to get excited. I don’t want to face that disappointment. I just want to be on an even keel... I’m a mum, a wife, I’m a mate. I’m other things. You can see how people get sort of swept into it and I want to stay sane.

'I really value being able to do what I want and that’s changing. That has been slowly changing for years and I’ve had my problems with it...

'I find it very upsetting when I think about it too much. But if I had a big red button to stop it I wouldn’t press it, because I love my job so much... I’m getting better and better roles, roles I dream of. But more people are seeing them.'

Big winners: Colman had her arm around Malek while King had her arm around her as they all held their Oscars

Over the moon: 'I really value being able to do what I want and that’s changing. That has been slowly changing for years and I’ve had my problems with it'

In training: Far from the award being her only triumph of the night, Olivia looked simply sensational as she sported an ethereal and dramatic gown, which was certainly worthy of the evening's biggest winner

A dream in cream: Later in the evening, Olivia transformed into a different ensemble as she toted her gong at the Vanity Fair after-party

Creamy sensation: She looked nothing short of sensational for the star-studded event as she changed into a flowing cream gown with beaded adornments - with the entire outfit screaming 'winner'

Far from the award being her only triumph of the night, Olivia looked simply sensational as she sported an ethereal and dramatic gown, which was certainly worthy of the evening's biggest winner.

The forest green ensemble with its floor-sweeping hemline and high-neck was perfectly suited to her curvy frame and alabaster complexion yet the drama was layered on top.

Olivia's stunning speech in full 'It's genuinely quite stressful. This is hilarious, I've got an Oscar. 'I have to thank lots of people and if I forget anybody I'll find you later and give you a massive snog [this is a kiss, for our overseas readers]. 'Yorgos, my best director and my best film, and Emily and Rachel the two best women in the world to fall in love with - you can imagine it wasn't a hardship. 'To be in this category, with these extraordinary women and Glenn Close - you are my idol and this is not how I wanted it to be. I love you all. 'Lindy King my agent who took me on 20 years ago - thank you so much. 'My mum and my dad and my kids who are at home watching, well if you're not then well done, but I sort of hope you are. This is not going to happen again. 'Any little girl who's practising their speech on the telly - you never know! I used to work as a cleaner I used to love that job. 'Oh - 'please wrap up' - [she is being told to end her speech, so she then blows a raspberry]. 'Ed [her husband] you're my best friend and best supporter and he's going to cry. I'm not. Thank you so much. 'To Fox, everybody the cast the crew. Thank you, argh thank you so much. Lady Gaga I love you!" Advertisement

Her shoulders were artfully draped with a sheer sheath of black organza which extended into a bolero at the arms and tied at the back in a vast bow which tumbled into a sweeping train.

The brunette beauty's hair was worn in the chic crop which is fast becoming her trademark style while make-up artist Sarah Uslan for Pat McGrath Labs created a 'youthful and fresh' beauty look for the winner to complement her unique Prada dress.

'Olivia and I really wanted to compliment the beautiful subdued emerald color of her custom Prada dress,' Sarah explained.

'It was important to keep her makeup youthful and fresh. Therefore, I decided to go for a bright and cheerful lip color. I love playing up her big beautiful eyes with chocolate shimmery subtle smokey shades. It was also very important for her skin to look radiant and glow.'

To create that radiance, Sarah used the Pat McGrath Labs Skin Fetish: Highlighter + Balm Duo under Olivia's foundation, in order to give her complexion a 'glow from within look'.

Olivia's eyes meanwhile were given accents of 'chocolate shimmer' from the Mothership II: Sublime Palette and the Mothership III: Subversive Palette, which Sarah noted 'paired perfectly with the gorgeous green in her dress'.

Her ensemble was then tied together with chic pearl drop earrings.

Later in the evening, Olivia transformed into a different ensemble as she toted her gong at the Vanity Fair after-party.

She looked nothing short of sensational for the star-studded event as she changed into a flowing cream gown with beaded adornments - with the entire outfit screaming 'winner'.

Olivia wasn't the only Brit to win one of Tinseltown's biggest awards on Oscar Sunday, though her win was the most prominent.

British-born songwriter Mark Ronson won for Best Original Song for Shallow, which he co-wrote with Lady Gaga, Anthony Rossamondo and Andrew Wyatt.

Fellow Brit Paul Massey won for Best Sound Mixing for Bohemian Rhapsody, alongside Tim Cavagin and John Casali. Nina Hartstone from Berkshire U.K. also won Best Sound Editing for Bohemian Rhapsody with John Warhurst.

After her big win, Colman posed backstage with the rest of the acting winners, Best Actor winner Rami Malek (Bohemian Rhapsody), Best Supporting Actor winner Mahershala Ali (Green Book) and Best Supporting Actress winner Regina King (If Beale Street Could Talk).

Colman had her arm around Malek while King had her arm around her as they all held their Oscars.

Malek even surprised the actress with a kiss on the cheek as they posed in the backstage press area.

The duo seemed engrossed as they chatted and no doubt broke down the highs and lows of their huge wins on the big night. Excited fans soon swarmed Twitter to lavish praise on the star.

Surprise kiss: Malek even surprised the actress with a kiss on the cheek as they posed in the backstage press area

360 degrees: At the back, Olivia's dress featured a bow that tied up her wrap around design

Cute duo: As her official red carpet date, Olivia brought husband Ed Sinclair to see her nominated

Happy days: Excited fans soon swarmed Twitter to lavish praise on the star, her win and her speech

Users of the microblogging site penned: 'I LOVE Olivia Colman, I’m so happy go on the Norfolk gal x... WHOOP WHOOP #OliviaColman Best Actress!... Gawd I love her! she gave a shout out to her days working as a cleaner only dreaming of this day. She's proof that belief, hard work & determination can make it happen for us...

'So don't let others limit you #Believe #Oscars... Olivia Colman is legit one of the most hilarious people on earth... Congratulations to Olivia Colman on her Oscar for best actress. What a superb actor...

'Bloody love Olivia Colman. Great acceptance speech. #Oscars... Don’t want to get carried away but I think Olivia Colman’s Oscar speech might have fixed everything... Ok so just seen Olivia Coleman’s acceptance speech and I’m full on sobbing, she is so precious and has to be protected at all times #OliviaColman.'

Bow-tiful: The former Peep Show star is expected to collect one of the big awards of night

Happy days: 'Bloody love Olivia Colman. Great acceptance speech. #Oscars... Don’t want to get carried away but I think Olivia Colman’s Oscar speech might have fixed everything... Ok so just seen Olivia Coleman’s acceptance speech and I’m full on sobbing, she is so precious and has to be protected at all times #OliviaColman'

Can't believe it: She could barely contain her joy at the happy triumph