Renee Zellwegger wins best actress Academy Award

LOS ANGELES — Renee Zellwegger has won the best actress Academy Award for her portrayal of Judy Garland in the tumultuous final year of her life.

It is Zellweger’s second Oscar; she won the supporting actress award in 2004 for “Cold Mountain.”

The actress has enjoyed front-runner status throughout awards season, picking up top Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild honors last month.

Joaquin Phoenix won the best actor Academy Award Sunday for his role as a wanna-be-comedian destined to become a supervillain in “Joker.”

It is Phoenix’s first Oscar and fourth nomination. Widely praised for performances in films ranging from “Gladiator” to the Johnny Cash biopic “Walk the Line,” a best actor win had proved elusive for Phoenix.

In his acceptance speech, Phoenix said he did not feel elevated above any of his fellow nominees. He said he didn’t know what he would be if not for acting.

Phoenix had been seen as the front-runner for the award heading in to Sunday’s ceremony. “Joker” won the best original score Oscar as well, and is up for the night’s final prize, best picture.

He becomes the second actor to win an Oscar for playing the notorious DC Comics villain. Heath Ledger won a posthumous Oscar for playing the Joker in “The Dark Knight” in 2008

Bong Joon Ho’s “Parasite” made history, Brad Pitt won his first acting Oscar, Laura Dern collected best supporting actress at a 92nd Academy Awards.

Bong’s South Korean class satire took three big awards: best director, best original screenplay and best international film. All were the first Oscars for a Korean film. Bong and co-writer Han Jin Won became the first Asian writers to take the screenplay prize. Should “Parasite” win the night’s final award, it would be the first non-English language film to win best picture.

As it has for much of awards season, “Parasite” appeared the favorite in the room. A standing ovation greeted Bong’s win for international film. “I am ready to drink tonight,” said Bong to roars from the crowd. Unexpectedly called up again for best director, Bong saluted his fellow nominees, particularly Martin Scorsese, and concluded: “Now

I’m ready to drink until tomorrow.”

Few categories were more certain coming into Sunday’s Oscars than best supporting actor, which Pitt has had locked down all awards season. While Pitt (who in 2014 shared in the best picture win for “12 Years a Slave,” as was a producer) has regaled audiences with one-liners in the run-up to the Oscars, he began his comments on a political note.

“They told me I have 45 seconds to speak, which is 45 seconds more than the Senate gave John Bolton this week,” said Pitt, alluding to the impeachment hearings.

“I’m thinking maybe Quentin does a movie about it.”

Pitt said the honor had given him reason to reflect on his fairy-tale journey in the film industry, going back to when he moved to Los Angeles from Missouri. “Once upon a time in Hollywood,“said Pitt. “Ain’t that the truth.”

Most of the early awards went according to forecasts, including Dern winning for her performance as a divorce attorney in Noah Baumbach’s “Marriage Story.” Accepting her first Oscar, Dern thanked her in-attendance parents, “my legends, Diane Ladd and Bruce Dern.”