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The 15 most memorable Oscar moments

The Weekly celebrates the very best Oscars moments. Ever.
Cate Blanchett

On May the 16th, 1929, the very first Academy Awards were held at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel in California.

Stars attended, gold statues flashed, and the best of the best turned out to celebrate their peers and their achievements.

It’s been a long time since the very first Academy Awards ceremony, and it’s come a long way. Red carpets have been rolled in, dresses have gotten bigger and more glamorous, reporting has gotten more extensive and more comprehensive and with each passing year, the prestige of the Oscars has grown.

To celebrate the 88th anniversary of the very first Oscars, The Weekly looks back at the finest and most memorable moments to have graced the red carpet.

Cry baby Gwyneth Paltrow’s acceptance speech for Shakespeare in Love was short and sweet – because Gwyneth couldn’t get the words out. The actress was so teary, her speech had to be cut short.

The kiss When dark horse, Adrien Brody’s name was called out in the Best Actor category, no one was as stunned as he. Daniel Day Lewis was thought to be the front runner for Gangs of New York. Adrien strode onto the stage, he pulled presented Halle Berry in by the waist and gave her a kiss that has gone down in history.

The Princess is a country girl Grace Kelly was the picture of elegance as she accepted her Oscar for The Country Girl in 1954. Kelly married Prince Rainier two years later, and became Princess Grace.

Finally After being nominated five times and losing every one, it was a moment of triumph when Martin Scorsese was finally, finally given the recognition he deserved for his work.

A star is born At just 11 years of age, Anna Paquin became the second youngest Oscar winner in history for her work in The Piano.

It’s a tie! For the first time ever, in 1968, Barbra Streisand and Katharine Hepburn became the first two actors two ever be tied for an Oscar. The two got their own statuettes and read out separate speeches.

Golden girl Our very own Cate Blanchett won her first Oscar for The Aviator.

Golden girls! Twice.

In remebrance In a moving ceremony and speech, Heath Ledger’s family were welcomed onstage to accept Heath’s Ledge’rs Oscar for The Dark Knight on his behalf. The 28-year-old had died just a few months earlier.

The first, but not the last Halle Berry was understandably teary when she went on stage to accept the Best Actress Oscar for Monster’s Ball. She was the very first African-American woman to do so – and the grandeur of such a moment was not lost on her. “This is so much bigger than me,” she cried.

An important message When Marlon Brando won his Oscar for The Godfather in 1973, it was not the man himself who came onstage to accept it. Sacheen Littlefeather, a Native American woman, came onstage at his request and made a statement about the ‘Wounded Knee’ incident. The host told her if she wasn’t off the stage in 60 seconds, he would have her arrested. She was booed off stage.

One for the girls For her work on Hurtlocker, Kathryn Bigelow became the very first woman to ever win a Best Director Oscar.

Big pimpin’ In a surprising move, the Academy proved they did know what a rapper was, and gave ‘Best Original Song’ to the Three 6 Mafia for their song ‘Hard Out Here for a Gangsta’ in the movie Hustle & Flow.

Short and sweet Joe Pesci won the Oscar for Best Actor in Good Fellas in 1991, and wasn’t one for long speeches. His lasted 4 seconds, and said simply, “It was my privilege. Thank you.”

Thank you, thank you, thank you An emotional Julia Roberts couldn’t hold it back when she won for Erin Brockovich in 2001. She thanked in her words “everyone in my life”, and jumped up and down in her almost 5 minute speech.

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