Frances McDormand and Sir Anthony Hopkins were named Best Actress and Best Actor in a Leading Role at Sunday's Academy Awards
The 63-year-old actress scooped the accolade for the third time when she triumphed ahead of Viola Davis ('Ma Rainey's Black Bottom'), Andra Day ('The United States vs. Billie Holiday'), Vanessa Kirby ('Pieces of a Woman'), and Carey Mulligan ('Promising Young Woman') thanks to her performance in 'Nomadland'.
28 April 2021
Accepting the award at Los Angeles' Union Station, Frances made reference to 'Macbeth' as she said: "I have no words. My voice is in my sword."
She then added: "We know the sword is our work. And I like work. Thank you for knowing that. And thanks for this."
Victory for the actress - who previously won the prize in 2018 for 'Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri' and in 1997 for 'Fargo' - means she now joins a list of five other performers who have won five Oscars for acting, alongside Ingrid Bergman, Walter Brennan, Daniel Day-Lewis, Jack Nicholson, and Meryl Streep.
Only Katherine Hepburn, with four, has won more Best Actress prizes.
Meanwhile, Anthony was a surprise winner in the Best Actor category for his role in 'The Father', and at 83, became the oldest star to receive an acting Oscar, breaking the 2011 record set by the then-82-year-old Christopher Plummer.
He wasn't in attendance for the ceremony, and so the evening's final award was given without any acceptance speech.
The honour had widely been expected to go to the late Chadwick Boseman for his final movie 'Ma Rainey's Black Bottom', but Gary Oldman ('Mank'), Riz Ahmed ('Sound of Metal'), and Steven Yuen ('Minari') were also nominated for the award.
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