Julianne Moore (Photo : REUTERS/Lucas Jackson )
Julianne Moore has won her first Best Actress Academy Award for her universally acclaimed performance in the drama film "Still Alice," where she portrayed the role of a sufferer of early onset Alzheimer's disease.
Moore beat Marion Cotillard of "Two Days, One Night," Reese Witherspoon of "Wild," Rosamund Pike of "Gone Girl" and Felicity Jones of "The Theory of Everything" for the award. With her understated performance in her latest film, Moore's win had been widely expected, according to Boston Herald.
However, Moore acknowledged fellow Oscar nominees in her acceptance speech Sunday, saying, "There's no such thing as Best Actress, as is evidenced by the performance of the nominees."
It was Moore's fifth Oscar nomination. She got the four other nominations between 1998 and 2002 for her films "Boogie Nights," "The End of the Affair," "Far from Heaven" and "The Hours."
The first-time Academy award winning actress also noted in her speech that she was "thrilled" that "Still "Alice" was able to shine a light on Alzheimer's disease.
"People with Alzheimer's deserve to be seen so we can find a cure," Moore stated.
The movie, which is based on Lisa Genova's 2007 bestselling novel "Still Alice," is a story about a Columbia University linguistics professor who was diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer's disease. Moore said the film helped her become more appreciative of her life and everything in it, according to the Huffington Post.
"I think really what the movie does is make you think about what you care about and what you want in your life and not taking anything for granted," she added.
Moore's Oscar award is the latest of her accolades received for her performance as Alice Howland. Her role also allowed her to win her second Golden Globe for Best Actress Award, Screen Actors Guild Award, BAFTA Award, and Critics' Choice Movie Award, among others.
