Renee Zellweger won the Best Actress Oscar for Judy. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)
Renee Zellweger completed a Hollywood comeback for the ages at the Oscars on Sunday night, winning as best actress for her role as Judy Garland in Judy.
Written off during a six-year hiatus from acting that ended in 2016, Zellweger returned to claim her second Oscar after 16 years.
“If only I could stand up straight, I was shaking so much,” Zellweger said as she walked offstage. “Oh my word.”
She did her own singing in front of live audiences in the biopic that chronicles the last years of Garland’s life shortly before her death in 1969 at age 47.
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“Miss Garland, you are certainly among the heroes who unite and define us, and this is certainly for you,” Zellweger said onstage.
Zellweger won supporting-actress honors in 2004 for Cold Mountain.
In 2010, Zellweger took a break to take care of herself after experiencing depression. She had been working nearly non-stop for years while starring in hits like Bridget Jones’s Diary and Chicago.
Clutching her trophy, Zellweger saluted her Swiss father and Norwegian mother.
“My immigrant folks who came here with nothing but each other and belief in the American dream, how about this?” said Zellweger, who is from Texas.
The 50-year-old actress came into the end of awards season riding a wave of momentum that included wins at the Golden Globes, SAG Awards, BAFTAs and Independent Spirit Awards.
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The other nominees for best actress were Cynthia Erivo for Harriet, Scarlett Johansson for Marriage Story, Saoirse Ronan for Little Women, and Charlize Theron for Bombshell.