KATE WINSLET WINS BEST ACTRESS FOR THE READER

NEW YORK - Kate Winslet pulled off the expected Sunday night,

winning the Academy Award for best actress for her quietly powerful

performance in "The Reader." Winslet was giddy and emotional as she

accepted her trophy.

"I'd be lying if I haven't made a version of this speech before," she said.

"I think I was probably 8 years old and staring into the bathroom

mirror and this (Oscar) would be a shampoo bottle. But it's not a

shampoo bottle now."

She thanked her husband, director Sam Mendes, and their two children.

And she also thanked her father, saying "Dad, whistle or something

'cause then I'll know where you are." He whistled back from his seat

at the Kodak Theatre.

Talkback:

"You just don't think that these dreams that seem so silly and so

impossible could ever really come true," Winslet said backstage.

This is the first Oscar for Winslet, who's been nominated five other

times for her roles in "Titanic,""Sense and Sensibility,""Iris,

""Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" and "Little Children."

But the British actress seemed a shoo-in to win this year: She

gained Oscar momentum after snagging a best supporting actress

award at the Golden Globes for her role as a former Nazi camp

guard in "The Reader," as well as best dramatic actress for her

role as an unhappy housewife in "Revolutionary Road."

Winslet, 33, received more recognition on the awards circuit for

"The Reader." Her portrayal of Hanna Schmitz - a woman having

a passionate affair with a teenager who encounters her again years

later while she is on trial for Holocaust crimes - was raw and

restrained, netting her additional trophies at the Screen Actors

Guild Awards and British Film Academy Awards.

The best-actress category was loaded with strong contenders:

Meryl Streep was another front-runner with her 15th acting

nomination as a prickly nun in "Doubt." Anne Hathaway played

against her wholesome image as a toxic narcissist who leaves

rehab to wreak havoc on her sister's wedding in "Rachel Getting

Married." Angelina Jolie dug deep to portray a mother of a

missing child in "Changeling." And Melissa Leo was powerful as

mom who forges an unlikely friendship in "Frozen River."