Oscar Ladies Make History: Mo'Nique, Bullock and Bigelow!

The 82nd Annual Academy Awards last night made history when Kathryn Bigelow became the first woman to take home the award for Best Director for The Hurt Locker, Mo'Nique took home the gold man for Precious and Sandra Bullock scored her first Oscar for her role in The Blind Side.

The most hotly contested race for Best Picture went to Bigelow's Iraq war film, The Hurt Locker, beating out ex-hubby, James Cameron, and his groundbreaking film Avatar.

"This really is--there's no other way to describe it--the moment of a lifetime," Bigelow, 58, said as she dedicated the award to "the women and men in the military who risk their lives on a daily basis. ... May they come home safe."

Backstage, she added, "I would say -- and I don't mean it to sound simple -- never give up on your dream. I've been making films for a while -- about 30 years. So when I say, 'Don't give up on your dream,' I mean it quite literally. So be tenacious, but work on the stories you truly believe in, because then no obstacle is too great."

After Sandra Bullock won Best Actress on her first try for The Blind Side, she graciously received her statue and noted, "I would like to thank what this film was to me, which are the moms who take care of the babies and the children no matter where it is they come from."

Bullock held back tears thanking her mother, who she said taught her there is "no race, no religion, no class system, no color, no sexual orientation that makes us better than anyone else; we are all deserving of love."

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