Jessie Buckley makes history by winning an Oscar for best actress

History was made in several different ways during this year's Academy Awards, one of which hinged on Jessie Buckley's best actress win.

The Irish star, 36, was up against a number of Hollywood favourites in the prestigious category, including Rose Byrne for her role in drama If I Had Legs I'd Kick You, and Kate Hudson for her appearance in biographical music hit, Song Sung Blue.

Buckley was also competing against Renate Reinsve, who'd received her first Oscar nomination for the Norwegian drama, Sentimental Value, and previous two-time winner Emma Stone, for her role in comedy-thriller Bugonia.

Following a monumental award season so far, Buckley had once again been nominated for her lead role in Hamnet, in which she plays the wife of William Shakespeare, Agnes.

An adaptation of author Maggie O'Farrell's best-selling novel, directed by Chloé Zhao, the gut-wrenching drama saw Buckley star alongside Paul Mescal as Shakespeare, with whom Agnes shared three children.

In the end, the odds proved to be in Buckley's favour, and presenter Adrien Brody declared her the winner.

As well as her first Academy Award win, Buckley's triumph marks a huge moment for Ireland, making her the first Irish winner of the best actress Oscar.

Other Irish actresses have previously come close - including Saoirse Ronan for Brooklyn, Lady Bird and Little Women, and Ruth Negga for Loving - but hadn't come out on top in their respective years.

Taking to the stage after her name was called, Buckley, from Killarney, thanked her fellow nominees.

Buckley thanked her fellow nominees (Mike Coppola/Getty Images)

She began by gushing: "Thank you to the incredible women that I stand beside. I am inspired by your art and your heart, and I want to work with every single one of you."

Buckley then thanked her father, whom she'd reportedly flown to Los Angeles from Ireland, for 'teaching us to dream and to never be defined by expectation to carry from your own passion'.

Turning her attention to her partner, Fred, Buckley added: "I love you, man. I love you. You’re the most incredible dad. You’re my best friend, and I want to have 20,000 more babies with you."

She and Fred became pregnant with their first child, a daughter, Isla, weeks after filming of Hamnet - a film that largely centred on child loss - wrapped up.

Buckey is the first Irish star to win best actress at the Oscars (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

Buckley joked that her eight-month-old has 'absolutely no idea what’s going on' and is 'probably dreaming of milk', before noting: "This is kind of a big deal."

Speaking to her daughter directly, she added: "I love you, and I love being your mum, and I can’t wait to discover life beside you."

Buckley also thanked Hamnet's director and the author behind the work, claiming the 'journey to understand the capacity of a mother of love is the greatest collision of my life'.

Lastly, she reminded attendees: "It’s Mother’s Day in the UK today. So I would like to dedicate this to the beautiful chaos of a mother’s heart. We all come from a lineage of women who continued to create against all odds.

"Thank you for recognising me in this role. This is the greatest honour. I can’t even believe it."

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