Allison Janney dedicates Best Supporting Actress Oscar to her deceased brother

Allison Janney’s mantel might already be full with seven Emmys, but it’s finally time to clear some room for an Oscar!

At Sunday’s 90th annual Academy Awards in Los Angeles, the I, Tonya star won the award for best actress in a supporting role.

“I did it all by myself,” Janney said as she reached the stage to rapturous applause. After taking in the moment, she added, “Nothing further from the truth. Thank you to the Academy. My fellow nominees: you represent everything that is good and right and human about this profession. You are all extraordinary.” Janney continued to thank screenwriter Steven Rogers, Margot Robbie, director Craig Gillespie, and “a cast and crew and bird that elevated my work.”

Janney concluded, “To my mother and father, Jay, my family, my family of friends… And this is for Hal. You’re always in my heart.” (Hal is Janney’s brother who died by suicide in 2011.)

This was the first Oscar nomination and win for Janney, who has collected seven Emmys for her legendary TV career. Sunday night’s result completes Janney’s awards season sweep, having also taken home the best supporting actress trophies at the Golden Globes, SAG Awards, Critics’ Choice Awards, Film Independent Spirit Awards, and BAFTA Awards.

In director Craig Gillespie’s film about the life of Olympic figure skater Tonya Harding (Margot Robbie), the Mom star plays LaVona, Harding’s abusive and bird-loving mother, who rips her daughter down, while simultaneously pushing her to become the world’s greatest skater.

“It was challenging figuring out how I was going to play LaVona Harding,” Janney previously told EW. “In a way, I felt unburdened by the fact that I wasn’t going to meet this woman and I couldn’t interview her, ask her the questions I wanted to, so I made up who she was in my mind and what her life must have been like to be who she was.”

Janney emerged victorious over Mary J. Blige (Mudbound), Lesley Manville (Phantom Thread), Laurie Metcalf (Lady Bird), and Octavia Spencer (The Shape of Water).

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