OSCAR AWARDS 2013

Ben Affleck's Iranian hostage drama 'Argo' won the Best Picture Oscar while Ang Lee pulled off a big surprise by taking home the Best Director trophy for 'Life of Pi' at the 85th Academy Awards.

British actor Daniel Day-Lewis, 55, scored a historic third Best Actor Oscar for his turn as the 16th US President Abraham Lincoln in Steven Spielberg's civil-war set drama 'Lincoln'.

He has become the first actor to win the most number of Best Actor Oscars. His previous Oscars were for 'My Left Foot' in 1989 and 'There Will Be Blood' in 2007.

22-year-old Jennifer Lawrence emerged a winner for 'Silver Linings Playbook' in a tight best actress race by tripping strong contenders like Jessica Chastain, Emmanuelle Riva, Naomi Watts and Quvenzhane Wallis.

'Argo' saw off tough competition from eight other films --including 'Lincoln', 'Life of Pi', 'Amour', 'Django Unchained' and 'Zero Dark Thirty'-- to walk away with the top award.

'Argo' was declared a winner by Jack Nicholson and First Lady Michelle Obama, who tuned in through a videolink, making an unprecedented appearance from White House in a shimmery silver gown.

The film, based on real incidents, narrates the near impossible escape story when CIA pulled out six US diplomats from Iranin 1979 by posing as a fake film crew.

List of Oscar Winners from the 2013 Academy Awards:

1. Supporting Actor: Christoph Waltz, "Django Unchained."

2. Animated Short Film: "Paperman."

3. Animated Feature Film: "Brave."

4. Cinematography: "Life of Pi."

5. Visual Effects: "Life of Pi."

6. Costume: "Anna Karenina."

7. Makeup and Hairstyling: "Les Miserables."

8. Live Action Short Film: "Curfew."

9. Documentary (short subject): "Inocente."

10. Documentary: "Searching For Sugar Man."

11. Foreign Language Film: "Amour."

12. Sound Mixing: "Les Miserables."

13. Sound Editing (TIE): "Skyfall," "Zero Dark Thirty."

14. Supporting Actress: Anne Hathaway, "Les Miserables."

15. Editing: "Argo."

16. Production Design: "Lincoln."

17. Score: "Life of Pi."

18. Song: Adele, "Skyfall."

19. Adapted Screenplay: Chris Terrio, "Argo."

20. Original Screenplay: Quentin Tarantino, "Django Unchained."

21. Director: Ang Lee, "Life of Pi."

22. Actress: Jennifer Lawrence, "Silver Linings Playbook."

23. Actor: Daniel Day-Lewis, "Lincoln."

24. Picture: "Argo."