"Female films are not niche -- people want to see them!" exclaimed Cate Blanchett as she won her Academy Award for Best Actress in a Lead Role for her role as the titular Blue Jasmine, a film directed by Woody Allen.

Blanchett beat out Amy Adams (American Hustle), Dame Judi Dench (Philomena), Sandra Bullock (Gravity), and -- most impressively -- Meryl Streep (August: Osage County).

The Australian actress came to international attention for her role as Elizabeth I of England in the 1998 film Elizabeth, for which she won the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) and Golden Globe awards, and earned her first Academy Award nomination for Best Actress. Blanchett appeared as the elf Lady Galadriel in Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings trilogy from 2001 to 2003. In 2004, Blanchett's portrayal of Katharine Hepburn in Martin Scorsese's The Aviator brought her numerous awards, including an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.

Blanchett's other notable films include Babel (2006), Notes on a Scandal (2006), I'm Not There (2007), Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008), and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008). She achieved further success in 2013 for her starring role in Blue Jasmine, earning her a third Golden Globe Award, a third BAFTA Award, and a second Academy Award.

Blue Jasmine tells the story of a rich Manhattan socialite (played by Cate Blanchett) falling into poverty and homelessness. It was released on July 26, 2013, in New York and Los Angeles.

Blue Jasmine received praise from the critics, particularly for Blanchett's performance. It was a box office success, earning $94.8 million worldwide against a budget of $18 million. The film has received three Academy Award nominations, including Best Actress for Blanchett and Best Supporting Actress for Sally Hawkins. It was also awarded the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture -- Drama, the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role and the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role for Blanchett.

Congratulations to Cate for her continued success!