Mo’Nique won Best Supporting Actress for her role as an abusive welfare mom in ‘Precious.’ She was highly favored in the category and beat Vera Farmiga, Anna Kendrick, Maggie Gyllenhaal and Penelope Cruz, as she did at the Golden Globes.

 Mo’Nique said,

I would like to thank the Academy for showing that it can be about the performance and not the politics,” she said with emotion. “To my amazing husband, Sidney — thank you for showing me that sometimes you have to forego doing what’s popular, in order to do what’s right.”

Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire” is the actress’ second pairing with filmmaker Lee Daniels, who first cast her in his directorial debut in 2005’s “Shadowboxer,” alongside fellow Oscar nominee, Helen Mirren.

Mo’Nique joins only a few black actresses to get an Oscar. Hattie McDaniel claimed best supporting actress in 1939’s “Gone with the Wind,” Whoopi Goldberg won best supporting actress for 1990’s “Ghost,” Halle Berry took best actress for 2001’s “Monster’s Ball” and Jennifer Hudson got best supporting actress for 2006’s “Dreamgirls.”

Mo’Nique said last year at the Sundance Film Festival that the sexual abuse her character displays in “Precious” is not completely foreign to her, as she described her own experience as the victim of childhood molestation.

She also said earlier this year at an awards show that a man walked up to her after seeing “Precious” and confessed to being an abuser, and she urged him to get help.

For her role in “Precious,” Mo’Nique has also won supporting actress trophies at the Golden Globes and the Screen Actors Guild Awards.