Kathryn Bigelow made history after becoming the first female to win Best Director award for her film The Hurt Locker at the Oscars. Her award was met with cheers from the audience in Los Angeles last night.  

The director's ex husband James Cameron was also up for the award for the budget-busting 3D Avatar, but Bigelow not only beat him in that category but when on to win a total of six awards while Cameron collected only three. 

The Hurt Locker won Best Film, Director, Original Screenplay (to which writer Mark Boal dedicated it to the soliders fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan), Editing, Sound Editing and Sound Mixing. Avatar took home awards for Best Visual Effects, Cinematography and Art Direction.  

The only Brit to win an Oscar this year was Sandy Powell, who won her third Oscar for costume design in the film The Young Victoria. BAFTA winners Colin Firth and Carey Mulligan went home empty handed, as well as Dame Helen Mirren who was also nominated in the Best acting category. 

Among the other films to win were Inglorious Basterds with best supporting actor Christoph Walz, Precious won best supporting actress and adapted screenplay and Sandra Bullock won best actress for The Blind Side. 

Full listings: 

BEST PICTURE

- The Hurt Locker

BEST DIRECTOR

- Kathryn Bigelow, The Hurt Locker

BEST ACTOR

- Jeff Bridges, Crazy Heart

BEST ACTRESS

- Sandra Bullock, The Blind Side

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

- Christoph Waltz, Inglourious Basterds

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

- Mo'nique, Precious

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

- Mark Boal, The Hurt Locker

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

- Geoffrey Fletcher, Precious

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM

- El Secretro de sus Ojo, Argentina

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE

- Up

ART DIRECTION

- Avatar Art Direction: Rick Carter and Robert Stromberg; Set Decoration: Kim Sinclair

CINEMATOGRAPHY

- Avatar Mauro Fiore

COSTUME DESIGN

- The Young Victoria Sandy Powell 

DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

- The Cove 

DOCUMENTARY SHORT

- Music by Prudence Roger Ross Williams and Elinor Burkett

FILM EDITING

- The Hurt Locker Bob Murawski and Chris Innis

MAKEUP

- Star Trek Barney Burman, Mindy Hall and Joel Harlow

ORIGINAL SCORE

- Up Michael Giacchino

ORIGINAL SONG

- The Weary Kind (Theme from Crazy Heart) from Crazy Heart Music and Lyric by Ryan Bingham and T Bone Burnett 

ANIMATED SHORT

- Logorama Nicolas Schmerkin

LIVE ACTION SHORT

- The New Tenants Joachim Back and Tivi Magnusson

SOUND EDITING

- The Hurt Locker Paul N.J. Ottosson

SOUND MIXING

- The Hurt Locker Paul N.J. Ottosson and Ray Beckett

VISUAL EFFECTS

- Avatar Joe Letteri, Stephen Rosenbaum, Richard Baneham and Andrew R. Jones