Oscars open with triumph for Cruz

Cruz received her award from five previous supporting actress winners

Spanish actress Penelope Cruz has won the first major award of the night at the 81st Academy Awards in Hollywood.

The 34-year-old star won her first Oscar for her performance as a passionate artist in Woody Allen's Vicky Cristina Barcelona.

"Has anybody ever fainted here. I might be the first one," said Cruz, who was previously nominated in 2007.

British film Slumdog Millionaire, from director Danny Boyle, is tipped to win the evening's top prize, best picture.

British actress Kate Winslet is also expected to triumph, winning the best actress Oscar, while Mickey Rourke remains favourite to win best actor.

Australian star Hugh Jackman, who is hosting the awards at the Kodak Theatre, opened with a song medley paying tribute to the best picture nominees.

Hollywood A-listers including Brad Pitt, Sean Penn and Meryl Streep were among this year's nominees gracing the red carpet.

Romance rumours

Dev Patel and Freida Pinto, the leading actors in Slumdog Millionaire, was among the first of the evening's celebrities to appear.

They were joined by director Danny Boyle and Bollywood star Anil Kapoor, who fuelled the rumours of an off-screen romance between Pinto and Patel. "There is a potential and they look great together," he said.

Actors Freida Pinto and Dev Patel missed out on acting nominations

The movie, a rags-to-riches tale set in the slums of Mumbai, has been named best film by the producers', writers', actors' and directors' guilds in the US.

Boyle attributed the film's popularity to people's desire "to root for the underdog".

He will battle it out with David Fincher for the best director Oscar, alongside fellow contenders Ron Howard, Stephen Daldry and Gus Van Sant.

Fincher, best known for Se7en and Fight Club, is nominated for his work on The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, which leads the field with 13 nominations including best picture.

The film, which stars Pitt as a man who ages backwards, has had the most box office success - taking $242m (