Anne Hathaway won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress on Sunday for her work as a poverty stricken mother driven to prostitution in "Les Miserables."

It is Hathaway's first Oscar. She was previously nominated in the leading actress category for her work as a troubled young woman who recently finished rehab in "Rachel Getting Married" (2008).

For Oscar voters, it really came down to one big number. Hathaway's teary rendition of the film's anthem of regret and loss, "I Dreamed a Dream," stuck with viewers even though the actress had relatively little screen time. Filmed in a tight close-up by director Tom Hooper and largely recorded while Hathaway performed it live on the set, the actress' work was considered a high point even by critics who were lukewarm about "Les Miserables."

It also helped that Hathaway had another showy role last year, playing Catwoman in Christopher Nolan's blockbuster hit, "The Dark Knight Rises."

To win the Oscar, Hathaway beat out Sally Field's channeling of Mary Todd Lincoln in "Lincoln," Amy Adams' work as the manipulative wife of a cult leader in "The Master," Jacki Weaver's performance as a worried mother in "Silver Linings Playbook" and Helen Hunt's portrayal of a sex therapist in "The Sessions."

Hathaway's other film credits include "The Devil Wears Prada" (2006), "Alice in Wonderland" (2010) and "Brokeback Mountain" (2005).