Penelope Cruz won the best supporting actress Academy Award on Sunday for her fiery, funny role of a woman in a three-way relationship with her ex-husband and an American woman in "Vicky Cristina Barcelona, saying it was a sign of changing times in American film for foreign actors.

The achievement made Cruz the first Spanish woman to win an acting Oscar, one year after her compatriot and "Vicky" co-star Javier Bardem won best supporting actor for "No Country for Old Men." This honor came just one day after Cruz won the same prize at the Spirit Awards.

The actress sustained part of her acceptance speech in Spanish, saying the win was for actors from her home country and others in Spain. She also felt the urge of praising director Woody Allen for helping her deal with insecurity on the set and thanked him for writing good roles for women.

Other very talented actresses were also nominated in this category among which Amy Adams and Viola Davis for "Doubt," Taraji P. Henson for "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" and Marisa Tomei for "The Wrestler."

The award was presented jointly by five actresses who previously won the award, Tilda Swinton, Whoopi Goldberg, Goldie Hawn, Angelica Huston and Eva Marie Saint. Each actress made remarks about each of the five nominees before Swinton announced Cruz as the winner.

Penelope Cruz was also nominated for a best actress Oscar in 2006 for "Volver."