Winslet, who plays a woman that has an affair with a much younger man in the film, said the role was particularly difficult because she had little personal experience to draw on to help her relate to the character.
The 33-year-old actress, famous for her role in the 1997 blockbuster "Titanic," is also nominated this year for her leading role in "Revolutionary Road."
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Kate Winslet holds her award for Best Performance by an Actress In A Supporting Role in a Motion Picture for her part in "The Reader'', at the 66th annual Golden Globe awards in Beverly Hills, California Jan. 11, 2009. |
The ceremony, considered the second largest event after the annual Academy Awards in Kodak Theater, will help dispel clouds of gloom among Americans' minds due to the current economic recession in the United States, organizers said.
Hollywood stars and celebrities came back to the ceremony at Beverly Hilton Hotel this year after a strike by the Writers Guild of America reduced last year's event to a boring news conference, where winners were announced at the same ball room.
Sunday night's event also gave Hollywood its first chance to bid a fond farewell to the late Heath Ledger, who was named the winner of a posthumous best supporting-actor award for his role as The Joker in "The Dark Knight," the 2008 box office champion.
Meanwhile, "Slum dog Millionaire," a Hollywood salute to Bollywood, is expected to continue its winning ways at the ceremony.
The film, which tells a story of a young man from Mumbai who finds success on a television game show in India, won five prizes at Thursday's Broadcast Film Critics Association's Critics Choice Awards, including best picture, director, writer, composer and young actor for star Dev Patel.
The Golden Globe Awards are often promoted as an early indicator of the Oscar. However, none of the Golden Globe best picture winners have gone on to win the Academy Award for best picture for the past four years.
The awards are handed out by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, which has about 85 members based in Hollywood to report news about the entertainment industry for publications around the world.