Baftas 2014: Cate Blanchett dedicates Best Actress Bafta for Blue Jasmine to Philip Seymour Hoffman

The Australian actress dedicated her accolade to the late Philip Seymour Hoffman

Cate Blanchett on the red carpet at the Baftas 2014 (Getty Images)

Cate Blanchett has received the Best Actress award at the Baftas in London for her portrayal of Jeanette ‘Jasmine’ Francis in Woody Allen's Blue Jasmine.

The Australian actress, 44, plays a wealthy but deeply-troubled Manhattan socialite who descends into addiction and poverty.

Baftas 2014: Winners in full

Blanchett beat Amy Adams ( American Hustle), Emma Thompson ( Saving Mr Banks), Judi Dench ( Philomena) and Sandra Bullock ( Gravity) to the Bafta.

Panting as she accepted the award, Blanchett dedicated the accolade to the late Philip Seymour Hoffman.

"Phil, your monumental talent, your unflinching quest for truth both in art and in life will be missed by so many people," she said.

"Phil, buddy, this is for you, you bastard, hope you're proud."

Blanchett has swept the board at recent awards ceremonies, winning Golden Globe and Critics Choice awards, and is widely-tipped to take home the Oscar for Best Actress on Sunday 2 March. She won an Academy Award in 2005 for her Best Supporting Actress role in The Aviator.

The Bafta for Best Supporting Actress, presented by The Wolf of Wall Street's Leonardo DiCaprio, went to Jennifer Lawrence , for her role as a neurotic housewife in David O Russell's American Hustle.

Lawrence apologised for her absence at the ceremony, which she explained was due to working commitments.

Critics had tipped Kenyan actress Lupita Nyong'o, who plays Patsey in 12 Years a Slave, for the Bafta, after the role won her a Golden Globe in January.

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