The winners of the 69th Annual Golden Globe Awards were announced during the live broadcast on NBC on January 15, 2012, from the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills. While there were several surprises during the ceremony, including controversial host Ricky Gervais returning for third year in a row, some winners were completely expected.

The movie awards were the most buzzed about during the evening, as several acclaimed films were nominated and honored. ‘The Descendants’ won the Best Picture Drama, beating out such favorites as ‘The Help,’ ‘Moneyball,’ ‘War Horse,’ ‘The Ides of March’ and Hugo.’ George Clooney also won for his portrayal of Matt King in ‘The Descendants,’ beating out Leonardo DiCaprio for ‘J. Edgar,’ Michael Fassbender for ‘Shame,’ Ryan Gosling for ‘The Ides Of March’ and Brad Pitt for ‘Moneyball.’

Meryl Streep won for Best Performance by an Actress in a Drama, for her portrayal of former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in ‘The Iron Lady.’ She beat out Glenn Close for ‘Albert Nobbs,’ Viola Davis for ‘The Help,’ Rooney Mara for ‘The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo’ and Tilda Swinton for ‘We Need To Talk About Kevin.’

For the Comedy Or Musical film categories, ‘The Artist’ won over such movies as ’50/50,’ ‘Bridesmaids,’ ‘Midnight In Paris’ and ‘My Week With Marilyn.’ Jean Dujardin also won for his role as George Valentin in ‘The Artist,’ beating Brendan Gleeson in ‘The Guard,’ Joseph Gordon-Levitt in ’50/50,’ Ryan Gosling in ‘Crazy, Stupid, Love’ and Owen Wilson in ‘Midnight In Paris.’

Michelle Williams won for her portrayal of Marilyn Monroe for ‘My Week With Marilyn.’ She beat fellow nominees Jodie Foster for ‘Carnage, Charlize Theron for ‘Young Adult,’ Kristen Wiig for ‘Bridesmaids’ and Kate Winslet for ‘Carnage.’

The remaining winners are listed below:

Best Animated Feature Film

‘The Adventures Of Tintin,’ WINNER
‘Arthur Christmas’
‘Cars 2’
‘Puss In Boots’
‘Rango’

Best Foreign Language Film

‘The Flowers Of War’ (China)
‘In The Land Of Blood And Honey’ (United States)
‘The Kid With A Bike’ (Belgium)
‘A Separation’ (Iran), WINNER
‘The Skin I Live In’ (Spain)

Best Performance by an Actress In A Supporting Role in a Motion Picture

Berenice Bejo – ‘The Artist’
Jessica Chastain – ‘The Help’
Janet McTeer – ‘Albert Nobbs
Octavia Spencer – ‘The Help’ – WINNER
Shailene Woodley – ‘The Descendants’

Best Performance by an Actor In A Supporting Role in a Motion Picture

Kenneth Branagh – ‘My Week With Marilyn’
Albert Brooks – ‘Drive’
Jonah Hill – ‘Moneyball’
Viggo Mortensen – ‘A Dangerous Method’
Christopher Plummer – ‘Beginners’ – WINNER

Best Director – Motion Picture

Woody Allen – ‘Midnight In Paris’
George Clooney – ‘The Ides Of March’
Michel Hazanavicius – ‘The Artist’
Alexander Payne – ‘The Descendants’
Martin Scorsese – ‘Hugo’ – WINNER

Best Screenplay – Motion Picture

Michel Hazanavicius – The Artist
Nat Faxon, Alexander Payne, Jim Rash – The Descendants
George Clooney, Grant Heslov, Beau Willimon – The Ides Of March
Woody Allen – Midnight In Paris – WINNER
Stan Chervin, Aaron Sorkin, Steven Zaillian – Moneyball

Best Original Score – Motion Picture

Ludovic Bource – The Artist – WINNER
Abel Korzeniowski – W.E.
Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross – The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo
Howard Shore – Hugo
John Williams – War Horse

Best Original Song – Motion Picture

‘Hello Hello’ – ‘Gnomeo & Juliet’
‘The Keeper’ – ‘Machine Gun Preacher’
‘Lay Your Head Down’ – ‘Albert Nobbs’
‘The Living Proof– ‘The Help’
‘Masterpiece’ – ‘W.E.’ – WINNER

Best Television Series – Drama

‘American Horror Story’
‘Boardwalk Empire’
‘Boss’
‘Game Of Thrones’
‘Homeland’ – WINNER

Best Performance by an Actress In A Television Series – Drama

Claire Danes – ‘Homeland’ – WINNER
Mireille Enos – ‘The Killing’
Julianna Margulies – ‘The Good Wife’
Madeleine Stowe – ‘Revenge’
Callie Thorne – ‘Necessary Roughness’

Best Performance by an Actor In A Television Series – Drama

Steve Buscemi – ‘Boardwalk Empire’
Bryan Cranston – ‘Breaking Bad’
Kelsey Grammer – ‘Boss’ – WINNER
Jeremy Irons – ‘The Borgias’
Damian Lewis – ‘Homeland’

Best Television Series – Comedy Or Musical

‘Enlightened’
‘Episodes’
‘Glee’
‘Modern Family’ – WINNER
‘New Girl’

Best Performance by an Actress In A Television Series – Comedy Or Musical

Laura Dern – ‘Enlightened’ – WINNER
Zooey Deschanel – ‘New Girl’
Tina Fey – ’30 Rock’
Laura Linney – ‘The Big C’
Amy Poehler – ‘Parks And Recreation’

Best Performance by an Actor In A Television Series – Comedy Or Musical

Alec Baldwin – ’30 Rock’
David Duchovny – ‘Californication’
Johnny Galecki – ‘The Big Bang Theory’
Thomas Jane – ‘Hung’
Matt LeBlanc – ‘Episodes’ – WINNER

Best Mini-Series Or Motion Picture Made for Television
‘Cinema Verite’
‘Downtown Abbey (Masterpiece); – WINNER
‘The Hour
‘Mildred Pierce’
‘Too Big To Fail’

Best Performance by an Actress In A Mini-series or Motion Picture Made for Television

Romola Garai – ‘The Hour’
Diane Lane – ‘Cinema Verite’
Elizabeth McGovern – ‘Downton Abbey (Masterpiece)’
Emily Watson – ‘Appropriate Adult’
Kate Winslet – ‘Mildred Pierce’ – WINNER

Best Performance by an Actor in a Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television

Hugh Bonneville – ‘Downtown Abbey (Masterpiece)’
Idris Elba – ‘Luther’ – WINNER
William Hurt – ‘Too Big To Fail’
Bill Nighy – ‘Page Eight (Masterpiece)’
Dominic West – ‘The Hour’

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television

Jessica Lange – ‘American Horror Story’ – WINNER
Kelly MacDonald – ‘Boardwalk Empire’
Maggie Smith – ‘Downtown Abbey (Masterpiece)’
Sofia Vergara – ‘Modern Family’
Evan Rachel Wood – ‘Mildred Pierce’

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television

Peter Dinklage – ‘Game Of Thrones’ – WINNER
Paul Giamatti – ‘Too Big To Fail’
Guy Pearce – ‘Mildred Pierce’
Tim Robbins – ‘Cinema Verite’
Eric Stonestreet – ‘Modern Family’

Written by: Karen Benardello