Meteoric rise to stardom for Sweden's Alicia Vikander

Los Angeles: Sweden's Alicia Vikander, who on Sunday won an Oscar as best supporting actress in "The Danish Girl", burst onto the Hollywood scene last year as an edgy performer not shy of complex roles.

Just three years ago, few had heard of the 27-year-old doe-eyed brunette, but last year she appeared in at least four major movies, including the British sci-fi psychological thriller "Ex Machina", where she starred as the humanoid robot Ava and for which she was nominated for a Golden Globe.

"It's been suddenly wonderful to be introduced in rooms to meet actors and filmmakers and people behind the cameras that I've looked up to my entire life," said Vikander.

But it was for her role in the British biographical drama "The Danish Girl" that Vikander was honoured with an Academy Award, playing Danish artist Gerda Wegener in a love story about how she and her fellow artist husband Einar Elbe, played by Eddie Redmayne, navigate his journey as a transgender pioneer.

"Eddie, there you are. Thank you for being the best acting partner. I could have never done it without you. You raised my game," Vikander said Sunday in Hollywood in her acceptance speech.

"I want to thank my friends and my mom and dad -- thank you for giving me the belief that anything can happen, even though I would have never believed this."

She bested fellow nominees Jennifer Jason Leigh ("The Hateful Eight"), Rooney Mara ("Carol"), Rachel McAdams ("Spotlight") and Kate Winslet ("Steve Jobs").

Vikander said she found parallels in her roles in "Ex Machina" and "The Danish Girl", with both the android Ava and Gerda pondering what it means to be a woman.