Lady Gaga sobs after winning Oscar for best song

Lady Gaga urged people to "fight" for their dreams as she accepted her first Oscar on Sunday (Feb 24).

The 32-year-old singer-and-actress was in floods of tears before she even took to the stage at Los Angeles' Dolby Theatre to accept the prize for Best Original Song for Shallow from A Star is Born, and she emotionally discussed the "hard work" she's put into her career and insisted never giving up is far more important than "winning".

She said: "If you're at home and sitting on your couch watching this, it is hard work, I've worked hard for a long time, it's not about winning, it's about not giving up.

"If you have a dream, fight for it. It's not about how many times you get rejected or that you fall down or are beaten up, it's about how many times you stand up and are brave and you keep on going."

Gaga also gave thanks to her co-writers - who joined her on stage - her family, including her "soulmate" sister, and director and co-star Bradley Cooper.

She said: "Thank you so much to the academy for this wonderful honour, to every person in this room, to Mark Ronson, Anthony Rossomando, and Andrew Wyatt, my co-writers.

"To my sister, my soulmate. my family is here, I love you mom and dad.

"Bradley, there is not a single person in this planet that could have sang with me but you, thank you so much. Thank you for believing in us. Thank you so much."

Before they left to the stage, Mark paid tribute to Gaga herself.

He said: "Only because you can't thank yourself, when you're in a room with her you don't have to do too much, she writes, she sings the songs, Lady Gaga, we salute you."