Reese Witherspoon at the Oscars 2006Although the night culminating in her winning the Best Actress Oscar - and her husband Ryan Phillipe’s film Crash getting Best Picture - Reese Witherspoon has described her day as pretty normal.

“I woke up and fed the kids and changed a lot of diapers and chased them around the house.” Then things kicked up into ceremony mode: “and got my hair done and I got my nails done and got my make-up done and then I was out the door.”

Just before she left though, she got a supportive phone call from Renée Zellweger.

“She was so lovely and so beautiful and gave me so much,” Reese revealed on Oprah Winfrey’s post-Oscars show.

“She told me to keep my shoulders back, stand up straight and if I have to go up there, to give it my all and ‘just be the queen that you are, honey’.”

“She’s just a wonderful Southern love. It really means so much to be embraced by other artists.”