It was a history-making morning in Hollywood as five black actors, two Latino actors and an Asian actor were among the Academy Award nominees announced for the upcoming Oscars.

The nominees include a list of well-knowns, such as Eddie Murphy, Forest Whitaker, Will Smith and Penelope Cruz, as well as relative newcomers Djimon Hounsou, Jennifer Hudson, Adriana Barraza and Rinko Kikuchi. It was the most ethnically diverse list of nominees in the awards show's 79-year history.

Smith in "The Pursuit of Happyness" and Whitaker in "The Last King of Scotland" will compete in the Best Actor category along with Leonardo DiCaprio, Ryan Gosling and Peter O'Toole. Penelope Cruz's Best Actress nomination for her role in "Volver" has her in the lofty company of fellow nominees Meryl Streep, Judy Dench, Helen Mirren and Kate Winslet.

In the supporting category, Hounsou ("Blood Diamond") and Murphy ("Dreamgirls") are nominated with Alan Arkin, Jackie Earle Haley and Mark Wahlberg. Earlier this month, Murphy took home a Golden Globe as best supporting actor for his role as an aging singer on the decline. The Oscar nomination is Murphy's first.

American Idol castoff Hudson turned her star-making performance in "Dreamgirls" into an Oscar nomination. She'll be in competition with Barraza and Kikuchi, both of "Babel." Also nominated in this category were Cate Blanchett and Abigail Breslin.

The diverse nominations also spread to the directing category. Mexican filmmaker Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu earned a best-director nomination for "Babel."

Actors and actresses of color have found growing success on Oscar night. Since Denzel Washington and Halle Berry's history-making turn in 2002, when the pair took home Best Actor and Best Actress honors for their roles in "Training Day" and "Monster's Ball," respectively, Jamie Foxx and Morgan Freeman took home Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor statuettes in 2004 for their roles in "Ray" and "Million Dollar Baby," respectively.

While Murphy and Hudson received acting nominations for their roles in "Dreamgirls," the film itself was not nominated in the best-film category, although it did nab eight total nominations.

The awards will be telecast live on Feb. 25.

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