The casts of The Help and Boardwalk Empire were top winners at the 18th annual Screen Actors Guild Awards ceremony, held at the Shrine Auditorium, in Los Angeles, California, on Sunday.

The two honors for top actresses went to Viola Davis (Best Actress) and Octavia Spencer (Best Supporting Actress), who played maids in the period drama, The Help, a film adaptation of Kathryn Stockett's novel of the same name.

Meanwhile, the guild's highest honor, the Life Achievement Award, was presented to American actress Mary Tyler Moore, best known for her appearances on television sitcoms.

Jean Dujardin, who won the Best Actor award at the 2012 Golden Globes, took top honors for Best Actor here too; he was recognized for his portrayal of George Valentine in The Artist.

On the television front, HBO's Boardwalk Empire took two awards for outstanding performances. The individual award went to Jessica Lange for Best Actress in a television series (Drama) for American Horror Story. In addition, Sofia Vergara and Rico Rodriguez took the honors for outstanding performances by an ensemble in a comedy series, on the behalf of the cast of Modern Family.

Other winners included Gretchen Mol, Aleksa Palladino, Sissy Spacek, Steve Buscemi, Kate Winslet, Alec Baldwin, Betty White, Paul Giamatti, Steve Buscemi and several others.

Check out the list of winners, photos and video here.

Winners of the 18th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards:

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role - Jean Dujardin for The Artist

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role - Viola Davis for The Help

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role - Christopher Plummer for Beginners

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role - Octavia Spencer for The Help

Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture - The Help

Outstanding Action Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Motion Picture - Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows: Part 2

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries - Paul Giamatti for Too Big To Fail

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries - Kate Winslet for Mildred Pierce

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series - Steve Buscemi for Boardwalk Empire

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series - Jessica Lange for American Horror Story

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series - Alec Baldwin for 30 Rock

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series - Betty White for Hot in Cleveland

Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series - Boardwalk Empire

Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series - Modern Family

Outstanding Action Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Television Series - Game of Thrones

Life Achievement Award - Mary Tyler Moore

RELATED STORIES
Christopher Plummer accepts the award for outstanding performance by a male actor in a supporting role for quotBeginnersquot at the 18th annual Screen Actors Guild Awards in Los Angeles, California January 29, 2012.
Christopher Plummer accepts the award for outstanding performance by a male actor in a supporting role for "Beginners" at the 18th annual Screen Actors Guild Awards in Los Angeles, California January 29, 2012. Reuters
Actress Octavia Spencer accepts the award for outstanding performance by a female actor in a supporting role for quotThe Helpquot, at the 18th annual Screen Actors Guild Awards in Los Angeles, California January 29, 2012.
Octavia Spencer accepted the Screen Actors Guild supporting actress award for her role in "The Help," two weeks after winning the Golden Globe. All eyes will be on her at the Oscars Feb. 24. Reuters
Actor Alec Baldwin accepts the award for outstanding performance by a male actor in a comedy series for quot30 Rockquot at the 18th annual Screen Actors Guild Awards in Los Angeles, California January 29, 2012.
Actor Alec Baldwin accepts the award for outstanding performance by a male actor in a comedy series for "30 Rock" at the 18th annual Screen Actors Guild Awards in Los Angeles, California January 29, 2012. Reuters
Actress Betty White accepts the award for outstanding performance by a female actor in a comedy series for quotHot in Clevelandquot, at the 18th annual Screen Actors Guild Awards in Los Angeles, California January 29, 2012.
Actress Betty White accepts the award for outstanding performance by a female actor in a comedy series at the 18th annual Screen Actors Guild Awards in Los Angeles, California Jan. 29, 2012. Reuters
Viola Davis accepts the award for outstanding performance by a female actor in a leading role for quotThe Help,quot at the 18th annual Screen Actors Guild Awards in Los Angeles, California, January 29, 2012.
Viola Davis accepts the award for outstanding performance by a female actor in a leading role for "The Help," at the 18th annual Screen Actors Guild Awards in Los Angeles, California, January 29, 2012. Reuters
The cast of quotThe Helpquot poses for photographs backstage with their awards for outstanding performance by a cast in a motion picture at the 18th annual Screen Actors Guild Awards in Los Angeles, California January 29, 2012.
The cast of "The Help" poses for photographs backstage with their awards for outstanding performance by a cast in a motion picture at the 18th annual Screen Actors Guild Awards in Los Angeles, California January 29, 2012. Reuters
Actor Jean Dujardin accepts the award for outstanding performance by a male actor in a leading role for quotThe Artistquot, at the 18th annual Screen Actors Guild Awards in Los Angeles, California January 29, 2012.
Actor Jean Dujardin accepts the award for outstanding performance by a male actor in a leading role for "The Artist", at the 18th annual Screen Actors Guild Awards in Los Angeles, California January 29, 2012. Reuters
California Los Angeles California California