Rep: Penn was referring to wife at Oscars

LOS ANGELES, March 9 (UPI) -- Sean Penn's publicist said the overlooked actress the Hollywood star referred to onstage at Sunday's Oscars ceremony was Penn's estranged wife, Robin Wright.

Penn confused audience members when he said before presenting the award for lead actress: "I never became an official member of the Academy (of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences,) but the academy and I do have in common that we neglected to acknowledge the same actress in our own ways two years running. So, I'm going to start fresh with the academy and acknowledge these wonderful actresses."

The actor's representative Mara Buxbaum told the Los Angeles Times via e-mail she thinks the mystery woman to whom Penn referred was Robin Wright, who filed for divorce from him last year.

"It would be a reasonable assumption to say he was referring to Robin Wright, because he didn't thank her last year in his acceptance speech," Buxbaum told the Times. "The academy failed to nominate her this year for 'The Private Lives of Pippa Lee.'"

Penn won the Oscar for best actor last year for his work in "Milk."