The gardenia Mo'Nique wore in her hair at the Oscars on Sunday was a very special gift from a close friend of "Gone With The Wind" star Hattie McDaniels' family.

The actress/comedienne started thinking her Academy Awards win was destined when the flower arrived in the post as she was getting ready for her big night in Hollywood.

She says, "Something really strange happened - as I'm going through hair and make-up, someone knocked on our door... There's a letter and there's the gardenia flower. The letter is from a woman I've never met before, who is friends with Hattie McDaniels' family members.

"It blew me away."

Mo'Nique paid tribute to McDaniels, the first African-American Oscar winner, in her Best Supporting Actress acceptance speech, and claims the dead star was with her throughout the ceremony.

In a post-Oscars chat with Oprah Winfrey, who co-produced her film "Precious", the actress explained, "I could hear her whispering in my ear."