The wife of the late Hollywood actor Chadwick Boseman has delivered a tear-jerking acceptance speech on his behalf after he won best actor posthumously at the 2021 Golden Globe awards.

On behalf of her husband, wife Taylor Simone Ledward, thanked Boseman's team and his Ma Rainey's Black Bottom co-stars.

Fighting back tears as she spoke remotely, she said: "He would thank God, he would thank his parents, he would thank his ancestors for their guidance and their sacrifices."

She said: "He would say something beautiful, something inspiring, something that would amplify that little voice inside of all of us that tells you 'you can', that tells you to keep going, that calls you back to what you were meant to be doing at this moment in history."

After naming Boseman's co-stars in Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, Simone added: "And I don't have his words but we have to take all the moments to celebrate those we love. So thank you HFPA, for this opportunity to do exactly that, and hon, you keep 'em coming."

Black Panther star Boseman, who died last year aged 43 following a battle with cancer, was posthumously honoured for his portrayal of an ambitious trumpeter in Ma Rainey's Black Bottom. He had been diagnosed with colon cancer four years earlier, but chose not to make the news public. 

He married Taylor Simone Ledward in the final months of his life.

A Christian from childhood, in 2018 Boseman delivered the commencement address at his alma mater, Howard University in Washington D.C. He quoted several Bible passages in his speech, including Jeremiah 29:11: "Sometimes, you need to feel the pain and sting of defeat to activate the real passion and purpose God has predestined inside of you. God says in Jeremiah: 'I know the plans I have for you. Plans to prosper you and not to harm you. Plans to give you hope and a future."

British Golden Globe winners in Sunday night's ceremony included Daniel Kaluuya for Judas And The Black Messiah.

Additional reporting by PA