Aussie star Toni Collette has won a Golden Globe award for her work on The United States of Tara, while both Simon Baker and Rose Byrne missed out.
Collette, one of three Australians nominated in the television categories, was carrying Aussie hopes after Abbie Cornish and Nicole Kidman failed to snare film nominations.
Later, Simon Baker lost out to Dexter star Michael C Hall, who recently announced he has been suffering from cancer, and Rose Byrne missed out to Big Love's Chloe Sevigny.
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Legendary filmmaker Martin Scorsese was awarded the Cecil B DeMille award for his outstanding contributions to the world of entertainment.
And James Cameron won the best director trophy for 3-D epic Avatar - widely tipped to take out the best film award.
TV and film fans and Hollywood's biggest stars braved the rain on the red carpet to reach the ceremony at the Beverly Hilton Hotel.
Widely seen as a predictor of upcoming Oscars success, the Golden Globes are presented by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association.
Dexter, Big Love stars honoured
The first winner of the night was comedian Mo'Nique, who took the best supporting actress prize for her performance as an abusive parent in the gritty drama Precious.
The 42-year-old beat competition from Penelope Cruz for Nine, Julianne Moore for A Single Man and Up In the Air duo Vera Farmiga and Anna Kendric.
She accepted the award from Nicole Kidman, who began the star-studded show with an appeal for donations to the Haiti earthquake relief effort.
Pixar hit Up was named best animation, following a speech from presenter Sir Paul McCartney, who joked that cartoons were "not just for children, but also for adults who've taken a lot of drugs".
Michael C Hall's best TV actor trophy for Dexter was the second of the night for the series about a serial killer, after John Lithgow won the best 'guest star' award.
Streep, Barrymore win awards Multi-Oscar winner Meryl Streep won the best actress in a comedy or musical for her critically-acclaimed portrayal of TV chef Julia Child in Julie and Julia.
Streep's competition for her category included herself, with the star also nominated for the romance It's Complicated.
"In my long career, I've played so many extraordinary woman that I'm getting mistaken for one," she insisted. "I'm very clear that I'm the vessel for other people's stories and other people's lives."
Child star-turned-leading lady Drew Barrymore won the best actress in a miniseries trophy for her role in Grey Gardens.
Germany's The White Ribbon took best foreign language film.
Avatar tipped for 'best film' win
Austrian actor Christoph Waltz was awarded best supporting actor for his role in Quentin Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds.
Waltz thanked the director for chosing him to play sadistic Nazi army officer Hans Landa.
"He took my modest little world and with the power of his talent and his words, he flung it into his orbit. A dizzying experience."
Las Vegas-set buck's night movie The Hangover won best comedy.
The best actress in a drama award went to Sandra Bullock for The Blind Side, while Robert Downey Jr won best actor in a comedy for the title role in Sherlock Holmes.
All eyes are on James Cameron's 3-D epic Avatar to see if its remarkable box office performance - $US1.6 billion worldwide - translates into awards season honours.
Cameron won the best director award for the movie, but the film faces stiff competition from recession-era drama-comedy Up In the Air, and gripping Iraq war drama The Hurt Locker.
In the acting stakes, George Clooney (Up in the Air) will be up against Jeff Bridges (Crazy Heart), Colin Firth (A Single Man), Morgan Freeman (Invictus), and Tobey Maguire (Brothers) for best drama actor.
