Michelle Yeoh

Michelle Yeoh cemented Oscars history on Sunday night as she became the first Asian person to win for lead actress. Yeoh took home the first Academy Award ...

The prize adds to a record awards season for “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” which became only the fifth film in history to sweep four major guild awards (DGA, PGA, SAG and WGA). She’s also just the second woman of color to win best actress after Halle Berry in 2002 for “Monster’s Ball.” “They are the real superheroes, and without them, none of us will be here tonight,” she said.

Michelle Yeoh made history Sunday by winning the Academy Award for best actress.

As an actor who managed to buck the typical “damsel in distress” stereotypes in action movies and instead often portrayed crime-fighting heroes, Yeoh became known as a feminist trailblazer in entertainment. But “Everything Everywhere” was the first movie in which she portrayed the lead role. Yeoh took home best lead performance this month at the Independent Spirit Awards in the first year the ceremony combined its acting categories to be gender-neutral. And Luise Rainer, a white actress, won the category for portraying a Chinese slave in the 1937 drama “The Good Earth.” "For all the little boys and girls who look like me watching tonight, this is a beacon of hope and possibilities," Yeoh said in her acceptance speech. Merle Oberon, who received a nod for the 1935 film “The Dark Angel,” concealed her South Asian identity throughout her screen career.

Superstar Michelle Yeoh of "Everything Everywhere All at Once" scored an Oscar on her first nomination, becoming the first Asian lead actress to win.

[Cate Blanchett](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/arts/la-xpm-2012-jul-14-la-et-cm-cate-blanchett-20120715-story.html) (for “ [Tár](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/awards/newsletter/2023-01-10/todd-field-tar-cate-blanchett-the-envelope-podcast-edition)”). She also starred in several massively popular movies Stateside, including best picture nominee and foreign-language film Oscar winner “ [Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2023-02-16/crouching-tiger-hidden-dragon-re-release-michelle-yeoh-oscars)” (2000), the James Bond entry “ [Tomorrow Never Dies](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1998-nov-26-ca-47830-story.html)” (1997) and the blockbuster “ [Crazy Rich Asians](https://www.latimes.com/112526077-132.html)” (2018). “Everything Everywhere,” blending science fiction with absurd comedy, romance and family drama, features Yeoh’s protagonist, Evelyn Wang, inadvertently traversing the multiverse, inhabiting around 70 different versions of herself in a mind-bending host of what-might-have-beens from put-upon wife, mother and laundromat operator to action hero to glamorous star. “We deserve to be heard. We deserve to be seen. We deserve to have equal opportunity so we can have a seat at the table. But Yeoh took more than 40, as well as the most important Oscar precursor: the [Screen Actors Guild award](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s9bDZ35ZMs0). [60](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/awards/story/2022-11-28/michelle-yeoh-everything-everywhere-all-at-once), made her name in the 1990s, performing her own stunts in a string of action movies in Hong Kong — including “ [Supercop](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1996-07-26-ca-27970-story.html),” in which she starred alongside [Jackie Chan](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/moviesnow/la-et-mn-jackie-chan-career-in-pictures-photos-photogallery.html). “This is proof that ... “Ladies, don’t let anybody ever tell you you are past your prime. “I have to dedicate this to my mom — all the moms in the world — because they are really the superheroes.” dream big, and dreams do come true.”

Yeoh's win, for her role in 'Everything Everywhere All at Once,' makes her the first Asian woman to win the category in the Academy Awards' 95-year history.

[Oscar race](https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2023/03/awards-insider-oscar-winner-predictions-2023), Michelle Yeoh has been crowned the victor, making her the first Asian woman to win a lead-actress Oscar in the awards show’s 95-year history. Yeoh had another historically significant win in late February, when she became the first Asian actor to win the best-actress category at the SAG Awards. Oberon went to great lengths to hide her Asian heritage— [bleaching](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2023/mar/06/merle-oberon-oscars-best-actress) her skin, refining a posh accent, and claiming she was from Tasmania. [Vanity Fair Oscar Party](https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/photos/2023/03/photos-inside-2023-vf-oscar-party?itm_content=footer-recirc&itm_campaign=more-great-stories-oscars-2023) And of those 23, only four—before Sunday evening—won their category. Everything Everywhere All at Once earned 11 Oscar nominations, more than any other film this year, with other acting nominations going to Yeoh’s costars Stephanie Hsu, Jamie Lee Curtis, and Ke Huy Quan. In a supernatural twist, she transverses universes as a superhero version of herself. But in general, it’s always an older man.” Yeoh, who has been acting for about 40 years, initially rose to fame overseas in Hong Kong action films before breaking out with US audiences in 1997’s James Bond film, Tomorrow Never Dies, playing a Chinese spy opposite Pierce Brosnan’s 007. “Thank you for giving me a seat at the table, because so many of us need this. The first was Merle Oberon, a Mumbai-born actor who was nominated for 1935’s The Dark Angel; however, while alive, Oberon This is proof that dreams do come true,” Yeoh said in her speech, receiving cheers in response.

Michelle Yeoh has won best actress at the 95th Academy Awards on Sunday night, becoming the first woman of Asian descent to win the award.

In total, the film won seven Academy Awards out of 11 nominations, including best picture. [The Hollywood Reporter](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/michelle-yeoh-historic-2023-oscar-nomination-everything-everywhere-all-at-once-1235308400/) that “it’s taken a long time. This is proof to dream big and dreams do come true,” Yeoh gushed while I totally understand.’ All this time, they’ve not been recognized, they’ve not been heard.” [Michelle Yeoh ](https://www.cnn.com/2023/03/10/entertainment/michelle-yeoh-best-movies/index.html)has won best actress at the [95th Academy Awards](https://www.cnn.com/2023/03/12/entertainment/oscar-winners-2023/index.html) on Sunday night, becoming the first woman of Asian descent to win the award. Yeoh is the fifth person of Asian descent to win an Oscar in an acting category and the first to win in a lead acting category.

Michelle Yeoh, 60, took home the Best Actress trophy at the 95th Academy Awards. Read her full remarks.

I have to dedicate this to my mom, all the moms in the world, because they are really the superheroes. She’s 84, and I’m taking this home to her. [95th Academy Awards](https://time.com/6262178/oscars-recap-2023/) on Sunday night, making history in the process as the first Asian woman to win an Oscar for lead actress. For all the little boys and girls who look like me watching tonight, this is a beacon of hope and possibilities. Everything Everywhere All at Once marks the first Everything Everywhere All at Once won seven of the 11 awards for which it was nominated Sunday night, including Best Picture and Best Director.

LOS ANGELES: Michelle Yeoh has won the Academy Award for best actress and made history all at once.

Chu for the screen adaptation of the musical "Wicked." Yeoh will be seen later this year in the Disney+ series "American Born Chinese." At 60, Yeoh has been heavily in demand since her standout turn as a controlling matriarch in "Crazy Rich Asians." Merle Oberon, who was nominated in 1935 for "The Dark Angel" but didn't win, hid her South Asian heritage, according to birth records. "For all the little boys and girls who look like me watching tonight, this is a beacon of hope and possibility. When she first read the script for "Everything Everywhere," Yeoh thought it was "an independent film on steroids."

Malaysian-born Yeoh becomes the first south-east Asian performer to win the best actress award, adding to her Golden Globe and SAG awards for the role.

She continued: “This is the beacon of hope and possibility. Yeoh dedicated the award to “all the little boys and girls who look like me watching tonight”. Born in Malaysia, Yeoh becomes the first person of south-east Asian descent to win the best actress Oscar for her role as laundromat manager Evelyn Wang, who stumbles across a “multiverse” of alternative realities.

After 95 years, an Asian woman has won Best Actress at the Academy Awards: Michelle Yeoh took home the award this year. An emotional Michelle Yeoh accepted ...

](https://www.townandcountrymag.com/leisure/arts-and-culture/a41429058/how-to-watch-stream-everything-everywhere-all-at-once/)The role, she told [Town & Country in our September 2022 cover story](https://www.townandcountrymag.com/leisure/arts-and-culture/a40754240/michelle-yeoh-interview-2022/), is "not about me." Before joining T&C, she was the deputy managing editor at [Hey Alma](https://www.heyalma.com/), a Jewish culture site. I have to dedicate this to my mom, all the moms in the world, because they are really the superheroes. Follow her @emburack on [Twitter ](https://twitter.com/emburack)and I totally understand.' All this time, they’ve not been recognized, they’ve not been heard." [Everything Everywhere All at Once](https://www.townandcountrymag.com/leisure/arts-and-culture/a41429058/how-to-watch-stream-everything-everywhere-all-at-once/) [.

"Malaysia boleh!" Janet Yeoh said, blowing kisses to her daughter. "Boleh" - which means nothing is impossible - certainly captured the mood not just in Los ...

Closing her acceptance speech, Yeoh took on the ageism in Hollywood that is biased against women. "This is proof that dreams - dream big, and dreams do come true," a tearful Yeoh said in her acceptance speech on Sunday night. This, this, is the American Dream." Yeoh's award was one of seven picked up by Everything Everywhere All at Once, which swept the evening. And popular Hong Kong singer-actress Josie Ho Chiu posted a photo of Yeoh's Oscar moment with the words, "Dreams do come true". And go watch Everything Everywhere All at Once, a must-see movie about the multiverse and the meaning of life. Yeoh burst into Hollywood in the 1997 James Bond film Tomorrow Never Dies, playing a Chinese femme fatale opposite Pierce Brosnan's 007. And billboards on display on the highways of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia's capital, proclaimed her as the pride of the country. This is a great movie, one the best I’ve seen a long time. At the watch party in Kuala Lumpur, Janet Yeoh was promptly drowned in news camera lights as soon as her daughter was proclaimed the winner. Twitter in Asia had some some 350,000 congratulatory posts while Weibo, China's version of Twitter, said a hashtag lauding her win was viewed about 360 million times. And the elation was there to see.