Michelle Yeoh Has Made History As The First Asian Woman To Win A Best Actress Oscar
“For all the little boys and girls who look like me watching tonight, this is a beacon of hope and possibilities.”
Malaysian actress Michelle Yeoh has made history as the first Asian woman to win the Best Actress award in the Oscars’ 95 year history.
The 60-year-old took home the award for her portrayal of Evelyn Wang, a Chinese-American mother in “Everything Everywhere All At Once” at the 95th Academy Awards on Sunday March 13 at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, California.
This is Yeoh’s first Oscar nomination, and her win makes her the second woman of color to have won Best Actress after Halle Berry for “Monster’s Ball” in 2002.
She beat out Cate Blanchett for “Tár”, Michelle Williams for “The Fabelmans”, Ana de Armas for Blonde” and Andrea Riseborough for “To Leslie”.
“For all the little boys and girls who look like me watching tonight, this is a beacon of hope and possibilities. This is proof that dreams do come true,” Yeoh said in her acceptance speech.
“And ladies, don’t let anyone tell you that you are past your prime,” she said.
She also paid tribute to her mom, as well as all mothers.
“I have to dedicate this to my mom, all the moms in the world, because they are really the superheroes and without them, none of us would be here tonight,” she said.
“Everything Everywhere All At Once” was a big winner on Sunday night, taking home seven awards in total, including Best Picture, Best Director for Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert (known collectively as Daniels), Best Original Screenplay, Best Editing, Best Supporting Actor for Ke Huy Quan and Best Supporting Actress for Jamie Lee Curtis.
