In a truly groundbreaking moment in filmmaking history, Ipon-born actress Tan Sri Michelle Yeoh has officially become not just the very first Malaysian actress, but the very first actress of Asian-descent to win the award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture at the 95th Academy Awards, which was held earlier today on March 13th, 2023.
The award was credited to her role as unlikely multiverse-leaping heroine and laundry shop owner, Evelyn Quan Wang, in the 2022 blockbuster Everything Everywhere All At Once.
Michelle was gunning for the top prize alongside fellow nominees Cate Blanchette in her role as Lydia Tár in Tár, Ana De Armas as Marilyn Monroe in Blonde, Andrea Riseborough as Leslie Rowlands in To Leslie, and Michelle Williams as Sammy’s Mother in The Fabelmans.
Dedicating her historic win to ‘all the little boys and girls who look like me watching tonight’ as a ‘beacon of hope and possibilities’, the veteran actress also spoke at length about encouraging women in entertainment to remain determined in their careers in spite of the hurdles they face, chief among them being ageism in her acceptance speech.
She is the second woman of colour to ever win an Oscar for the Best Actress category, the first being Halle Berry two decades earlier for Monster’s Ball at the 74th Academy Awards.
Michelle Yeoh rings in success with Everything Everywhere All At Once
It would be a severe understatement to say that the Malaysian entertainment legend has had a truly whirlwind year of success upon the debut of A24’s trailblazing tribute to Asian representation in cinema.
The absurdist comedy-drama film, which saw its initial release back in March of last year, has since risen to prominence within international film circles for its superb exploration of the Asian-American immigrant experience and the depiction of breaking generational trauma, interspersed with themes of philosophical existentialism.
But beyond its captivating, if not sometimes convoluted plot, Michelle has received almost universal acclaim for exhibiting her sheer range and prowess as an actress in taking up the role of an overworked, overwhelmed laundry shop owner struggling to strike the balance between keeping her business abreast while holding on to her crumbling marriage and estranged mother-daughter relationship.
Prior to her Academy nod, Michelle had already seen monumental successes along the awards circuit in 2022 and 2023 upon the movie’s release. Among some of her most significant wins include Best Actress in a Motion Picture Comedy or Musical at the Golden Globes, as well as Best Actress in a Motion Picture at the Screen Actors Guild Award. In the case of the latter, she bears the distinction of being the first-ever Asian actress to nab the title, which many industry insiders often consider to be a good indicator of an Oscar win.
A legacy in film
Born in Ipoh, Michelle started her acting career in Hong Kong after winning a string of beauty pageants and appearing alongside actor Jackie Chan in a commercial, where she caught the eye of a film production company. She would go on to star in a multitude of Cantonese films and minted her name as an action star in Cantonese cinema.
Michelle pivoted into Hollywood in 1997 after starring in the Bond flick, Tomorrow Never Dies, opposite Pierce Brosnan, as Bond girl Wai Lin. This open the doors to a string of other successful roles, such as Yu Shu Lien in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Mameha in Memoirs of a Geisha, Zi Yuan in The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, as well as Burmese Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi in The Iron Lady.
Her most recent endeavours include an upcoming role in the Disney+ series American Born Chinese, as well as in Kenneth Branagh’s A Haunting In Venice.
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