Michelle Yeoh’s win in the Best Actress category is a new record: Yeoh is the first Asian actress to win the prestigious award.
Michelle Yeoh triumphed in the night of the Oscars 2023 winning the statuette for Best Actress for her role in Everything Everywhere All at Once – which took home the Best Film award – thus becoming the first Asian actress to win in the category of Best Actress in a leading role.
Oscars 2023, Michelle Yeoh triumphs as Best Actress: “This award is a beacon of hope”
With this win, Michelle Yeoh has become the first Asian actress to win Best Actress in a Leading Role, beating rivals of the caliber of Cate Blanchett and Michelle Williams, and also becoming the second non-white woman to triumph in the category. Before her, only Halle Berry, in 2002 for Monster’s Ball had achieved recognition of her, but in 93 years theOscars it has always gone to actresses who are white or pass for white, such as Luise Rainer, who won in 1938 playing the Asian character O-Lan in the film The Good Earth. Other winners such as Vivien Leigh, Cher or Natalie Portman, despite having connections with the world and the Asian community, did not consider themselves as such, therefore, the victory of Yeoh acquires even more value:
“For all the boys and girls who are like me and watching me tonight, this award is a beacon of hope and possibility. Don’t let anyone tell you you’re past your peak. Tonight, we shattered that glass ceiling. This it’s for the Asian community, but also for anyone who has been identified as a minority. We deserve to be seen. We deserve to have an equal opportunity and to be able to sit at the table. That’s all we ask, give us this opportunity, let us prove that we are worth it penalty”
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The actress was also the oldest candidate, at 60 years old, to be nominated in the Best Actress category and with this victory she marks a very important milestone indeed. Michelle Yeoh he began his career in China, playing leading roles in action films, then made his Hollywood debut in 1997 in a James Bond film, and then built a career of high level, up to this historic recognition:
“I want to dedicate this award to my mom, to all the mothers in the world, because they are the real superheroes and without them, none of us would be here tonight”