Malaysian Michelle Yeoh Wins Country’s First Academy Award
Asia/ Vibe/ Pop Culture

Michelle Yeoh Wins Best Actress for 'Everything Everywhere All at Once'

Michelle Yeoh Wins Best Actress for Everything Everywhere All at Once 2 Photo by Getty Images

Michelle Yeoh has won Lead Actress at the 2023 Oscars for her performance as Evelyn Wang in the film ‘Everything Everywhere All at Once,’ joining Ke Huy Quan and Jamie Lee Curtis who won at the Academy Awards.

Yeoh was nominated alongside Cate Blanchett starring in Tár, Ana de Armas of Blonde, Andrea Riseborough of To Leslie, and Michelle Williams of The Fabelmans.

Everything Everywhere All at Once scooped up seven Oscar award wins at the 2023 event, including Best Picture, Actress in a Supporting Role for Jamie Lee Curtis, Actor in a Supporting Role for Ke Huy Quan, Original Screenplay, Actress in a Leading Role, Director for Daniel Scheinert and Daniel Kwan, and Film Editing.

Her role as Evelyn Wang in the film has been praised internationally with previous wins at the Golden Globe Awards and Screen Actors Guild Awards. Yeoh became the first Malaysian to receive an Academy Award nomination in any category with her nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress.

Yeoh started her career in the early 1980s by representing Malaysia in the Miss World pageant before breaking into the Hong Kong film industry.

Michelle Yeoh Wins Best Actress for Everything Everywhere All at Once

Her performances in action and martial arts films in the 1990s, including “Police Story 3: Supercop,” (1992) “The Heroic Trio,” (1993) and “Holy Weapon” (1993) and gained her international exposure.

Yeoh’s early films credited her as Michelle Khan, a name chosen by D&B Films that had more appeal to Western audiences. After retiring briefly in 1987 following her marriage to D&B Group’s Dickson Poon, Yeoh has continued to excel in the industry.

The success of “Everything Everywhere All at Once” is a further indication of the growing popularity and recognition of actors and actresses from non-Western countries in Hollywood.

Her win is a welcome addition to the list of Asian actors who have celebrated Oscar wins in recent years. It is an encouraging development for diversity and representation in the entertainment industry.

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