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Thursday, March 28, 2024

Michelle Yeoh becomes first Asian to win Oscar for Best Actress

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Michelle Yeoh accepts the award for best performance by an actress in a leading role for ″Everything Everywhere All at Once″ at the Oscars ceremony held at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles Sunday local time. [AP]
Michelle Yeoh accepts the award for best performance by an actress in a leading role for ″Everything Everywhere All at Once″ at the Oscars ceremony held at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles Sunday local time. [AP]

Michelle Yeoh won the Academy Award for Best Actress for the film “Everything Everywhere All At Once” at the 95th Oscars ceremony held at the Dolby Theater in Los Angeles, California Monday.

Yeoh took home the Oscar in a historic win, becoming the first Asian actor to win an Academy Award for Best Actress.

Yeoh was up against Cate Blanchett for “Tár” Ana de Armas for “Blonde”, Michelle Williams for “The Fabelmans” and Andrea Riseborough for “To Leslie,” all films from the past year.

“Everything Everywhere All At Once” tells the story of an immigrant family as they cross multiverses and fight against a mysterious force out to destroy the known universe. Yeoh plays Evelyn, a first-generation immigrant who moved to the United States for the “American dream” and runs a laundromat.

Best Actress Michelle Yeoh reacts after having her Oscar engraved at the Governors Ball following the Oscars show at the 95th Academy Awards in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, U.S., Sunday local time. [REUTERS]
Best Actress Michelle Yeoh reacts after having her Oscar engraved at the Governors Ball following the Oscars show at the 95th Academy Awards in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, U.S., Sunday local time. [REUTERS]

“For all the little boys and girls who look like me watching tonight, this is a beacon of hope and possibilities,” said Yeoh at the Dolby Theater in Los Angeles, California Monday. “This is proof that […] dream big, and dreams do come true.”

“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,” continued Yeoh. “Thank you [to my family] for letting me stand on your shoulders, giving me a leg up so that I can be here today.”

Yeoh, who was born in Malaysia, started her career as an actor in a series of Hong Kong action films and garnered international recognition for roles in James Bond installments, director Ang Lee’s “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” (2000) and the Star Trek series.

Best Supporting Actor Ke Huy Quan and Best Actress Michelle Yeoh pose with their awards at the Governors Ball following the Oscars show at the 95th Academy Awards in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, U.S., Sunday local time. [REUTERS]
Best Supporting Actor Ke Huy Quan and Best Actress Michelle Yeoh pose with their awards at the Governors Ball following the Oscars show at the 95th Academy Awards in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, U.S., Sunday local time. [REUTERS]

“Everything Everywhere All At Once” also won Best Picture at this year’s Academy Awards, as well as the Best Supporting Actor award which went to Ke Huy Quan, who played Yeoh’s husband Waymond. It took home a total of seven Oscars.

Other winners at the 95th Academy Awards included Brendan Fraser in the Best Actor category for “The Whale,” in an emotional comeback for the actor who had called out Hollywood executives for sexual abuse at the peak of Fraser’s career. The German film “All Quiet on the Western Front” took the Best International Feature, while “Women Talking” won in the Best Adapted Screenplay category. Director James Cameron’s “Avatar: The Way of Water” won the Best Visual Effects award.

BY LIM JEONG-WON [lim.jeongwon@joongang.co.kr]