Michelle Yeoh becomes the first Asian best actress winner at the Oscars
Michelle Yeoh becomes the first Asian best actress winner at the Oscars
Oscars special edition
🏆 The Headlines
Michelle Yeoh becomes first Asian best actress winner — Michelle Yeoh took home the Best Actress trophy at the 95th Academy Awards on Sunday night, making history in the process as the first Asian woman to win an Oscar for lead actress.
“Despite her illustrious career in action films,” an announcer let viewers know as Yeoh, 60, made her way up to the stage, she “has no formal training in martial arts.” Yeoh got her start in Hong Kong action films, followed by roles in 1997’s Tomorrow Never Dies and 2000’s Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. Everything Everywhere All at Once marks the first widespread recognition of her talents by Hollywood.
Michelle’s speech included:
For all the little boys and girls who look like me watching tonight, this is a beacon of hope and possibilities. This is proof—dream big—and dreams do come true. And ladies, don’t let anybody tell you you are ever past your prime. Never give up.
Ke Huy Quan Wins Best Supporting Actor Oscar, Capping a Remarkable Comeback — “My journey started on a boat. I spent a year in a refugee camp. And somehow, I ended up here on Hollywood’s biggest stage,” he said in his acceptance speech.
Ke Huy Quan won the Oscar for his supporting role in “Everything Everywhere All At Once” at the 95th Academy Awards on Sunday night, completing one of the most impressive Hollywood comebacks of all time.
After experiencing fame in the 1980s as a child actor in films like “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom” and “The Goonies,” Quan eventually moved behind the camera to work in stunt choreography. “I had to step away because the phone stopped ringing,” he told The Times about his two-decade absence from the screen. “Hollywood didn’t write roles for Asian actors. But he continued to pay his Screen Actors Guild dues every month, as if biding his time for a return to acting.
In 2018, inspired by the success of “Crazy Rich Asians,” Quan called an agent friend to represent him and only two weeks later, he was sent “Everything Everywhere,” in which he plays the kindhearted husband of Michelle Yeoh’s multiverse-jumping heroine. Since the film’s release, Quan has taken trophy after trophy from the Golden Globes, Screen Actors Guild Awards, Critics Choice Awards, and Independent Spirit Awards.
Now, in a year that saw a record number of Asian performers nominated in the acting races, Quan has added an Academy Award to that shelf of statuettes.een in Texas and other states, reflecting a national trend.
'Everything Everywhere All At Once' takes home 7 Oscars, including Best Picture — It was a historical night for the sci-fi multiverse movie.
The genre-twisting science fiction film "Everything Everywhere All At Once" swept most of the major categories, winning Oscars for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress, Editing and Best Original Screenplay.
A24's provocative sci-fi/kung-fu comedy was nominated for 11 Academy Awards and ended the evening's formal ceremony at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles with a historic seven Oscars in total, tying with "Gravity" in 2014 for the most ever won by a sci-fi film.
Though it was predicted to win several gold statues by oddsmakers, critics and fans, nobody expected the mind-bending "Everything" to make such a monumental splash, beating out heavy Hollywood hitters in nearly every category.
Capping the night with a well-deserved Best Picture win over films like "Top Gun: Maverick," "Avatar: The Way of Water," "The Banshees of Inisherin," "All Quiet on the Western Front," "The Fabelmans," "Elvis," and others, "Everything Everywhere All At Once" shone in a multitude of categories.
🌟 The winning continues
with ‘RRR’ for Best Original Song — In a field full of heavy hitters — including Lady Gaga, Rihanna and perennial nominee Diane Warren — RRR's "Naatu Naatu" won best original song at Sunday's Academy Awards, becoming the first-ever song from an Indian film to win the prize.
with ‘The Elephant Whisperers’ for Best Short Documentary — In her acceptance speech, director Kartiki Gonsalves said, "I stand here today to speak of the sacred bond between us and our natural world, for the respect of indigenous communities and empathy towards other living beings we share space with, and finally, coexistence."
Producer Guneet Monga shared the news of the win with an Instagram post: "Tonight is historic as this is the first ever Oscar for an Indian production. India's Glory with 2 women."
with The Daniels for Best Director & Best Original Screenplay — Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert won for their multiverse mash-up, “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” making them the rare third directing duo to win an Oscar.
❤️ Feeling seen
with our names — For Ke Huy Quan, hearing his name spoken out loud by Ariana DeBose as she presented him with the award for Best Supporting Actor at the Oscars 2023 was important in more ways than one.
As the Everything Everywhere All at Once star celebrated his Academy Award win in the press room on Sunday, Quan, 51, recalled being advised to use "an American sounding" stage name in the late 1980s and early 1990s and said he was "so emotional" when he heard DeBose, 32, speak his name on stage.
with motherhood — THR’s senior inclusion editor reflected on how the life and roles of the 'Everything Everywhere All at Once' Oscar winner & matriarch played by Michelle Yeoh have helped guide her own personal journey, both as a daughter and as a hopeful parent: "There’s something about Yeoh as Mother that transcends."
with our accents — Michelle Yeoh has been on the awards season campaign trail for months, and hearing her speak in a familiar, unmistakably Malaysian accent has been a source of comfort, writes Independent’s Kate Ng.
🥹 All the feels
“Asian Americans recorded the fastest population growth rate among all racial and ethnic groups in the United States, study finds.”
While this statistic may seem optimistic, there’s more to the story. The growth of the Asian American population in the U.S. has occurred in tandem with increased reports of discrimination and violence since the start of the coronavirus outbreak.
As our community grows, we are getting louder, we are telling our authentic stories…and we are making news headlines.
✍️, Lea @ Crushing the Myth