Michelle Yeoh is this year’s Best Actress Oscar winner!
The Malaysian-born star has been recognised for her role as Evelyn Wang in Everything, Everywhere All At Once and yes, she’s made history, becoming the first woman who identifies as Asian to win the award.
To clarify, there have been nominees and winners of Asian ancestry in the past including Merle Oberon and Vivien Leigh, however they never made their backgrounds public.
Taking to the stage, Michelle spoke about representation and following your dreams: “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, that dreams do come true.”
She also added some powerful words for the older women watching the ceremony: “And ladies, don’t let anybody ever tell you you are past your prime. You never give up!”
She went on to thank her cast and crew before dedicating the award to someone special in her life: “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.”
Michelle is the second woman of colour to win the category after Halle Berry won in 2002 for Monster’s Ball.
Her Everything, Everywhere All At Once co-stars Ke Huy Quan and Jamie Lee Curtis also won awards in their respective categories, along with Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert who won Best Director. Their film also took home the prestigious Best Picture award.
Meanwhile, Brendan Fraser won Best Actor for his role in The Whale.
(Feature Image Credit: Kevin Winter/Getty Images)