On Sunday, March 13, 2023 Michelle Yeoh won an Oscar for the Best Actress category at the 95th Academy Awards—for her incredible performance in Everything Everywhere All at Once—making cinematic history in more ways than just one.
Yeoh, known for her iconic roles in action film, made her own mark on history as the first Asian woman to win Best Actress in the entire 95-year span of the award ceremony.
“This is actually a historical moment,” said Yeoh to reporters backstage after her win. “I think this is something that we have been working so hard towards for a very long time, and tonight we freaking broke that glass ceiling!”
During her acceptance speech on stage, she acknowledged and dedicated her award to the Asian community.
“We need this because there’s so many who felt unseen, unheard, it’s not just the Asian community,” she continued to say backstage. “This is for the Asian community—but [also] for anybody who has been identified as a minority. We deserve to be heard. We deserve to be seen. We deserve to have the equal opportunity so we can have a seat at the table.”
That’s not all the history the actress made last night. Yeoh is now officially the third Asian woman to receive such an honor, following the footsteps of Yuh-Jung Youn and Miyoshi Umeki. She’s also become the second woman of color to win best actress after Halle Berry in 2002.
This was Yeoh’s first Oscar nomination and win. You can watch her full acceptance speech here.
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