Michelle Yeoh accepts the Best Actress award for ‘Everything Everywhere All at Once’ at the Oscars on Sunday, March 12, 2023, at the Dolby Theater in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Michelle Yeoh won the Academy Award for Best Actress and made history at the same time.

The Malaysian-born actress on Sunday became the first Asian woman to win the Best Actress award for her multifaceted performance in the multiverse film ‘Everything Everywhere All at Once’.

“I have to dedicate this to my mom and all the moms in the world because they really are superheroes and without her none of us would be here tonight,” she said in her speech. “For all the boys and girls like me watching tonight, this is a beacon of hope and possibility. This is proof that dreams are big and dreams do come true. And ladies, no , don’t let anyone tell you that you’re past your prime.”

Yeoh’s win comes nearly 90 years after Luise Rainer, a white actress, won in the same category for playing a Chinese farmer in “The Good Earth.”

As a nominee, Yeoh was the first in the category to identify as Asian. Merle Oberon, who was nominated in 1935 for ‘The Dark Angel’ but did not win, hid her South Asian ancestry, according to birth records.

Yeoh beat former Oscar winner Cate Blanchett, nominated for “Tár”, as well as Michelle Williams, nominated for “The Fabelmans” (Los Fabelmans), Cuban-Spanish actress Ana de Armas, for “Blonde” (“Blonde”) and Andrea Riseborough for “A Leslie”.

The category also came under fire from those who weren’t nominated: In a year of incredible performances by black women like Viola Davis in “The Woman King” and Danielle Deadwyler in “Till” (“Till : Justice for my son”), both were snubbed. Meanwhile, some have criticized the social media campaign of support for Riseborough by movie stars.

Yeoh was all but certain to take home the Oscar after scooping nearly every other award this season, including the Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild Award, for her nuanced portrayal of Evelyn, a Chinese immigrant, wife, mother and landlord. of a laundry, which is facing a formidable tax audit.

Her co-stars Jamie Lee Curtis and Ke Huy Quan also won Academy Awards for Best Actress and Supporting Actor. Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert won Best Direction and Best Original Screenplay, and “Everything Everywhere All at Once” won Best Photo Statuette.

Yeoh started her career in the world of kung fu movies, but shot to fame in 1992 as Jackie Chan’s co-star in “Supercop.” American audiences came to know her even better over the next decade thanks to her appearances in hits such as Ang Lee’s “Tomorrow Never Dies” and “Wo hu cang long”.

When he first read the script for “Everything Everywhere,” Yeoh thought it was “an indie movie on steroids.” It was ultimately sold on the opportunity to give under-the-radar immigrant mothers and grandmothers a voice. also a sample of a wide variety of genres such as: drama, comedy, science fiction and fantasy.

At 60, Yeoh has been in demand ever since her starring role as the controlling matriarch in “Crazy Rich Asians.” From there, he’s done everything from a “Star Trek” spin-off story to the Marvel movie “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.” .

In the coming months, Yeoh can be seen in the Disney+ series “American Born Chinese.” He’s also arranging a meeting with “Crazy Rich Asians” director Jon M. Chu for the big-screen adaptation of the musical “Wicked.”

Michelle Yeoh receives the Oscar for best actress for her leading role in "Everything everywhere all at once" ("Everything everywhere at the same time"), on Sunday, March 12, 2023, at the Dolby Theater in Los Angeles.  (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)
Michelle Yeoh receives the Best Actress Oscar for her lead role in “Everything Everywhere All at Once” on Sunday, March 12, 2023, at the Dolby Theater in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)
Michelle Yeoh receives the Best Actress Oscar for "Everything everywhere all at once" ("Everything everywhere at the same time"), on Sunday, March 12, 2023, at the Dolby Theater in Los Angeles.  (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)
Michelle Yeoh receives the Best Actress Oscar for “Everything Everywhere All at Once” on Sunday, March 12, 2023 at the Dolby Theater in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)
Michelle Yeoh arrives at the Oscars on Sunday, March 12, 2023 at the Dolby Theater in Los Angeles.  (Photo Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)
Michelle Yeoh arrives at the Oscars on Sunday, March 12, 2023 at the Dolby Theater in Los Angeles. (Photo Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)
Michelle Yeoh arrives at the Oscars on Sunday, March 12, 2023 at the Dolby Theater in Los Angeles.  (Photo Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)
Michelle Yeoh arrives at the Oscars on Sunday, March 12, 2023 at the Dolby Theater in Los Angeles. (Photo Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)

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