Oscars 2023: Michelle Yeoh Makes History, Becomes First Asian Best Actress Winner

Malaysian actress, Michelle Yeoh on Sunday, March 12 at the 2023 Oscars Award ceremony became the first woman of Asian descent to win best actress category.

Yeoh, who earned the trophy for her acclaimed performance in “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” has also entered the history books for becoming the first Malaysian-born performer to be honored with a best actress Oscar.

Yeoh is the fifth person of Asian descent to win an Oscar in an acting category and the first to win in a lead acting category.

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“For all the little boys and girls who look like me watching tonight, this is a beacon of hope and possibilities. This is proof to dream big and dreams do come true,” Yeoh gushed while accepting her Oscar.

She added: “Ladies, don’t let anybody tell you you’re ever past your prime.”

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Yeoh dedicated her Oscar to her mother, and “all the moms in the world, because they really are the superheroes and without them none of us would be here tonight.”

Listen to her speech below.

Michelle Yeoh accepts her #Oscar for Best Actress: "For all the little boys and girls who look like me watching tonight, this is a beacon of hope and possibilities. This is proof that dreams do come true." https://t.co/ndiKiHfmID pic.twitter.com/pQN8nHDhCx

— Variety (@Variety) March 13, 2023

In Everything Everywhere All at Once, Yeoh plays a Chinese-American launderette owner who is mired in a tax audit, stuck in a crumbling marriage and struggling to connect with her daughter Joy.

But when she discovers different versions of herself in the multiverse, she must tap into their skills in order to save the world.

“This is proof that dreams do come true,” Yeoh said in her speech. “I have to dedicate this to all the moms in the world because they are the superheroes, and without them, none of us would be here tonight.”