Michelle Yeoh makes history as first Asian nominated in the Best Actress category at Academy Awards
Michelle Yeoh just made history as the first Asian nominated in the Best Actress category at the Academy Awards on Tuesday morning.
The news comes just weeks after the Last Christmas actress, 60, became the first Malaysian to win a Golden Globe.
‘I think what it means to me is all those Asians out there go, ‘You see, it’s possible. If she can do it, I can freaking well do it as well.’ That is the most important thing,’ she told Deadline following the news.
Congratulations: Michelle Yeoh just made history as the first Asian nominated in the Best Actress category at the Academy Awards on Tuesday morning (seen earlier this month)
She continued: ‘I’m very ordinary. I just work very hard. There are so many brilliant actresses, actors out there who know that they have a seat at the table.’
The Shang-Chi star went on to encourage others to ‘find an opportunity and get there.’
Last month, Yeoh said the win would be for the ‘whole Asian community.’
Role of a lifetime: Yeoh seen above in character as Evelyn Quan Wang in Everything Everywhere All at Once
Proud: Last month, when asked about the prospect of making history as the first Asian actress to win Best Actress, she explained what it would represent (seen after winning her first Golden Globe earlier this month)
Yeoh went on to reflect on her peers, many of them white actresses, who are constantly recognized for their talents.
‘I do look at all my peers—Cate Blanchett, Olivia Colman, Helen Mirren—and go, Oh God, I envy all the different opportunities you get to showcase your talent again and again,’ Yeoh said.
‘When you get an opportunity like this, you have to pour your heart and soul into it, because you don’t know when the next chance is. I think that is my biggest fear: Please don’t let this be the one and only,’ Yeoh admitted.
‘It’s not about needing it. It’s that feeling that you don’t have to explain: it’s love from other people. My arms are out open,’ she said; seen in October 2022
When asked about the prospect of making history at the Oscars, she explained what it would represent.
‘It’s not about needing it. It’s that feeling that you don’t have to explain: it’s love from other people. My arms are out open,’ she said.
Yeoh continues to be quite busy, filming Avatar 3, the new TV series The Witcher: Blood Origin and Transformers: Rise of the Beast.
Her past credits include a wide range of films like martial arts action projects (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon), James Bond thrillers (Tomorrow Never Dies), and superhero films (Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2).
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