“I’m taking him home!” said Michelle Yeoh, holding up the golden statue. On Sunday, Malaysian Yeoh became the first Asian to win the important Oscar for best actress for her role as Evelyn Wang in the film Everything Everywhere All At Once. The words were addressed to her 84-year-old mother, Datin Janet Yeoh, who watched the ceremony live with about 100 relatives, celebrities and two ministers at a cinema in Kuala Lumpur on Monday morning. The award was received with loud cheers. Not long after, social media was flooded with expressions of national pride and congratulations to the actress, including from Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.
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Huge digital billboards on skyscrapers of the Kuala Lumpur had proudly announced her nomination for days. Now that she has won, the pride is even greater, if possible. “A distinctive moment for the Asian community in the entertainment industry”, says the Malaysian newspaper The Star her Oscar.
“We are not only proud because she is famous,” says Malaysian Yue Yi Lai (22), law student on the phone. “She is a role model for young Malaysians like me because she has achieved so much through talent and hard work.” And so “not because she comes from a wealthy family,” she clarifies. “That’s an inspiration.”
The success is also celebrated elsewhere in Asia. Well deserved and I appreciated every word in your speech The Star the Pakistani Nobel Prize winner Malala Yousafzai – herself also in Hollywood because of the nomination of the short documentary Stranger At The Gate in which she was involved as an executive producer. In her speech of thanks, Yeoh broke a lance for emancipation of the Asian community. She held the image to the camera and said: “To all the little boys and girls who look and look like me now. This is a beacon of hope and opportunity.” After that, Yeoh dedicated the Oscar to her mother. She had secretly entered her daughter at the age of 21 for the Miss Malaysia pageant after Yeoh had to give up her dream of becoming a ballerina due to a back injury. Yeoh won, and during her subsequent modeling career in Hong Kong, met famed action actor Jacky Chan when she starred in a commercial.
It was the start of a long film career, in which she caused a furore. She is famous for her fight scenes, which she does herself. One of the highlights of her career is her role as Yu Shu Lien in Ang Lee’s Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000).
Yeoh was born in Ipoh, a city north of Kuala Lumpur with a large Chinese-Malay community, a minority nationwide. She received an honorary title from the local sultan in 2001. “Everyone knows her,” says student Lai. “She’s in all the textbooks. There is no debate about Malaysia in which she is not mentioned.”
Glass ceiling
In the mainly religiously conservative country, population groups largely organize themselves along ethnic lines. But Yeoh is so popular that she rises above this ethnic subdivision. “Because she is successful not only in Chinese Hong Kong films but also in international films, she appeals to all Malaysians,” says Lai. “Everyone shares in her success. And because of that, she connects all Malaysian ethnicities.” Conservative forces in Malaysia, which may not support all her views, cannot ignore her either, says Lai. “She is the face of Malaysia.”
Yeoh doesn’t just break through cultural and ethnic barriers. With her physically challenging and original film roles, she also smashes against the glass ceiling that still proves to be a stubborn obstacle in many sectors. “I can’t wait to be 60, flex my muscles and wipe the floor with men yet to be born,” US publicist Jianyan Fan wrote on Twitter in February.
Yeoh, who has been speaking out against ageism for years, took advantage of her acceptance speech to also emphasize this point: “Ladies, don’t let anyone tell you you’re past your peak. Never give up.”