Michelle Yeoh may have been the odds-on favorite to win Best Actress at Sunday’s Oscars, but that didn’t diminish her history-making win and the sheer delight surrounding it.
Yeoh, who is of Malaysian Chinese descent, became the first Asian woman to win Best Actress for her role as Evelyn Wang in “Everything Everywhere All At Once.”
In her acceptance speech, the 60-year-old actress dedicated her award to her 84-year-old mom. “I have to dedicate this to my mom — all the moms in the world — because they are really the superheroes. And without them, none of us would be here tonight.”
“She’s 84. And I’m taking this home to her,” Yeoh continued. “She’s watching right now in Malaysia, KL, with my family and friends [kisses statue]. I love you guys, I’m taking this home to you.”
Cameras were indeed rolling in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, which is about 13 hours ahead of Los Angeles, to capture the reaction of Janet Yeoh and her daughter’s closest supporters.
The elder Yeoh, who was dressed in a white gown just like her daughter, leaped to her feet when the announcement was made and the packed venue erupted in cheers, everywhere, all at once.
But that’s not all cameras caught. Michelle immediately called her mom via Facetime to share her historic win, captured on site by Channel NewsAsia Malaysia bureau chief Melissa Goh.
In the clip, Michelle is holding her statuette and giving air kisses to her mom. Standing beside her is her longtime partner, French racing executive Jean Todt.
In Malay, Janet responds, “Malaysia boleh,” which translates into “Malaysia can do it!”
Yeoh is a national hero in Malaysia, with large billboards erected to celebrate her nomination that read “The Pride of Malaysia Tan Sri Michelle Yeoh.” Tan Sri is an honorary title in Malaysia similar to the British dame.
In a series of tweets, Malaysia’s prime minister Anwar Ibrahim congratulated Yeoh, writing, “Michelle’s illustrious and exemplary career in this field will certainly continue to be a source of great inspiration and motivation to our homegrown actors and actresses and provide even greater impetus to the growth of our local industry.”
Ibrahim concluded with a simple, “Way to go, Michelle!”
In her speech, Yeoh also thanked the Hong Kong film community where she honed her acting skills.
She’ll be next seen opposite her Oscar-winning “EEAAO” costar Ke Huy Quan and nominated castmate Stephanie Hsu in “American Born Chinese” on Disney+ in May.