‘It’s not an accident at all’: Michelle Yeoh’s Oscar win hailed by Hong Kong film producer who helped launch her career

Michelle Yeoh’s Oscar win is deserved recognition for her talent and hard work, says Hong Kong film director Norman Chan, who helped her get started in movies
Fellow actors take inspiration from her win, the first by an Asian actress, as well as fans and her mother, 84, who says, ‘She has made Malaysia proud’

American cinema

Mabel Lui

Published: 8:30pm, 13 Mar 2023

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Fans and film industry professionals have hailed Michelle Yeoh’s historic win at the Oscars, where she became the first Asian to win the best actress award for her role in Everything Everywhere All at Once.

Hong Kong film director and producer Norman Chan, once the production controller at D&B Films – the production company that produced some of Yeoh’s earliest films, including The Owl vs Bombo and Yes, Madam – was ecstatic to hear that Yeoh had won the award.

“Of course, we’re so happy,” Chan says. “When she was young and came to Hong Kong, we trained her as an action star. She didn’t know kung fu at all and trained tirelessly to become a female action star – her whole body would get hurt, but she never ever gave up.

“It’s very rare to find a talent like her – someone who can act different roles, speak English well and do martial arts – and you can’t find someone else as hardworking. So for her to win the award, it’s not an accident at all.”

To my extended family in Hong Kong where I started my career, thank you for letting me stand on your shoulders, giving me a leg up so I can be here today

Michelle Yeoh in her acceptance speech

“Dreams can really come true,” said Hong Kong actress Angela Yuen, who recently appeared in the film Hong Kong Family. “As an Asian, and a woman, her win shows that aside from there being possibilities for us, we can also shine in the spotlight.”

During her acceptance speech, Yeoh expressed a similarly hopeful message. “For all the little boys and girls who look like me watching tonight, this is a beacon of hope and possibilities,” Yeoh said. “And ladies, don’t let anybody tell you that you are ever past your prime. Never give up.”

“Everything Everywhere All at Once” cast members Jamie Lee Curtis (back, left), Ke Huy Quan (second from left), James Hong (third from left), Michelle Yeoh, and Stephanie Hsu (right), with producer Jonathan Wang (back, centre) and directors Daniel Kwan (front left) and Daniel Scheinert, celebrate the film’s seven Oscar wins backstage at the Dolby Theatre. Photo: Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP

The Malaysian actress, 60, also paid tribute to her beginnings in Hong Kong cinema.

“To my extended family in Hong Kong where I started my career, thank you for letting me stand on your shoulders, giving me a leg up so I can be here today,” Yeoh said.

Kevin Yeung, Hong Kong’s secretary for culture, sports and tourism, congratulated Yeoh in a statement. “Michelle Yeoh rose to prominence in the Hong Kong film industry for years, then moved on to the international stage and became a shining star with impressive achievements.

“Her honour of winning the Oscar award, one of the most significant awards in the film sector, is well deserved. This is a testimony to the strong potential of Hong Kong’s talents and film industry.”

In Malaysia, youth and sports minister Hannah Yeoh called Yeoh “an inspiration to all of us”.

Other Asian celebrities and stars weighed in.

“You give me hope,” said Korean-American actor Daniel Dae Kim in an Instagram post. Underneath, Hong Kong climate activist Tori Tsui commented: “This win means so much for the Asian community. As a young girl who grew up watching Michelle Yeoh on Chinese television, this means everything.”

02:56

Proud mama: See Janet Yeoh's reaction to her daughter Michelle winning Oscar for best actress

In her speech, Yeoh dedicated her Oscar to her 84-year-old mother. “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 said.

In turn her mother, Janet Yeoh, who watched the ceremony from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, said she was proud of her “little princess”.

“I so love my daughter and she has made Malaysia proud,” she said.

Yeoh, who was a first-time Oscar nominee, edged out Tár’s two-time Oscar winner Cate Blanchett for the best actress award.

Her award was one of seven wins on the night for Everything Everywhere All at Once, an eccentric film about a Chinese-American family that gets swept up in a multiverse, including the biggest award of the night – best picture. Directors Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, known as the “Daniels”, also took home awards for best director and best original screenplay.

01:29

Michelle Yeoh ties the knot with long-time French fiancé Jean Todt

Everything Everywhere’s best picture win meant that, for the third time in four years, a film with an Asian director won the American film industry’s top award. Kwan, a Chinese American, follows in the footsteps of Chloé Zhao, who won best picture for Nomadland in 2021, and Bong Joon-ho, who won for Parasite in 2020.

Yeoh’s co-star Ke Huy Quan received the best supporting actor Oscar. Jamie Lee Curtis won best supporting actress, while the film’s editor, Paul Rogers, received the best film editing Oscar.