Read Michelle Yeoh’s Best Actress Winning Speech: ‘Don’t Let Anybody Tell You You’re Past Your Prime’
“Don’t let anybody tell you you are ever past your prime,” Michelle Yeoh told the Oscars audience as she stepped onstage to accept her Best Lead Actress Academy Award tonight—only the second non-white woman, and first Asian woman, in the Oscars’ nearly 100-year history to do so. Everything Everywhere All At Once was nominated for a total of 11 Oscars at the star-studded evening, and won several of the most illustrious awards, including Best Lead Actress and Best Picture.
Throughout the film’s remarkable run—since debuting at South by Southwest almost a year ago exactly—Yeoh has won over critics, fans, and Academy voters alike with her talent, grace, and storied Hollywood career. After gaining worldwide acclaim in the ’90s and early 2000s for her roles in films such as Supercop, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, and Tomorrow Never Dies, she has since become one of the entertainment’s most consistent powerhouses. Tonight, she was finally awarded with the industry’s most coveted honor.
Read a transcript of Yeoh’s full acceptance speech below.
“Thank you. Thank you.
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 dream big and dreams do come true, and ladies, don’t let anybody tell you you are ever past your prime. Never give up.
I wouldn’t be standing here tonight without the Daniels, without A24, without my amazing cast and crew, without everyone who was involved with Everything Everywhere All At Once.
But—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. She’s watching right now in Malaysia with my family and friends. I love you guys. I’m bringing this home to you. And also 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 that I could be here today. And to my godchildren, to my sisters, all of them, to my brothers, to—oh, God, to my family. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you to the Academy. This is history in the making! Thank you!”
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