Michelle Yeoh may have been the favorite to win Best Actress at Sunday’s Oscars, but that didn’t diminish her historic victory and the sheer delight that surrounded her.
Yeoh, of Chinese Malay 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, to all the moms in the world, because they are truly the superheroines. And without them, none of us would be here tonight.”
“He is 84 years old. And I will bring this home to him,” Yeoh continued. “She is watching right now in Malaysia, KL, with my family and friends. [kisses statue]. I love you guys, I’ll bring this home to you.”
In fact, cameras were rolling in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, which is roughly 13 hours ahead of Los Angeles, to capture the reaction of Janet Yeoh and her daughter’s closest supporters.
The older Yeoh, who wore a white dress like her daughter, jumped to her feet as the announcement was made and the packed venue erupted in applause, everywhere, all at once.
But that’s not all the cameras captured. Michelle immediately called her mother via Facetime to share her historic win, captured on the site by Channel NewsAsia Malaysia bureau chief Melissa Goh.
In the clip, Michelle holds her statuette and air kisses her mom. Standing next to her is her longtime partner, French racing executive Jean Todt.
In Malay, Janet replies, “Malaysia boleh,” which translates to “Malaysia can do it!”
Yeoh is a national hero in Malaysia, with large billboards erected to celebrate his nomination which read “The Pride of Malaysia Tan Sri Michelle Yeoh”. Tan Sri is an honorific in Malaysia similar to the British dame.
In a series of tweetsMalaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim congratulated Yeoh, writing, “Michelle’s illustrious and exemplary career in this field will no doubt continue to be a source of great inspiration and motivation to our local 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 his speech, Yeoh also thanked the Hong Kong film community where he honed his acting skills.
She will next be seen opposite her Oscar-winning co-star in “EEAAO,” Ke Huy Quan, and her nominated co-star Stephanie Hsu in “American Born Chinese” on Disney+ in May.