“To all the boys and girls who look like me”: Michelle Yeoh’s inspiring speech

This Sunday, March 12, the Oscars 2023 took place, in which the big winner of the evening was “Everything, everywhere, all at once”. And though many expected controversy over the size of Will Smith’s slap on Chris Rock, instead, it was an emotional celebration, largely due to Michelle Yeoh’s speech, who won Best Actress at the gala.

From the hand of the only black actress to take home the statuette, Michelle Yeoh won the Best Actress Award for ‘Everything everywhere all at once’the film with the most nominations of the night and the one that could win the most awards, with a total of 7. Along the way there were other great actresses competing in the same category, Cate Blanchett for ‘Tár’, Michelle Williams for ‘The Fabelmans’, Ana de Armas for ‘Blonde’ and Andrea Riseborough for ‘To Leslie’.

When he took the stage, Michelle Yeoh gave an emotional speech at the 2023 Oscars: “For all the boys and girls who look like me, who are watching me tonight. This is a beacon of hope and possibility. This is proof that you can dream big, that dreams come true. And ladies, don’t let anyone tell you your time is up, never give up.”

The actress of ‘The Mummy 3’ also dedicated the recognition to all the mothers of the Earth: “I must dedicate this to my mother, to all the mothers of the world, because they are the real superheroines, and without them none of us be here. She is 84 years old and I take this. She is watching this from Malaysia with my family. I take this (the golden figurine) home. Thank you for pushing me to be here today. Thank you, thank you Academy, this it’s history.”

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Michelle Yeoh’s mother celebrates her Oscar

‘Everything Everywhere All at Once’ may now have become cinematic history, but Daniels’ film would not have been what it is without the great cast it has. Led by Michelle Yeoh, the cast also had its recognition on Oscar night 2023, with Ke Huy Quan winning the statuette for best supporting actor and Jamie Lee Curtis for best supporting actress.

From Malaysia, the Michelle Yeoh’s mother, janet yeh 84 years old, celebrated his victory “Little daughter’, who became the first Asian woman to win Best Actress: ‘I love my daughter and she has made Malaysia proud of her,’ Yeoh said at a press conference after the Kuala Lumpur Academy celebration.

“It was a moment that left me speechless. I was speechless, I cried,” said Vicki Yeoh, granddaughter of Michelle Yeoh, who attended the special event. “The nominees are very strong, but we had no doubts. We keep telling him ‘you will win… you will take the stage with the golden man’”.