Michelle Yeoh, an iconic name in Chinese cinema, made history on Sunday night by becoming the first Asian woman to win the Academy Award for best actress.
The Malaysian-born actress defeated tough challenger, including two-time dinner Cate Blanchett and five-time nominee(被提名人)Michelle Williams, to take home the honored award for her extraordinary performance in the multiverse comedy Everything Everywhere All at Once.
The film, where Yeoh plays a struggling laundry owner who ends up being the savior(救世主)of the multiverse, swept the Oscars with a total of seven awards, including for best picture and best director, making it the biggest winner of the night.
"For all the little boys and girls who look like me watching tonight, this is a beacon of hope and possibility," the actress said in her acceptance speech in Los Angeles, California, the United States, to emphasize that one must dream big as dreams do come true. "And ladies, don't let anyone ever tell you (that) you're past your prime(黄金期)," the 60-year-old added.
The actress also used her speech to honor her 84-year-old mother, Janet Yeoh. "I have to dedicate this to my mom and all the moms in the world because they are really the superheroes, and without them none of us would be here tonight," she said.
After caning a career for herself in Kung fu cinema in Hong Kong, Yeoh made her Hollywood debut(首次亮相)in the 1997 James Bond movie Tomorrow Never Dies. She gained international recognition for her role as a swordswoman in Ang Lee's iconic film, Crouching Tiger. Hidden Dragon, which won three Oscars in 2001.
Calling the actress "a female Jackie Chan", Sha Dan, a film critic, said that Yeoh is the film industry's darling for not only her jaw-dropping performance in action movies, but also her performance in artistic works. Everything Everywhere All at Once seems to be specifically crafted for Yeoh because the movie reflects her decades-long efforts to raise the cultural significance of Asian-themed films worldwide, Sha added. His remarks were just part of a stir among Chinese media, with the news hash-tag getting over 430 million views on the popular micro-blogging platform Sina Weibo in just three hours.