Veteran actress Michelle Yeoh gave an impressive, emotional acceptance speech at the 80th Golden Globe Awards last week in Beverly Hills, California.
Dedicating the award as recognition for minority artists, the now 60-year-old won her first Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Motion Picture, Comedy or Musical for Everything Everywhere All At Once. During the speech, she addressed the challenges when she first came to Hollywood as a minority and today facing ageism in the entertainment business.
In celebration of her milestone, here's a look at Yeoh's acting masterworks.
Everything Everywhere All At Once
Available on HBO Go
Yeoh joins other leading artists including Jamie Lee Curtis, Stephanie Hsu and Ke Huy Quan in this film where Yeoh was also nominated for the 2023 Screen Actors Guild Awards -- aka the pre-Oscars -- in the Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role category. She plays Evelyn Quan Wang, a Chinese-American immigrant who discovers that she must connect with parallel universe versions of herself to prevent a powerful being from destroying the multiverse. The New York Times also reports the film as having "everything Oscar voters typically spark to".
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
Available on iTunes Store
In this 2000 romantic-adventure classic directed by Ang Lee, Yeoh stars alongside renowned Hong Kong actor Chow Yun-fat. She takes the role of a female warrior who is on a mission to search for the lost Green Destiny, a sword given to her by her warrior lover to deliver for safe keeping. The film is internationally known for its Chinese martial arts choreography.
Crazy Rich Asians
Available on HBO Go
Yeoh plays the wealthy Eleanor Young, wife of one of Singapore's biggest developers, who disapproves her only son Nick's relationship with Chinese-American girlfriend Rachel. Based on a satirical 2013 romantic comedy novel by Kevin Kwan, the film also stars Henry Golding, Constance Wu and Awkwafina. The film won the Academy Award for Best Cinematography, Best Music – Original Score, Best Art Direction-Set Decoration and Best Foreign Language Film in 2018.
Memoirs Of A Geisha
Available on Netflix
Yeoh plays kind-but-cunning Mameha, a geisha mentor who takes the young Sayuri (Zhang Ziyi) under her wing as a favour to the Chairman (Ken Watanabe) and provides guidance to her on how to navigate the complicated terrain of geisha culture. The film was released in 2005 and went on to win three Oscars in 2006 for Best Achievement in Cinematography, Best Achievement in Art Direction and Best Achievement in Costume Design.
