Michelle Yeoh – in the role of Chinese-American laundromat owner Evelyn Wang in the unconventional comedy Everything Everything, which swept the 2023 Oscars yesterday – made history.

The 60-year-old Malaysian actress became the first Asian woman to win an Oscar – and indeed the Oscar for Best Actress, commonly known as the best actress of the year.

Overjoyed and beaming in her white gown, Yo accepted her award with full empathy for what was happening: “For all the little boys and little girls who look like me and see us tonight, this is a beacon of hope and possibility. It’s proof that you can dream big and that dreams can come true,” she said while receiving her award.

From Miss Malaysia, Oscar star

The Malaysian-born actress won the Miss Malaysia beauty title in 1983 at the age of 20 and has since entered the world of show business, at a time when the Asians ruling the roost in Hollywood were Chuckie Chan and Bruce Lee.

Yeo began acting in similar action films (small budget and unknown to the general public) until she became famous with the film “Tomorrow Never Dies”, where she played the spy alongside James Bond – Pierce Brosnan, in 1997.

The Hollywood dream began to become a reality and was consolidated with the films “Tiger and Dragon” (2000) and “Memories of a Geisha” (2005).

In an earlier interview – about the secret of her success – Yo had stated: “I am a very normal person. I just work really hard. There are so many brilliant actors out there… All they have to do is find an opportunity and get there.”

Success at work, happiness in personal life

In June 2004 at a tournament in Shanghai she met businessman and F1 legend Jean Todt and they became engaged a year later.

Since then the pair have been inseparable and share a great love – Yo has stated that she loves his sense of humor and his blue eyes. They never got married in the next 20 years because quite simply… they don’t have time to plan their wedding.