China Celebrates Michelle Yeoh’s Best Actress Win at the Golden Globes

On January 10, Michelle Yeoh stole the spotlight at the 80th Golden Globe Awards by snagging the Best Actress Award (Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy category) for her role in the 2022 comedy-drama Everything Everywhere All At Once.

In the dual language (English and Cantonese) film directed by Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, the Chinese-Malaysian actress plays Evelyn Wang, a Chinese-American laundromat owner who accidentally discovers the multiverse, and must wander through parallel realities to save the world. In it, Yeoh plays a wide range of roles, from a Chinese opera diva to a kung fu star, and has been lauded for her moving and convincing performance.

The news about her Golden Globe win has been trending on Chinese microblogging platform Weibo ever since the announcement, and a related hashtag garnered 110 million views on the site in two hours. Many netizens are celebrating Yeoh’s success, and have expressed their hopes of her getting even bigger in the future.

“From Hong Kong to Hollywood, she has been in the industry for almost 40 years, and she finally got the acknowledgment that she deserves! Hope she will move on to win Oscar one day,” gushed a fan.

Another cheered, “Michelle Yeoh has proven that she is more than an action star.”

To many, Yeoh represents the rise of Asian culture in mainstream media, and proves that Hollywood is slowly beginning to recognize BIPOC perspectives.

The first-time Golden Globe nominee first rose to fame after starring in Hong Kong action films like Yes, Madam (1985). She gained international recognition for her roles in the James Bond film Tomorrow Never Dies (1997), Ang Lee’s wuxia film Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000), and sci-fi TV show Star Trek: Discovery (2017).

However, Everything Everywhere All at Once is the breakout film that has earned her universal acclaim. In a previous interview with GQ Magazine, Yeoh said that Everything Everywhere was “something I’ve been waiting for.”

Actor and stunt choreographer Ke Huy Quan, who plays Yeoh’s husband in the film, probably feels likewise. For the Vietnam-born American, who was a child actor in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984), Everything Everywhere All at Once was his first acting role in almost 30 years. He cried on stage while accepting the Best-supporting Actor Award.

Overall, Everything Everywhere All At Once has bagged hundreds of nominations and more than 100 wins at film festivals across the globe, including the Gotham Awards (Best Feature) in New York, and the Sunset Film Circle Awards (Best Supporting Actor and Best Ensemble).

Cover image via VCG