(Kuala Lumpur) Malaysian Michelle Yeoh, the first actress of Asian descent to receive the Oscar for best actress, pleaded on Tuesday for diversity in the entertainment world and urged women not to be “boxed in “.
“I’ve been blessed to be able to work with very interesting, diverse and forward-thinking directors all the time, which has allowed me to fight for what I truly believe in: representation, diversity and above all the emancipation of women,” the actress said in Kuala Lumpur, during her first press conference in her home country after her Oscar triumph in April.
I don’t believe that because we are women we are the weaker sex […] We should never allow anyone to box us in.
Michelle Yeoh
The Oscar she received “means so much to so many of us,” she continued, adding that she had “heard the cries of joy and happiness from around the world all the way to Los Angeles.” following his victory.
Michelle Yeoh, 60, received her Oscar for her role in the crazy comedy Everything Everywhere All At Oncewith a predominantly Asian cast and which won seven major awards in total.
This crazy feature film has become a symbol for Hollywood, often criticized in recent years for its lack of diversity.
During her press conference, she held up the statuette and kissed it in front of the photographers. Asked what advice she would give to young people around the world, she replied: “Don’t become me, be yourself […] I believe you will be better”.
She later met 2,000 fans, most of them shouting and taking photos and videos, at a fashionable mall in the Malaysian capital.
The volume increased even more when she held up her statuette to show it to the crowd.
“She is an example for me. Her tough and thoughtful attitude empowers young women like,” said Ng Xue Ying, 21, an audiovisual student.
Michelle Yeoh was born to Malaysian and Chinese parents in the city of Ipoh (north). She danced from childhood and studied ballet in England.
She started filming in the 1980s, but her career took off in Hollywood with tomorrow never diesin which she played opposite the James Bond played by Pierce Brosnan.
She also starred in the martial arts film tiger and dragon by Ang Lee in 2000 (four Oscars), the historical drama Memoirs of a Geisha in 2005 and the romantic comedy Crazy Rich Asians (2018).
She said she had no interest in directing. “Directors have no life. I love my life,” she said. “You don’t have time for anything because as you are the director, you have to know everything and be everywhere at the same time”.