Michelle Yeoh is a winner in every universe.
The "Everything Everywhere All At Once" star took home the prize for Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy at the 2023 Golden Globes on Jan. 10.
She was up against Lesley Manville ("Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris"), Margot Robbie ("Babylon"), Anya Taylor-Joy ("The Menu") and Emma Thompson ("Good Luck to You, Leo Grande"). (See the full list of winners here.)
Upon accepting the award, which marked her first nomination and win at the Golden Globes, Yeoh made sure to take in the moment — and nothing could stop her.
"Shut up, please!" Yeoh said as music began to play over her speech. "I can beat you up, OK? And that's serious."
Noting that it's been "an amazing journey and incredible fight to be here today," the 60-year-old recalled the struggles she faced when she first emerged on the acting scene.
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"I remember when I first came to Hollywood, it was a dream come true until I got here," she said. "Because look at this face, I came here and was told 'you're a minority.' And I'm like 'No, that's not possible.'"
As acting gigs seemed to dwindle as she got older, Yeoh told herself it would be OK.
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"I probably was at a time where I thought, 'Well, hey, come on, girl. You had a really, really good run. You worked with some of the best people,'" she said. "And then along came the best gift — 'Everything Everywhere All At Once.'"
However, since being cast in the movie as protagonist Evelyn Wang, a Chinese immigrant at odds with her daughter, Yeoh — who was born in Malaysia — says more doors have opened up to her.
"This is the first time in many years," she told NBC News last March, "apart from the movies that I made in Asia, that I had the lead role."
Above all, Yeoh stood in admiration at the breakthroughs the film made for Asian representation.
"So many of us have been working on pushing the envelope and trying to make it happen, because it's very simple," Yeoh said. "We believe in us. We believe in our Asian talent. We believe all of us have stories that need to be told and need to be embraced."
