At the Oscars in 2023, Halle Berry was overcome with emotion as she presented Michelle Yeoh with a groundbreaking award.
Yeoh, 60, took home the Best Actress statue at Sunday night’s 95th Academy Awards for her turn as Evelyn Wang in Everything, All at Once. Competing against her were Cate Blanchett (Tár), Ana de Armas (Blonde), Andrea Riseborough (To Leslie), and Michelle Williams (The Fabelmans).
Berry, 56, and her colleague actress Yeoh, 48, hugged it out when Yeoh’s name was announced and she made her way up to the platform at the Dolby Theatre, and then Berry delivered Yeoh the trophy that she had won for directing and starring in Bruised.
That Yeoh was the second non-white woman to win Best Actress was a landmark occasion. Berry was the first to achieve this feat, having won in 2002 for her performance at the Monster’s Ball. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Yeoh also made history by being the first Asian-American woman to win the prize.
This past Monday, Berry posted on Twitter, “It was a privilege to present Michelle Yeoh with the Oscar for Best Actress alongside Jessica Chastain. This is a moment I’ve been waiting for, and I won’t forget it!”
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Berry and Jessica Chastain were the ones to give Yeoh her prize. Typically, the Best Actor winner from the previous year presents the Best Actress award, but last year, Will Smith won for his performance in King Richard.
Smith, 54, notoriously slapped Chris Rock in the face onstage after Rock made a joke about Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, prompting Smith to resign from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and be barred from attending its events for 10 years.
In presenting the trophy to Yeoh, Berry said nothing about Smith or the controversy that surrounded last year’s Oscars.
Rock, 58, addressed the attack in his live Netflix comedy special Chris Rock: Selective Outrage, which was peppered with caustic jokes about the Smiths and their marriage and took place just over a week before the ceremony.
Yeoh reminded the crowd and those watching at home during her winning speech, “This is a ray of hope and possibility for all the little boys and girls who look like me who will be watching tonight. This is evidence that it pays to think big. And females, never believe the naysayers who say you’ve passed your heyday. Keep going; there is no time to quit.”
She thanked everyone who helped make Everything, Everywhere, All at Once a reality, including the Daniels, A24, her incredible cast and crew, and the festival organizers. “Moms are the actual superheroes, therefore this is for her and all the other mothers out there. That’s why we’re all here tonight; we couldn’t have done it without them.”
Yeoh went on about her Oscar win, mentioning her mother’s advanced age of 84 “I’m bringing this back to her in Malaysia to show her family and friends, and she’s watching it right now. As I care about you, I’m bringing this present to you at home. I’d want to offer my gratitude to the members of my extended family in Hong Kong, where I got my professional start, for providing me with the support I needed to get where I am now.”
“Furthermore, I appreciate my godchildren, all of my sisters, my brothers, and my family. Many thanks! We owe a debt of gratitude to the Academy for facilitating this moment of historic significance “with that, she drew a conclusion.
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The Dolby Theatre at Planet Hollywood in Los Angeles hosted the film industry’s biggest night, which was broadcast live on ABC and in more than 200 territories across the world.
It was Jimmy Kimmel’s third time as host, and the film Everything, Everywhere, All at Once received the most nominations. The next two films to receive the most nominations (nine each) were All Quiet on the Western Front and The Banshees of Inisherin.
Brendan Fraser won Best Actor, and both Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert took home Best Director statuettes. Meanwhile, Everything, Everywhere, All at Once won the evening’s top honor, Best Picture.
The In Memoriam portion featured a performance by Lenny Kravitz, while the five finalists for Best Original Song were all performed live.
Nicole Kidman, Antonio Banderas, Ariana DeBose, Samuel L. Jackson, Janelle Monae, and John Cho, to name a few, were among the celebrities who presented honors at the ceremony.
