Michelle Yu makes film history as the first Asian to win Best Actress Oscar

Paula Ramon Michelle Yu made film history on Sunday by winning a best actress Oscar for her role in the bizarre film "Everying Everywear All at Waness," as the Malaysian actress became the first Asian to win in the category.

The 60-year-old actress dazzled Academy members with her performance as Evelyn Wang, a laundry owner who moves between many parallel worlds to face a powerful enemy. During this bizarre adventure, Wang recalibrates her marriage, gets closer to her daughter and tries to solve tax problems.

Michelle Yu became the first actress of Asian descent to win the award in the history of the Academy Awards, which was held Sunday at the Dolby Theater in Hollywood for its ninety-fifth edition.

"For all the boys and girls who look like me and watch me tonight, this award is a glimmer of hope and opportunity," Michelle Yu said with emotion as she accepted the award on stage, adding: "We are writing history."

In her speech on the Oscar stage, she addressed women, saying, "Don't let anyone tell you that the best stages of life are behind you."

Michelle Yu edged out Cate Blanchett ("Tar"), Anna de Armas ("Blonde"), Andrea Risboro ("To Leslie") and Michelle Williams ("The Vippelmans").

Absurd touches Daniel Cowan and Daniel Schinnert's Everying Everywear All at Once was the biggest winner of the Hollywood Rewards Night, winning seven Oscars, including Best Picture.

Michelle Yu has won praise for her performance of a Chinese immigrant character who grows more mature and deeper as she moves between parallel worlds and discovers different aspects of her life.

Despite some absurd touches in the film, such as characters with hot dogs instead of fingers, policemen turning into confetti and rocks with plastic eyes talking about the meaning of life, the film focuses on a key constant in the complexity and strength of family bonds.

The tumultuous mother-daughter relationship forms the backbone of the film.

Michelle Yu, who rose to fame four decades ago with action films early in her career, accepted the challenge of taking turns battle scenes against deadly enemies, then having an emotional confrontation with her daughter Joy, played by Stephanie Hsu, and the latter's other ego, Gubo, a rebellious character who tries to restrain her through love and compassion.

The Oscars dedicate an extraordinary season full of rewards for the actress, with Golden Globes, Spirit and Sag (American Actors Guild Award) awards in recent weeks. During this last concert, Michelle Yu gave a very moving speech.

At the ceremony at the end of last month, she said the award "isn't just for me. She's for every little girl who looks like me."

- Breaking the 'glass ceiling' - The importance of Asians being in the cinema has been highlighted repeatedly in Michelle Yu's interviews ahead of Sunday night's Oscars.

In remarks to the New York Times, she expressed "hope that this damn glass ceiling will be completely broken" during the ninety-fifth Oscars, and that "this trend will continue and we will see more faces like ours there."

Michelle Yu was born on the sixth of August 1962 to Chinese parents in the city of Ipoh, located two hundred kilometers north of the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur.

She trained in dance as a child and specialized in ballet in England.

During a vacation in her home country, her mother unknowingly enrolled her in the Miss Malaysia pageant.

Michelle Yu joked, "I agreed to go there to silence her." And she won the title.

Because of an injury, Michelle Yoo had to abandon the idea of a ballet career. After returning to Asia, she began looking for another professional path.

She began her big-screen career in 1984, and has been involved in mostly action films, with the likes of Jackie Chan or Maggie Cheung.

In 1997, Michelle Yu achieved international fame for her participation in the James Bond film "Tomorrow Neverdays". She then starred in blockbuster films including Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, Memories of a Geisha and Crazy Rich Eggs.

With more than 50 films to her credit in four decades, the actress is preparing to star in around a dozen films, including new parts of Avatar.

She has been sharing her life for many years with Frenchman Jean Todt, a prominent name in world motorsport.