LOS ANGELES — In front of a roaring crowd of celebrities and filmmakers, Michelle Yeoh was honored with the Oscar for Best Actress in a Leading Role Sunday night for her performance in "Everything Everywhere All At Once."
Many news outlets labeled her as the "first Asian woman" to win this award. But one NPR headline posted on Twitter went a little differently, reading "Michelle Yeoh is the first person who identifies as Asian to win best Actress."
Some on social media took issue with the phrase "identifies as", and soon enough "She is Asian" was trending.
The NPR headline was possibly paying homage to the fact that an Asian woman had been nominated for an Oscar before. According to the Hollywood Reporter, an Asian woman from the 1930s had already been nominated for an Oscar, but she did so in secret.
According to the Hollywood Reporter, Merle Oberon was nominated for an Oscar in 1935, for her role in "The Dark Angel." What the rest of Hollywood did not know, according to that report, is that she was born in Bombay to a Sri-Lankan-Maori mother.
According to Business Insider, it wasn't until 1983, four years after her death, that "her South Asian heritage became public knowledge."
Yeoh was emotional on stage, as she accepted her award, thanking her mother, and referring to the moms of the world as "superheroes."
"For all the little boys and girls who look like me watching tonight, this is a beacon of hope and possibility," she said. "This is proof that dreams dream big and dreams do come true. And ladies, don't let anyone ever tell you you're past your prime."
Yeoh beat out past Oscar winner Cate Blanchett ("Tár"), as well as Michelle Williams (“The Fabelmans”), Ana de Armas ("Blonde") and Andrea Riseborough ("To Leslie").
Jamie Lee Curtis and Ke Huy Quan from the film also won best supporting actor Oscars. Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert won for best directors and original screenplay for “Everything Everywhere All at Once” and it took home best picture as well.
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