The Oscars are finally upon us, and in a development that few would have anticipated, former quirky underdog Everything Everywhere All at Once has become the unassailable best picture frontrunner. Can the chaotic metaverse action comedy sweep leading lady Michelle Yeoh with it? The veteran Malaysian-born star is in a neck-and-neck race for best actress with Cate Blanchett, gathering momentum on a tide of industry affection and decades-long notability. Yeoh would be the first Asian (and only the second woman of colour) ever to win in the category.
A win for her would be notable in other ways too: careers like Yeoh’s don’t tend to culminate in Oscars. A former Miss World contestant, she became famous as an icon of action cinema, a genre the Academy rarely favours even when it comes from Hollywood, let alone from Hong Kong. Catching up with her early work is a hard task, with many films only available via obscure DVDs.
