Michelle Yeoh Gives Inspiring Best Actress Speech About Never Being 'Past Your Prime' at Oscars 2023

Michelle Yeoh is this year's Best Actress winner!

At the Oscars 2023 on Sunday, the star, 60, won the Academy Award for her performance as Evelyn Wang in Everything Everywhere All at Once.

The other nominees in the category were: Cate Blanchett (Tár), Ana de Armas (Blonde), Andrea Riseborough (To Leslie) and Michelle Williams (The Fabelmans).

"Thank you, thank you. For all the little boys and girls who look like me watching tonight, this is a beacon of hope and possibilities. This is proof that, dream big, and dreams do come true. And ladies don't let anybody tell you you are ever past your prime," Yeoh said on stage at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood as she accepted her award. "Never give up"

"I wouldn't be standing here tonight without the Daniels, without A24, without my amazing cast and crew, without everyone who was involved with Everything Everywhere All at Once," she continued. "I have to dedicate this to my mom, all the moms in the world, because they are really the superheroes. And without them none of us would be here tonight."

"She's 84, and I'm taking this home to her," Yeoh continued. "She's watching right now, in Malaysia with my family and friends. I love you guys, and I'm bringing this home to you. And also to my extended family in Hong Kong where I started my career. Thank you for letting me stand on your shoulders, giving me a leg up, so I can be here today."

"And to my godchildren, to my sisters, all of them, to my brothers, to my family — thank you! Thank you! Thank you to the Academy, this is history in the making," she concluded.

The Best Actress category came with a slight controversy this year after nominations were announced in January.

When Andrea Riseborough earned a surprise nod after not being recognized in many precursor events during awards season, the Academy launched an investigation into the social media campaigning tactics that garnered attention for Riseborough and her low-profile movie To Leslie just before voting ended. The Academy said it found tactics that "caused concern" but decided "the activity in question does not rise to the level that the film's nomination should be rescinded."

"It not only makes sense that this conversation would be sparked, but it is necessary," Riseborough, 41, told The Hollywood Reporter last month of the debate after Danielle Deadwyler (Till) and Viola Davis (The Woman King) were not nominated for Best Actress despite receiving several other lead-up nods and being considered possible shoo-ins.

"The film industry is abhorrently unequal in terms of opportunity," she added. "I'm mindful not to speak for the experience of other people because they are better placed to speak, and I want to listen."

This is Yeoh's first Oscar win and nomination — and she's now the first Southeast Asian actress to win this category. She recently reflected on her 40-year career with PEOPLE, recalling how the landscape has changed since when she first started acting in Hong Kong.

"When I started off in 1984, women were relegated to being the damsel in distress," she said. "We need to be protected, according to our guys. But then I would go, 'No, guys, I think we can protect ourselves pretty well. And if push comes to shove, maybe I can protect you too.' "

Yeoh made the leap to Hollywood with 1997's Tomorrow Never Dies opposite Pierce Brosnan, changing up the concept of a "Bond Girl." After that, the offers poured in, but not always the best roles.

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"At that point, people in the industry couldn't really tell the difference between whether I was Chinese or Japanese or Korean or if I even spoke English," she remembered. "They would talk very loudly and very slow. I didn't work for almost two years, until Crouching Tiger, simply because I could not agree with the stereotypical roles that were put forward to me."

Added Yeoh, "A lot of actresses find, as the numbers get bigger, the roles start to dwindle. Over the last few years, I'm very proud that we have been breaking away from stereotypes — it's not just lip service. It is happening. And it's happening to me."

The Oscars are airing live on ABC on Sunday, March 12, at 8 p.m. ET.