29th Screen Actors Guild Awards were presented on 26 February 2023 and is the only televised awards ceremony to exclusively honour actors and is one of the award’s season's top prizes.

Despite winning more trophies than we can count – in both major and lesser-known awards –– for her performance in Everything Everywhere All at Once, Tan Sri Dato’ Seri Michelle Yeoh was noticeably emotional as she became the first Asian to win the ‘Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor’ category in a Leading Role at the SAG awards.

Holding back tears, she said, “I think if I speak my heart will explode…every one of you knows the journey, the roller coaster ride, the ups and downs. She was so overcome that she let out some colourful expletives before laughing in disbelief at her win and exclaiming, “Wow. Thank you!”

She continued, “So many of us need this. We want to be seen, we want to be heard. And tonight, you have shown us that it is possible.”

She is only the second Asian woman to be nominated as a best actress after Zhang Ziyi for Memoirs of a Geisha back in 2005. This also makes her the second Asian woman to ever win a film acting prize after Youn Yuh Jung scooped up the prize for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture for Minari in 2020. Other Asian actors have won only in the TV categories such as Sandra Oh for Grey’s Anatomy and Killing Eve as well as Lee Jung Jae and Jung Hoyeon for Squid Game.

Yeoh’s co-star in the film Ke Huy Quan also made history by becoming the first Asian male to clinch an individual acting award trophy by winning ‘Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role’. Stephanie Hsu, who played Yeoh and Ke’s daughter in the film was also nominated for ‘Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role’ along with Jamie Lee Curtis, who won the award.

After being announced as the winner, her co-star Jamie Lee Curtis also yelled, “Shut up”, excitedly jumped up, and unexpectedly gave Yeoh a kiss on her lips.

Everything Everywhere All at Once dominated the SAG Awards night by sweeping four awards in total, including the award for ‘Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture’.

The SAG awards are considered to be one of the most reliable predictors for Oscar winners. Next, Yeoh will be up for the Best Actress award at the Oscars, which will be among the film's 11 Oscar nominations. She is the first Asian to be nominated for Best Actress at the Academy Awards, which will be held on 13 March 2023.

Image credit: instagram.com/michelleyeoh_official/