Michelle Yeoh used her Oscars acceptance speech to call out ageism in Hollywood: ‘Ladies, don’t let anybody tell you you are ever past your prime’

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At the 95th Academy Awards ceremony on Sunday, history was made when Malaysian actress Michelle Yeoh accepted the Oscar for Best Actress. Yeoh’s performance in “Everything Everywhere All at Once” has made her the first Asian woman to win the award.

In her Oscar acceptance speech, Yeoh briefly calls out ageism in Hollywood: “And ladies, don’t let anybody tell you you are ever past your prime. Never give up.” 

The Academy Award winner will turn 61 this coming August, an age that is not common in the world of Hollywood.  The average age of Best Actress winners in the past century is around 37 years old, according to Statista. 

Ageism in the industry is even more relentless against women, as seen in the average 20-year age gap between the Best Actress and Best Supporting Actor winners from 1997 to 2006, according to Sky News. Fortunately, this gap is shown to be closing in recent years, per Sky News.

Regardless, Yeoh’s Oscar speech points out a glaring issue that has been plaguing Hollywood for decades. 

In her acceptance speech for the Best Actress award at the Golden Globes, earlier this year on January 10, the actress shared how discouraging being a woman and growing old in the acting industry was for her. 

“As time went by — I turned 60 last year — and I think all of you women understand this: as the days, years, numbers get bigger, the opportunities get smaller as well,” Yeoh said in her speech. 

Yeoh continued in her Golden Globes speech, noting that she was about to give up hope after 40 years of working in movies when “the best gift” — her role in “Everything Everywhere All at Once” — came along, for which she has been on an award-season winning streak. Besides winning Best Actress at the Oscars and the Golden Globes, Yeoh has also bagged the Screen Actors Guild Award for Female Actor in a Leading Role, and Independent Spirit Award for Best Lead Performance. 

“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,” said the actress in her Oscar acceptance speech, encouraging fellow Asians to aspire to greatness.