One of the sweetest and loveliest things about this awards season was the friendships between the cast of Everything Everywhere and Brendan Fraser. It happened at the Oscars too – the EEAAO people were so happy for Fraser, and that made the press room photos extra warm. Ke Huy Quan and Fraser have known each other for decades, and you could tell that Yeoh treats Fraser so warmly and gently. Anyway, it brought a tear to my eye. I’m so glad that Fraser won and not Austin Butler, finally the musical bio-pic spell has been broken. While I disliked The Whale, I love Brendan Fraser and he absolutely deserved the equivalent of a lifetime achievement. Quan’s story is also remarkable, as he said in his speech – from immigrant refugee to child actor, to basically having to work for decades behind the camera because he couldn’t get acting work. What a story.
As for Michelle… she was nervous. Everyone was nervous for her and for the film. She ended up winning and it felt so cathartic. As it was with Fraser and Jamie Lee Curtis, it felt more like a lifetime achievement award for all of her contributions to film. That being said, her performance in EEAAO is singular and brilliant.
I went back and forth on her Oscar look – she wore Dior and she was dripping in diamonds. Her jewelry throughout the awards season has been outstanding, and I’m pretty sure many of those pieces were her own. While I dislike the sheer panel at the top of her dress, I liked the overall effect that she was frothy, feathered and feminine. The dress looked comfortable, I think?
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Backgrid.
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- Oscar® nominees Michelle Yeoh and Stephanie Hsu arrive on the red carpet of the 95th Oscars® at the Dolby® Theatre at Ovation Hollywood on Sunday, March 12, 2023.,Image: 762326502, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: Richard Harbaugh / Avalon
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- Ke Huy Quan poses backstage with the Oscar® for Actor in a Supporting Role during the live ABC telecast of the 95th Oscars® at Dolby® Theatre at Ovation Hollywood on Sunday, March 12, 2023.,Image: 762337282, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: sb / Avalon
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- Oscar® nominee Michelle Yeoh arrives on the red carpet of the 95th Oscars® at the Dolby® Theatre at Ovation Hollywood on Sunday, March 12, 2023.,Image: 762342095, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: Kyusung Gong / Avalon
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- Oscar® nominee Michelle Yeoh arrives on the red carpet of the 95th Oscars® at the Dolby® Theatre at Ovation Hollywood on Sunday, March 12, 2023.,Image: 762342099, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: Kyusung Gong / Avalon
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- Michelle Yeoh accepts the Oscar® for Actress in a Leading Role during the live ABC telecast of the 95th Oscars® at the Dolby® Theatre at Ovation Hollywood on Sunday, March 12, 2023.,Image: 762344223, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: Blaine Ohigashi / Avalon
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- Brendan Fraser accepts the Oscar® for Actor in a Leading Role during the live ABC telecast of the 95th Oscars® at the Dolby® Theatre at Ovation Hollywood on Sunday, March 12, 2023.,Image: 762345232, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: Blaine Ohigashi / Avalon
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- Hollywood, CA – The 95th Annual Academy Awards, Press Room, at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood. Pictured: Ke Huy Quan, Michelle Yeoh, Brendan Fraser, Jamie Lee Curtis BACKGRID USA 12 MARCH 2023 BYLINE MUST READ: Juan Rico / BACKGRID USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- Hollywood, CA – The 95th Annual Academy Awards, Press Room, at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood. Pictured: Michelle Yeoh BACKGRID USA 12 MARCH 2023 BYLINE MUST READ: Juan Rico / BACKGRID USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
I loved this dress. I get why people weren’t fans of the panel, but I barely noticed it and thought she looked comfortable and gorgeous. The dress just looked so frothy and light. I was glad she won too. She has an amazing body of work BUT this was also an exceptional performance so it didn’t just feel like a lifetime achievement award.
I haven’t seen the Whale so I can’t comment on Fraser’s win really.
Same. The panel might have been a little distracting visually, but it makes the dress much easier to wear and more comfortable (no worrying about a somewhat unstructured strapless dress falling). She looked fantastic!
I love the sheer panel! Big Vargas fan here, though, full disclosure. Meaning I’m a believer that sheer can be so much sexier than nude. Can’t understand all the panel hate. Nor would I describe Michelle’s look as “dripping in diamonds.” Dripping implies excess. She was wearing diamond chandelier earrings, that’s it. (Okay, chandeliers drip. Nuance.) Anyway, she looked stunning. My personal favorite look of the night, along with Janelle Monae.
The watch and ring she wore were pretty gorgeous too.
@Barbara that ring was stunning!! I wondered if it was hers. In Crazy Rich Asians, the big emerald ring that Eleanor wears was from Michelle’s personal collection bc she didn’t like what they had on set apparently.
So much for these winners! This is exactly the grouping I wanted to win. Yay them! Yay me!
I wanted Angela in there but this is definitely the 3 I wanted to see.
I love Angela and I was torn between her and Michelle. I’d have been thrilled with either of them, honestly.
Different catagories. I 💯 wanted Michelle and Key. Afterwards I would have preferred Angela to Jamie but I’m not mad about it either.
I loved the white sheer panel on her dress that everybody else griped about. Gorgeous frothy dress. Loved everything about her presence and award.
Me too!! She’s such an elegant woman and her speech was spot on too. Michelle Yeoh looked like chic and spoke eloquently and her words were touching. I love that Michelle one. Michelle deserved the Oscar for best actress for EEAO!!!
Same!
Me too. It looked like exactly her style. She looked wonderful and soft, and like this was HER night.
Quan had the best speech of the night. I was so happy for his win!
She looked amazing and am soo glad she won. Sadly we are going to have to get used to Blanchett and Williams continuing to get nominated for breathing. Blanchett has proven herself a consistently good actress but she plays herself now in roles. As for Williams, she’s still riding along on the Brokeback Mountain success – I’ve never really gotten why she keeps getting all these noms and awards. Both of them take themselves far too seriously.
Williams was fantastic playing g w e n v e r d o n in the miniseries fosse ve r d o n. She won awards for it and I think it was her best role.
I COMPLETELY agree. She was incredible. I was really blown away by her performance in that series.
I think Blanchett gets extra points because she’s British and plays American but lots of people can do that nowadays with more conviction. It’s a stunt and has grown tiresome.
She’s Australian, but frequently plays British and American because no one writes major Hollywood roles for Australian characters. I’m not sure calling it a stunt is fair. And the fact that you thought she was British might speak to how well she pulls it off?
Michelle looks so beautiful. I’m so happy for her, she gave a beautiful performance.
I thought she looked lovely — the dress and the diamonds were perfect on her and the exact right thing for this occasion. I was really happy she won.
Love love love Michelle’s dress. It isn’t tight but isn’t frumpy either. It looks like a dress you can breathe, eat and dance in.
So happy for her. I hate when people say this was a lifetime achievement award. No, she absolutely killed it in EEAO and deserves it on performance alone. Jamie on the other hand…but I was happy for her anyways.
It was lovely seeing all the comradeship between the actors during award season: Michelle, Cate, Key, Jamie, Brendan and even Austin too.
I was impressed with Austin’s reaction and happiness for Brendan. I was really happy to see that. He’s been a little extra and I hated Elvis (though his performance was great) but I came away really liking him as a person.
@Kebbie
He (Austin) has been pretty sweet this whole circuit. Very supportive of EEAAO cast etc…
Afterwards his career has gotten a huge boost and he’ll have other opportunities. I think it’s more a curse to win so young. He’ll be getting a ton of offers and will be fine.
I was soooo happy to see Austin’s reaction! He looked genuinely happy for Brendan, I do think Austin will have a lot of opportunities from this. His career is just getting started.
Completely agree! She was incredible in this.
Adding, the sheer panel also means she wasn’t having to pick and pull her dress up all night! I loved the look
I really liked that Jamie Lee referenced her deep career of “genre” roles in her speech. She’s always good, but this is really the first time she had a real shot at a nomination. I thought she deserved it. I was happy she won.
I think she looks gorgeous! She was amazing in EEAAO. That movie stuck with me like few movies have ever done. She deserves that Oscar for this specific performance. Ke Huy Quan was amazing too. “In another life I would have really liked just doing laundry and taxes with you” lives rent-free in my head.
I only wish Angela Basset or Stephanie Hsu had won for supporting.
My heart sang for all of those people. I was thrilled for them.
Angela should have won but otherwise a pretty good winning group.
Btw, Michelle and Brendan have been friends since The Mummy 3 days.
Kudos all the way around, but hoping that Michelle doesn’t share the same fate as past winners by basically never getting seen again.
I love Michelle’s dress, so frothy, pretty, and comfortable.
I love how the cast of EEAAO has been so supportive and loving to one another throughout- a win for one of them was a win for all of them. That must have been an incredible set.
I also really enjoyed watching Christopher Guest’s reactions to all of it. He wasn’t just caught up in being there for his wife, he was there for all of them and so tense when the names were being read and so joyful each time one of them won.
Really mad Jamie beat out Angela – nepo baby white privilege at work right there. As for Brendan – he seems so sweet and part of me is happy he won, but I’m also disgusted that Hollywood is still rewarding anyone for putting on a fat suit. That’s got to stop.
Definitely this was more than a fat suit/rape scene/breadth of contribution award for Brendan. His performance was deeply nuanced. (I may never eat a granola bar or a candy bar again.) He merited the award
Angela deserved it too, but this comment feels mean-spirited to me. Jamie was very good in this role and also has a long career of great performances. It’s not like she won without earning it. I would have been happy with either win, but I think it was a fair shake.
I loved the concept of Michelle’s look – ethereal, sparkly, light – as if she was a sylph in human form, but the execution was a bit too muumuu. Hair, makeup and jewelry perfect. Her line “ladies, never let someone tell you you’re past your prime” is my new motto. LOVE Michelle and she so deserved this win, YAY!!
That was a shout-out to Don Lemon from CNN who claimed recently that women peak at 40. He’s 56 and talentless.
As her SEA neighbour, I’m so proud of Tan Sri Michelle Yeoh!
I love Michelle Yeoh’s dress on her. Again, I think the panel would have photographed differently on a red carpet. It’s the champagne carpet that was worst dressed imo
It looks like the kind of dress that would make you feel beautiful and, in turn, more confident. I love it for her. And I love those friendships.
I wanted Brendan to win so bad I wouldn’t say his name. I told my husband to pick. He picked Bill, lol. When Brendan won I cried.
Michelle’s speech was beautiful. Her dress wasn’t my favorite. It did look super comfy.
Same and his speech really brought me to tears — he just seemed so overwhelmed and at a loss for words.
Michelle’s win was not for lifetime achievement. She gave the best performance…period.
She should have had a wall full of hardware if Hollywood wasn’t a racist POS. She was always this good. Period.
Michelle’s dress was pretty and I bet it read better in person than on camera. But it is odd given that she’s a style icon, known for carrying some major looks throughout the awards season, that she went with something that reads as a pretty low key presenter’s gown, not an “I have a serious shot at being Best Actress winner” gown. BUT, she could have worn a plastic bag and I’d still be so thrilled for her and what this win represents for her community. Her best accessory by far was her joy.
So happy for all of the winners as they all truly deserved their accolades. However, my favorite moment was Ke Huy Quan being congratulated by Harrison Ford with a hug after winning:
https://twitter.com/gifdsports/status/1635122281914716160
Seeing that show of support made my Xennial heart soar.
Michelle looked so beautiful, her ring and headpiece were gorgeous. Her speech was wonderful as well. The part about mothers and not being past your prime were my favourites 😙
Of the awards shows, the Oscars are somewhat known for people dressing less riskily, especially if they are favored to win. Yeoh looked good, but not exciting.
Julianne Moore takes the prize for saddest dress on a Best Actress winner in recent memory.
The Angela Basset reaction is getting the most traction online, but did anyone notice that Kerry Condon mouthed “what?!” and grimaced before she started clapping? She was really sure she was going to win. I think she had a similar reaction at the BAFTAs (?) when Michelle Williams’ name was called by mistake.
I like it. Some of the other white gowns looked very bridal, and this really doesn’t to me. Happy for her win.
I was thrilled by Michelle’s win — she is so deserving. I’ve loved her since her “Crouching Dragon” days. I also loved EEAAO and Ke Huy Quan. So great.
I was a bit disappointed by Michelle’s gown — she is luminous in everything (everywhere, all at once!) she wears, but this seemed a bit tame.
Michelle looked amazing. She always wears a blinged out watch with her gowns and as someone who feels naked without a watch, I’m here for it. I saw a clip of her in a red carpet interview and she sounded so relaxed. She said she was at the finish line so it was time to relax and enjoy the show. So right.
Loved her speech, especially the part about never letting anyone tell us ladies we’re past our prime. I wish she spoke some Malay and Cantonese in her acceptance speech when she talked about her family and extended family. That would’ve been so special. I think she’s gonna be everywhere in more movies and TV. Yay!
Michelle Yeoh is SUCH a “fashion girl” and always has been. In person she looks like a supermodel on vacation. (Her partner looks “normal” but he’s in fact the former CEO of Ferrari, lol.) I loved what she wore and how it “moved” with her — she was grace itself. Her win was so, so deserved.
So excited for Michelle Yeoh’s and Ke Huy Quan’s historic and much-deserved wins! Love it when Hollywood DOESNT fuck something up, haha.
If the dress were truly strapless or had traditional shoulder straps, it would have gone from a good look to an amazing look. The hair and jewelry looked good. The sheer panel was distracting but she looked great overall and really happy she won.