Michelle Yeoh makes Oscars history as Everything Everywhere All at Once sweeps the board - see full list of winners

13 March 2023, 08:02 | Updated: 13 March 2023, 08:46

Everything Everywhere All At Once wins best picture
Everything Everywhere All At Once wins best picture. Picture: Alamy

By Emma Soteriou

Michelle Yeoh has made history at the Oscars after sci-fi film Everything Everywhere All at Once swept the board.

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The multiverse sci-fi epic, directed by Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, claimed seven prizes including best directing and best picture, the biggest of the night.

Lead Michelle Yeoh won best actress for her portrayal of laundromat manager Evelyn Wang, who stumbles across a “multiverse” of alternative realities, becoming the first person of south-east Asian descent to win the award.

Taking to the stage, she said: "For all the little boys and girls who look like me, this is a beacon of hope and possibilities.

"Dream big, dreams do come true. Ladies, never let anyone tell you you are past your prime."

She added: "This is history in the making."

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Yeoh later added that she had "kung-fud" the "glass ceiling" with her win.

"I think this is something that we have been working so hard towards for a very long time and tonight we frigging broke that glass ceiling," she said.

"I kung-fud it out and shattered it, and we need this because there are so many who have felt unseen or unheard."

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Meanwhile, Jamie Lee Curtis won her first Oscar for best supporting actress in the film, along with former Indiana Jones child star Ke Huy Quan taking best supporting actor.

Lee Curtis paid tribute to all the special people in her life after her win, giving a particular nod to her parents, Hollywood stalwarts Janet Leigh and Tony Curtis.

She said: "My mother and father were both nominated for Oscars in different categories, I just won an Oscar."

Harrison Ford, left, and Ke Huy Quan react onstage when "Everything Everywhere All at Once" wins the award for best picture
Harrison Ford, left, and Ke Huy Quan react onstage when "Everything Everywhere All at Once" wins the award for best picture. Picture: Alamy

Vietnam-born American star Ke Huy Quan received a standing ovation as he took to the stage, becoming the first person from an Asian background to win the category.

"My journey started on a boat," he said.

"I spent a year in a refugee camp and somehow I ended up here on Hollywood's biggest stage."

Michelle Yeoh, winner of the award for best performance by an actress in a leading role for "Everything Everywhere All at Once"
Michelle Yeoh, winner of the award for best performance by an actress in a leading role for "Everything Everywhere All at Once". Picture: Alamy

Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert jointly known as "The Daniels", took home the award for best directing - only the third time it has gone to a duo.

The pair used their acceptance speech to denounce the anti-LGBTQ+ bill in the US.

Scheinert said: “This one is dedicated to the mommies of the world, to our moms, specifically my mom and dad, thank you for not squashing my creativity when I was making really disturbing horror films or really perverted comedy films or dressing in drag as a kid, which is a threat to nobody!”

Everything Everywhere All at Once also won the awards for best writing and best film editing.

The cast and crew of "Everything Everywhere All at Once" accepts the award for best picture
The cast and crew of "Everything Everywhere All at Once" accepts the award for best picture. Picture: Alamy

Among other winners was Brendan Fraser, who won best actor for The Whale.

The Mummy actor, 54, was visibly emotional as he thanked director Darren Aronofsky for "throwing me a creative life-line".

Costume designer Ruth E Carter became the first African-American to win two Academy Awards for best costume design - for her work on the first Black Panther film and now its sequel, Wakanda Forever.

Meanwhile, All Quiet On The Western Front also enjoyed a successful night, continuing its runaway success at the Baftas last month, by securing four awards including best cinematography and original score.

Michelle Yeoh, left, and Brendan Fraser pose with their awards at the Governors Ball after the Oscars
Michelle Yeoh, left, and Brendan Fraser pose with their awards at the Governors Ball after the Oscars. Picture: Alamy

Full list of 2023 Oscar winners:

Best Picture

All Quiet on the Western Front

Avatar: The Way of Water

The Banshees of Inisherin

Elvis

Everything Everywhere All at Once - Winner

The Fabelmans

Tár

Top Gun: Maverick

Triangle of Sadness

Women Talking

Best Actress

Cate Blanchett, Tár

Ana de Armas, Blonde

Andrea Riseborough

Michelle Williams, The Fabelmans

Michelle Yeoh, Everything Everywhere All At Once - Winner

Best Actor

Austin Butler, Elvis

Colin Farrell, The Banshees of Inisherin

Brendan Fraser, The Whale - Winner

Paul Mescal, Aftersun

Bill Nighy, Living

Best Actor in a Supporting Role

Ke Huy Quan, Everything Everywhere All At Once - Winner

Brendan Gleeson, The Banshees of Inisherin

Brian Tyree Henry, Causeway

Judd Hirsch, The Fabelmans

Barry Keoghan, The Banshees of Inisherin

Best Actress in a Supporting Role

Jamie Lee Curtis , Everything Everywhere All At Once - Winner

Angela Bassett, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever

Hong Chau, The Whale

Kerry Condon, The Banshees of Inisherin

Stephanie Hsu, Everything Everywhere All At Once

Best Directing

Everything Everywhere All At Once - Winner

The Banshees of Inisherin

The Fabelmans

Tár

Triangle of Sadness

Best Writing (Original Screenplay)

Everything Everywhere All at Once - Winner

The Banshees of Inisherin

The Fabelmans

Tár

Triangle of Sadness

Best Writing (Adapted Screenplay)

Women Talking - Winner

All Quiet on the Western Front

Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery

LivingTop Gun: Maverick

Best Visual Effects

All Quiet on the Western Front

Avatar: The Way of Water - Winner

The Batman

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever

Top Gun: Maverick

Best Cinematography

All Quiet on the Western Front - Winner

Bardo, False Chronicles of a Handful of Truths

Elvis

Empire of Light

Tár

Best International Feature Film

All Quiet on the Western Front - Winner

Argentina, 1985

Close

EO

The Quiet Girl

Best Animated Feature Film

Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio - Winner

Marcel the Shell with Shoes On

Puss in Boots: The Last Wish

The Sea Best

Turning Red

Best Animated Short Film

The Boy, the Mole, the Fox, and the Horse - Winner

The Flying SailorIce Merchants

My Year of Dicks

An Ostrich Told Me the World is Fake and I Think I Believe it

Best Documentary Feature Film

Navalny - Winner

All That Breathes

All the Beauty and the Bloodshed

Fire of Love

A House made of Splinters

Best Documentary Short Film

The Elephant Whisperers - Winner

Haulout

How Do You Measure a Year?

The Marsha Mitchell Effect

Stranger at the Gate

Best Live Action Short Film

An Irish Goodbye - Winner

Ivalu

Le Pupille

Night Ride

The Red Suitcase

Best Costume Design

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever - Winner

Babylon

Elvis

Everything Everywhere All at Once

Mrs Harris Goes to Paris

Best Film Editing

Everything Everywhere All at Once - Winner

The Banshees of Inisherin

Elvis

Tár

Top Gun: Maverick

Best Makeup and Hairstyling

All Quiet on the Western Front

The Batman

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever

Elvis

The Whale - Winner

Best Music (Original Score)

All Quiet on the Western Front - Winner

Babylon

The Banshees of Inisherin

Everything Everywhere All at Once

The Fabelmans

Best Music (Original Song)

Naatu Naatu from RRR - Winner

Applause from Tell It Like a Woman

Hold My Hand from Top Gun: Maverick

Lift Me Up from Black Panther: Wakanda Forever

This is a Life from Everything Everywhere All at Once

Best Production Design

All Quiet on the Western Front - Winner

Avatar: The Way of Water

Babylon

Elvis

The Fabelmans

Best Sound

All Quiet on the Western Front

Avatar: The Way of Water

The Batman

Elvis

Top Gun: Maverick