Michelle Yeoh on Sunday made history by becoming the first Asian woman to win the best actress Oscar, for her exuberant portrayal of an immigrant business owner thrust into a zany multiverse in the sci-fi trip "Everything Everywhere All at Once".

The Malaysian Hollywood veteran won over Academy voters with her complex take on Evelyn Wang, a Chinese-American laundromat owner who is mired in a tax audit, stuck in a crumbling marriage and struggling to connect with her daughter Joy.

And she ends up traversing multiple universes to evade a powerful supernatural enemy.

"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," Yeoh said as she accepted the award.

"And ladies, don't let anybody tell you you are ever past your prime. Never give up," she said to cheers.

Yeoh won top honours over strong performances from Cate Blanchett, Michelle Williams, Andrea Riseborough and Ana de Armas.

The unorthodox but beloved movie – which features multiple universes, sex toys and hot dog fingers – also won best director, best original screenplay, best editing, and both the best supporting actor and actress prizes.

The film, which features a predominantly Asian cast, was directed by Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert – two young filmmakers who were previously best known for an oddball comedy about a talking corpse.

Kwan thanked his "immigrant parents", while his counterpart thanked his mother for never "squashing my creativity".

Vietnam-born Ke Huy Quan, 51, who was a major child star in the 1980s with "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom" and "The Goonies", completed a stunning comeback from decades in the Hollywood wilderness by winning best supporting actor.

"Mom, I just won an Oscar!" said a tearful Quan.

Best supporting actress Jamie Lee Curtis paid tribute to her parents Tony Curtis and Janet Leigh, both Oscar-nominated actors who never won.

Brendan Fraser won best actor for playing a morbidly obese teacher in "The Whale", capping a remarkable career comeback.

Fraser was a major action star in the late 1990s with films like "The Mummy", before largely disappearing from the public view.

"I started in this business 30 years ago, and things – they didn't come easily to me," he said.

He thanked director Darren Aronofsky for "throwing me a creative lifeline and hauling me aboard the good ship 'The Whale'". (AFP)
____________________________
Last updated: 2023-03-13 HKT 12:37