KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's first Academy Award-winning star Tan Sri Michelle Yeoh will be adding yet another award to her list of cinematic honours.
Yeoh, 61, will receive the Women In Motion Award at next month's Cannes Film Festival, an award introduced in 2015 to honour women's contributions to cinema.
The award ceremony organised by the festival and French luxury group Kering, will take place from May 16 to 27.
Yeoh will join past Cannes-winning actresses such as Jane Fonda, Isabelle Huppert, Viola Davis and Gong Li.
Yeoh said in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter yesterday that she was "most honoured" to be recognised by the festival.
"It's vital that women, in front of the camera and behind it, keep playing roles and telling stories that reflect the diversity and complexity of the world," she said.
Kering chairman Francois-Henri Pinault said that Yeoh broke "every stereotype" and wanted to spotlight her "significant contribution to cinema" and her inspiration to the next generation of artistes.
Cannes Film Festival president Iris Knobloch said that Yeoh was the "most outstanding example" of a person who changed the way women are portrayed in arts and culture.
The festival's director Thierry Fremaux said that Yeoh served in the 2002 Cannes jury and "relentlessly explored new possibilities", and she was inevitably bound to receive the award.
Yeoh made history when she became the first Asian to win Best Actress at the 2023 Academy Awards for her role in Everything Everywhere All At Once.
She also won Best Performance By An Actress In A Motion Picture, Musical Or Comedy at the 2023 Golden Globe Awards.
Yeoh is expected to return to Malaysia on April 18 to meet fans in Pavilion Kuala Lumpur, Jalan Bukit Bintang.
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