Don't be put in a box

"What's the one thing that kept you going in the past 40 years? As in, what's the one life motto that encouraged you through your trials and tribulations?" Tatler asked.

"I think if I had that thought I wouldn’t be sitting here today. In our line of business, it’s very important that you’re truly passionate about what you do because you’ll never know what’s around the corner. Once you finish a job it’s like, do you have the next job? It’s not like you have a steady job," Yeoh said.

"But I must say that I have been very, very blessed and that I have continuously been able to work and work with very interesting, diverse, and very forward-thinking filmmakers that have enabled me to fight for what I truly believe in—representation, diversity, and especially the empowerment of women. I don’t believe just because we’re women, we’re the weaker sex. That’s such an old-school thought. I don’t think the men think that either so do we have to continue with that saying? When I was in the US, there was someone who said, 'Oh, look at the definition of prime for women. Once you’re past 30, you’re past your prime'. How ridiculous is that?"

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"So maybe someone should change that definition. We should change that definition. We should never allow somebody to put us in a box. That’s always what I’ve strived to do—to not be put in a box."

The longest red carpet in Malaysia

The setup for Yeoh's public fan meet at the Pavilion Kuala Lumpur was truly fit for a queen, with a red carpet that stretched from the back of the mall, circling around and into the entrance, and ending at the Centre Court. Said to be the longest red carpet in Malaysia, Yeoh took nearly 50 minutes to walk the entirety of the red carpet.

All smiles, Yeoh made it a point to stop and greet her fans, shaking their hands, signing autographs, taking selfies, and accepting gifts from them. The fans present, which numbered in thousands, had been waiting patiently for her appearance since noon. Accompanying her was her partner Jean Todt, and her niece and nephews.

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"Thank you. I feel your love and I'm deeply appreciative of that. All your support, all your encouragement, I hear it even when I'm not in Malaysia because wherever I am, you are all in my heart because I am truly Malaysian," Yeoh declared.

Truly her mother's daughter

"I was overjoyed. I could feel the collective love and happiness. For me, it was such a sense of relief. I was really happy and obviously, my mum is overjoyed," Yeoh on the moment they announced her win at the Oscars 2023.

"My biggest fear at that moment was when it suddenly struck me that my mum was in Kuala Lumpur watching. At first, we said, we'll get a few friends with her, maybe about 30 people, because it was so early in the morning. But finally, my sister-in-law Megan and my niece Vicki were so amazing... they had close to 400 people there. The thought I had was, if they don't call my name [for Best Actress], what's going to happen back home?" she joked.

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When asked where she was bringing her Oscar statuette next, she gestured to her "little man" that was on display in a glass case atop a podium for the duration of the fan meet and said, "I'm going to let my mum keep it for a while."

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