Malaysian actress Michelle Yeoh will receive the Toronto International Film Festival’s inaugural Share Her Journey Groundbreaker Award.
The TIFF Share Her Journey Groundbreaker Award recognises a woman who is a leader in the film industry and has made a positive impact for women throughout their career, reports Variety.
The award, sponsored by Bulgari, will be presented at an in-person gala fund-raiser on September 11 at the Fairmont Royal York Hotel.
“Michelle Yeoh is the definition of groundbreaking,” said Cameron Bailey, TIFF chief executive. Her screen work has spanned continents, genres and decades. This year she delivered a performance in “Everything Everywhere All at Once” that shows her limitless abilities.“
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With a nearly 40-year career, Yeoh has broken barriers and inspired generations of audiences with her performances. These include “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon”, “Tomorrow Never Dies” and “Crazy Rich Asians”.
Born in Malaysia and educated in the UK, Yeoh enjoyed her initial acting success in 1990s Hong Kong action films and briefly became a producer following stardom in Roger Spottiswoode’s James Bond title “Tomorrow Never Dies” and Ang Lee’s 2000 breakout hit “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon”.
Returning to acting, she went on to defy convention and build a global career with key roles in Rob Marshall’s “Memoirs of a Geisha”, Danny Boyle’s “Sunshine” and Jon Chu’s “Crazy Rich Asian”.
After appearing in James Gunn’s second instalment of the “Guardians of the Galaxy” franchise, Yeoh returned to the Marvel universe in Destin Daniel Cretton’s “Shang-Chi”.
In March, she starred in the Daniels’s genre-melting “Everything Everywhere All at Once”, which has since become 24’s highest grossing film.
Yeoh was recently announced as the first Asian artist to receive the American Film Institute Honour, and was this year featured in the Time 100 “Most Influential People” list.
Past TIFF Tribute Awards have gone to Jessica Chastain, Roger Deakins, Anthony Hopkins, Joaquin Phoenix, Taika Waititi and Chloe Zhao.