Kering and the Festival de Cannes will present the 2023 Women In Motion Award to actress Michelle Yeoh

François-Henri Pinault, Chairman and CEO of Kering, Iris Knobloch, President of the Festival de Cannes, and Thierry Frémaux, Director of the Festival de Cannes, have chosen this year to pay tribute to Michelle Yeoh's exceptional career by presenting her with the 2023 Women In Motion Award. The ceremony will be held in Cannes during the official Women In Motion dinner to honor women in cinema. Since its launch during the Festival in 2015, the program has been rewarding and highlighting the creativity and unique contribution made by women in culture and the arts - whose work helps to transform our vision of the world.

A Malaysian-born actress and producer of international renown, Michelle Yeoh has been shattering conventions for decades. By portraying complex, determined women on screen, she has helped to challenge gender and age-related stereotypes in the film industry. For her incredible performance in Everything Everywhere All at Once, she won the Golden Globe, the SAG Award and the Academy Award for Best Actress. In 2023, she thus became the first Asian actress to win an Oscar in this category.

When taking the stage to accept these awards, Michelle Yeoh gave vibrant speeches, touching on key issues such as diversity, racism, and ageism. “I believe that times are changing. There is much more inclusivity. There is more diversity. Look at me. I've been in this business for 40 years and I finally get to be number one on the call sheet. It just shows that if you believe in yourself, if you believe, and you have passion in what you do, you don't give up.” And she added, as a nod to some of her great roles: “Whatever that glass ceiling was, we just ninja-kicked it out, we shattered it… We are at a crossroads. Change has already begun.”

In its previous editions at the Festival de Cannes, the Women In Motion Award recognized the careers and commitment of Jane Fonda in 2015, Geena Davis and Susan Sarandon in 2016, Isabelle Huppert in 2017, Patty Jenkins in 2018, Gong Li in 2019, Salma Hayek in 2021, and Viola Davis in 2022.

“I’m very moved to receive this award. I’m convinced that times are changing; public awareness has certainly grown in recent years. 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.”

Michelle Yeoh

“Through her iconic roles, Michelle Yeoh has managed to shatter every stereotype. Together with the Festival de Cannes, we wanted to recognize her significant contribution to cinema, and her ability to inspire future generations of talent. Presenting her with the Women In Motion Award was the obvious choice.”

François-Henri Pinault, Chairman and CEO of Kering

“I am happy and proud to celebrate, along with Kering, the contribution made by women to the film industry. For the past nine years, Women In Motion has been highlighting the figures who have played a key role in changing the way women are represented in culture and the arts. Michelle Yeoh is undoubtedly one of the most outstanding examples of this commitment.”

Iris Knobloch, President of the Festival de Cannes

“We are thrilled to be honoring Michelle Yeoh, an actress who is passionately dedicated to her films and has made her mark on the industry in so many different ways, and who we had the great pleasure of welcoming to the jury of the Festival de Cannes in 2002. Throughout her career, she has relentlessly explored new possibilities - to the point where this has become her trademark for a large international audience. The awards she is receiving are simply the inevitable outcome of this exceptional journey.” 

Thierry Frémaux, Director of the Festival de Cannes

About Michelle Yeoh

Michelle Yeoh rose to fame in 1990s Hong Kong action films before going on to star in a myriad of globally acclaimed blockbusters. From martial arts master to Bond Girl, Yeoh has appeared in more than 70 features and television series. Her extensive filmography showcases a collection of iconic roles, including Ang Lee’s Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon 1 & 2, Rob Marshall’s Memoirs of a Geisha, Roger Spottiswoode’s Tomorrow Never Dies, Danny Boyle’s Sunshine, and Jon Chu’s Crazy Rich Asians, the highest-grossing romantic comedy in the U.S. in the past 10 years.

After appearing in James Gunn’s second installment of the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise, Yeoh returned to the Marvel universe in Destin Daniel Cretton’s Shang-Chi. Most recently, Yeoh's performance in the Daniels’ Oscar-winning Everything Everywhere All At Once, earned her the Golden Globe and SAG Awards, and the Academy Award for Best Actress in a leading role.

In television, Yeoh appeared as 'Emperor Philippa Georgiou' in CBS’ Star Trek: Discovery, starred in Netflix’s The Witcher: Blood Origins and will next be seen in Disney+’s American Born Chinese as well as Netflix’s The Brothers Sun, from writer/producer Brad Falchuk. Other upcoming credits include James Cameron’s Avatar sequels, John Chu’s Wicked and Kenneth Branagh’s A Haunting In Venice.

In 2022, Yeoh was named TIME Magazine’s “Icon of the Year”. And in 2016, she was appointed Goodwill Ambassador to the United Nations, focusing on raising awareness and mobilizing support for environmental issues.

About Women In Motion

Kering's commitment to women is at the heart of the Group's priorities and extends, through Women In Motion, to the field of arts and culture, where gender inequalities are still glaring, even though creation is one of the most powerful vectors for change.

In 2015, Kering launched Women In Motion at the Festival de Cannes with the ambition of highlighting women in cinema, both in front of and behind the camera. The program has since expanded in a major way to photography, but also to art, design, choreography, and music. Through its Awards, the program recognizes inspirational figures and emerging female talent, while its Talks and Podcasts provide an opportunity for leading personalities to share their views on the representation of women in their profession.

For the past nine years, Women In Motion has been a platform of choice that contributes to changing mind sets and thinking on the place of women - and the recognition they receive - in the arts and culture.

About Kering

A global Luxury group, Kering manages the development of a series of renowned Houses in Fashion, Leather Goods, Jewelry: Gucci, Saint Laurent, Bottega Veneta, Balenciaga, Alexander McQueen, Brioni, Boucheron, Pomellato, DoDo, Qeelin, as well as Kering Eyewear. By placing creativity at the heart of its strategy, Kering enables its Houses to set new limits in terms of their creative expression while crafting tomorrow’s Luxury in a sustainable and responsible way. We capture these beliefs in our signature: “Empowering Imagination.”

Press Contacts

Kering

Emilie Gargatte | +33 (0)1 45 64 61 20 | emilie.gargatte@kering.com

Eva Dalla Venezia | +33 (0)1 45 64 65 06 | eva.dallavenezia@kering.com

Photo credits: Michelle Watt / Trunk Archive