Actress Michelle Yeoh is on a roll, and her career is on fire. The actress will receive the 15th annual Kirk Douglas Award for Excellence in Film from the Santa Barbara Film Festival. The award benefits the festival’s year-round educational programs. It will be presented to the Crazy Rich Asians star at the Ritz-Carlton Bacara, Santa Barbara, on Friday, December 9. This is the first time the honor will be awarded since the passing of the screen legend that gave the prize its name.
“A well-deserved honor for the legendary and multi-talented Michelle Yeoh,” said Michael Douglas, the late Kirk Douglas’ son. “She has been entertaining and thrilling us in films since the 1980s …… AND she does her own stunts!! Bravo Michelle!”
Yeoh is a legend in her own right and is an internationally recognized actress who rose to fame in 1990s Hong Kong action films. She most recently starred in the Daniels’ critically acclaimed mind bender Everything Everywhere All at Once, which has gone on to become A24’s highest-grossing film worldwide, surpassing the $100 million mark.
To date, Yeoh has appeared in more than 70 films and television series, including Rob Marshall’s Memoirs of a Geisha, Ang Lee’s Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, and Roger Spottiswoode’s James Bond film Tomorrow Never Dies. In addition, the star was also recently awarded an honorary doctorate of fine arts degree from the American Film Institute “for contributions of distinction to the art of the moving image.”
The 38th Santa Barbara Film Festival is slated to take place February 8-18, 2023. The film lineup and schedule will be announced in January.
