Sandra Oh scores hat-trick for Asians at Golden Globes
LOS ANGELES: KoreanCanadian actress Sandra Oh has just scored a hat-trick for Asians at the Golden Globes Awards.
She was the first person of Asian descent to host the Golden Globes, the first woman of Asian descent to win multiple Golden Globes and the first actress of Asian descent in 39 years to win the Globe for best leading TV actress.
It was quite a statement for Hollywood’s growing acknowledgement of talent from non-mainstream ethnic groups.
The honour of hosting the Golden Globes usually goes to someone white and male. Among
I said yes to the fear of being on this stage tonight because I wanted to be here to look out into this audience and witness this moment of change. Sandra Oh, Korean-Canadian actress
the notable exceptions were when Tina Fey and Amy Poehler co-hosted the awards from 2013 to 2015.
While that demographic was ably represented in 2019 by Andy Samberg, Sandra’s presence represented the first time a person of Asian descent had hosted the awards. Sandra nodded to that history during the pair’s opening monologue, saying, “I said yes to the fear of being on this stage tonight because I wanted to be here to look out into this audience and witness this moment of change.”
She would witness that moment of change again later that night, when she won the Golden Globe for Best Actress in a TV Drama for BBC America’s Killing Eve.
Back in 2006, Sandra had won her first Golden Globe for her role as Cristina Yang on Grey’s Anatomy. By winning this year for Killing Eve, she became the first woman of Asian descent to rack up more than one Golden Globe trophy.
Notably, the last actress of Asian descent to have won the Golden Globe for Best Actress in a TV Drama was Yoko Shimada for Shogun in 1980.
The world thankfully seems to have caught onto the Sandra Oh fandom now that Killing Eve has become a hit show and she has received the accolades she deserves.