The Oscar-winning actress will receive the Golden Bear for Lifetime Achievement on February 12, 2026, a tribute from Berlin to her four-decade career spanning action cinema and Asian representation.

The 2026 Berlinale will award the Golden Bear for Lifetime Achievement to Michelle Yeoh , who will receive the Honorary Golden Bear during the festival&#39;s opening ceremony on February 12 at the Berlinale Palast. The Malaysian actress, an Oscar winner for Everything Everywhere All at Once , is among the most influential figures of her generation, with a career spanning Asian cinema, Hollywood , and European productions. Yeoh has a longstanding relationship with the festival, having served on the international jury in 1999 and having presented her work in Berlin several times over the years.

After making her debut in Hong Kong action cinema, she established herself in the late 1980s and early 1990s with films such as &quot;Yes, Madam,&quot; &quot; Royal Warriors,&quot; &quot; Police Story III,&quot; and &quot; Wing Chun,&quot; becoming a benchmark in martial arts cinema. Global fame came in 1997 with her role as agent Wai Lin in &quot;Tomorrow Never Dies,&quot; followed by her breakthrough role in Ang Lee&#39;s &quot;Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.&quot;

In 2023, she won an Oscar for &quot; Everything Everywhere All at Once,&quot; becoming the first Asian American actress to win the award for Best Actress. This marked a crucial step forward for Asian representation in mainstream cinema .

<article class="text-token-text-primary w-full focus:outline-none [--shadow-height:45px] has-data-writing-block:pointer-events-none has-data-writing-block:-mt-(--shadow-height) has-data-writing-block:pt-(--shadow-height) [&amp;:has([data-writing-block])&gt;*]:pointer-events-auto [content-visibility:auto] supports-[content-visibility:auto]:[contain-intrinsic-size:auto_100lvh] scroll-mt-[calc(var(--header-height)+min(200px,max(70px,20svh)))]" dir="auto" data-turn-id="dcef9587-e3e1-4477-8189-468104cddb5f" data-testid="conversation-turn-6" data-scroll-anchor="true" data-turn="assistant" tabindex="-1"><div class="text-base my-auto mx-auto pb-10 [--thread-content-margin:--spacing(4)] thread-sm:[--thread-content-margin:--spacing(6)] thread-lg:[--thread-content-margin:--spacing(16)] px-(--thread-content-margin)"><div class="[--thread-content-max-width:40rem] thread-lg:[--thread-content-max-width:48rem] mx-auto max-w-(--thread-content-max-width) flex-1 group/turn-messages focus-visible:outline-hidden relative flex w-full min-w-0 flex-col agent-turn" tabindex="-1"><div class="flex max-w-full flex-col grow"><div data-message-author-role="assistant" data-message-id="cda8f582-ad6b-43ca-a800-2792e7bd37ba" dir="auto" class="min-h-8 text-message relative flex w-full flex-col items-end gap-2 text-start break-words whitespace-normal [.text-message+&amp;]:mt-1" data-message-model-slug="gpt-5-1"><div class="flex w-full flex-col gap-1 empty:hidden first:pt-[1px]"><div class="markdown prose dark:prose-invert w-full break-words light markdown-new-styling"> In her official statement, Yeoh recalls how the Berlinale was among the first to recognize her work with &quot;warmth and generosity,&quot; calling this return &quot;significant.&quot; Director Tricia Tuttle emphasizes the actress&#39;s ability to transcend geographical and linguistic boundaries, influencing directors and audiences internationally. The recognition comes during a period of intense activity: Michelle Yeoh is in the cast of the musical &quot;Wicked: For Good,&quot; will star in the series &quot; Blade Runner 2099&quot; for Amazon Prime Video, and will appear in the action thriller &quot; The Surgeon.&quot;</div></div></div></div></div></div></article>

With the Honorary Golden Bear , the Berlinale places Michelle Yeoh &#39;s name alongside those of Helen Mirren, Martin Scorsese, Meryl Streep, Steven Spielberg and Tilda Swinton , confirming her among the central figures of contemporary cinema.

Michelle Yeoh will receive the Golden Bear for Lifetime Achievement at the 2026 Berlinale

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