Youn Yuh-Jung Wins Best Supporting Actress Academy Award
She’s the second Asian actress to win in the category
By Lynn Elber ••
NBCUniversal Media, LLC
“Nomadland” took home the awards for Best Picture, Best Actress and Best Director at the 2021 Academy Awards. See who else picked up an Oscar.
Youn Yuh-jung, the feisty grandmother in “Minari,” captured more than her grandson's heart.
A prominent film and TV actor in her home country of South Korea, Youn won the best supporting actress award at Sunday’s Oscars. She’s the second Asian actress to win in the category, more than four decades after Japanese-born Miyoshi Umeki earned the trophy for 1957’s “Sayonara.”
In her acceptance speech, Youn was as charmingly candid as her character in “Minari.”
“You are all forgiven" for the frequent mangling of her name, she said, smiling. She then acknowledged what she called her “wonderful ‘Minari’ family,” including director Lee Isaac Chung, and her formidable peers in the category.
“I don’t believe in competition. How can I win over Glenn Close?” she said of the nominee for “Hillbilly Elegy,” who has now gone 0-for-8 at the Oscars. The other nominees were Oliva Colman for “The Father,” Maria Bakalova for “Borat Subsequent Moviefilm” and Amanda Seyfried for “Mank.”
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"Promising Young Woman" star Carey Mulligan chose a gold Valentino dress for Sunday's Academy Awards. She was nominated for best actress.
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Chloé Zhao, who won best director for her film "Nomadland," walks the red carpet with Joshua James Richards.
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Zendaya, star of "Euphoria," wore a yellow Valentino design.
Viola Davis wears an Alexander McQueen gown and Forevermark jewelry pieces.
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Dressed in a stunning Louis Vuitton dress, Regina King arrives at the 2021 Oscars.
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Andra Day, star of "The United States vs. Billie Holiday," wears a Vera Wang creation.
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Amanda Seyfried donned an Armani Privé gown on the red carpet. She was nominated for best supporting actress for her role in "Mank."
"One Night in Miami..." star Leslie Odom Jr., who was nominated for best supporting actor, arrives at the Oscars.
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Halle Berry arrives at the Academy Awards.
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Paul Raci, left, and Liz Hanley Raci arrive at the Oscars. Paul was nominated for best supporting actor for his role in "Sound of Metal."
Youn Yuh-jung, who won best supporting actress for her role in "Minari," walks the red carpet.
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"The Morning Show" star Reese Witherspoon arrives at the Academy Awards.
Steven Yeun, left, and Joana Pak arrive at the Oscars. Yeun was nominated for best actor for his role in "Minari."
"Minari" star Alan S. Kim, left, and Vicky Kim show off their looks at the Oscars.
Celeste Waite, who chose a Gucci look for Sunday night's ceremony, arrives at the red carpet.
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Maria Bakalova, dressed in a Louis Vuitton gown, was nominated for best supporting actress for her part in "Borat Subsequent Moviefilm."
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Marlee Matlin wore a Vivienne Westwood dress Sunday night.
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Glenn Close arrives at the Oscars. She was nominated for best supporting actress for her role in "Hillbilly Elegy."
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"Judas and the Black Messiah" star Daniel Kaluuya arrives for the Academy Awards ceremony. He later won an award for best supporting actor.
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Riz Ahmed, nominated for best actor for his part in "Sound of Metal," arrives for the ceremony.
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Sacha Baron Cohen and Isla Fisher pose for a photo during a screening of the Oscars on Monday April 26, 2021, in Sydney, Australia. The "Borat Subsequent Moviefilm" star was nominated for best supporting actor.
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Singer H.E.R. walks the red carpet. She won her first Oscar Sunday night for her song "Fight for You" from "Judas and the Black Messiah."
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Vanessa Kirby, nominated for best actress for her role in "Pieces of a Woman," wore a Gucci gown.
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Attendees prepare for the beginning of the Oscars.
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A step-and-repeat backdrop for the Academy Awards red carpet is pictured at Union Station, one of the locations for Sunday’s 93rd Academy Awards.
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An Oscar statue design on a red carpet backdrop is pictured at Union Station.
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A view of the red carpet appears before the start of the Oscars.
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A fake Oscar statue is pictured in the window of a gift shop on Hollywood Blvd., Thursday, April 15, 2021, in Los Angeles.
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A sign advertising this year’s Oscars ceremony is pictured near the Dolby Theatre, Thursday, April 15, 2021, in Los Angeles.
Youn credited a “little bit of luck” for her award, “and maybe American hospitality for the Korean actor.”
She also thanked her two sons, “who make me go out and work. ....This is the result, because Mommy works so hard,” Youn said, holding her Oscar aloft.
Youn teased presenter Brad Pitt, who announced her award and whose company was involved in the production of “Minari,” for not visiting the set in Oklahoma. “Nice to meet you,” she said, later taking his arm as she walked offstage. Pitt gave her the envelope containing her name.
The first Korean woman to be nominated for an Oscar, Youn’s victory comes one year after academy voters snubbed the South Korean cast of best picture winner “Parasite.”
Youn plays Soon-ja, a card-playing grandmom with a knack for swearing, who’s moved from Korea to join her daughter and stepson in his seemingly quixotic quest to trade dispiriting work in California for farming in Arkansas. Soon-ja and her initially wary grandson form an unlikely but loving bond.
Youn, making a rare U.S. screen appearance in “Minari,” captured a string of honors for the semi-autobiographical film based on the childhood of Korean American director Lee Isaac Chung.
The Screen Actors Guild and the British film and TV academy were among those honoring her performance in “Minari,” which earned Oscar nominations including best picture, director and lead actor for Steven Yuen (“The Walking Dead”).
Backstage, Youn was asked about the bump in Asian films.
“It's about time. It’s very nice to understand each other and we should embrace each other,” she said.
She waved off the idea of making a film with Pitt: “It would never happen with my English and age,” said the 73-year-old.
Youn became an instant film star in South Korea with her 1971 debut “Fire Woman.” At the peak of her career, she married popular singer Cho Young-nam and moved with him to the United States, where he performed at Billy Graham’s church.
Her American detour put her career on hold for nearly a decade, until she returned to South Korea, her marriage ended and she resumed acting.
