Chloé Zhao has made history by becoming the first Asian woman to win Best Director Motion Picture at the Golden Globe Awards.
The Chinese director won the award for her 2020 film Nomadland. She is only the second woman to win the award. Barbra Streisand was the first in 1984.
Based on the 2017 non-fiction book Nomadland: Surviving America in the Twenty-First Century by Jessica Bruder, Nomadland centres on Fern (Frances McDormand), who travels around America following the death of her husband.
Social media users have expressed their praise for Zhao’s achievement, hailing it as a “huge inspiration for young Asian girls”.
“I cannot stress this enough, as an Asian woman in the arts, it is so inspiring to see Chloe Zhao make history tonight as the first woman of colour to win for best director,” said one Twitter user.
Weibo users echoed similar sentiment.
“This is the first time a Chinese female director has ever won. Congratulations Director Zhao, looking forward to your next award,” said one comment.
Minari starring Steven Yeun also won a Golden Globes for Best Picture – Foreign Language, despite its controversial category.
