Oscar Nominee Stephanie Hsu Is Finally Getting Her Due

Stephanie Hsu is finally getting her flowers. On Tuesday morning, Hsu received an Oscar nomination for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for Everything Everywhere All at Once—a nod that should come as no surprise, given her astounding performance. After her shut-out at the Golden Globes, however, fans are taking nothing for granted.

It’s hard to overstate how explosive Hsu is in Everything Everywhere All at Once. She plays Yeoh’s stifled daughter, Joy Wang, in the film’s “real world”—but in a parallel dimension, she’s Jobu Tupaki, a powerful, universe-shifting entity wracked with nihilism (and clad in exquisitely glittery costumes). Equal parts sympathetic and terrifying, Hsu’s performance both anchors the film and gives shape to the sorrow at its center, a deep existential pain that requires an entire trans-dimensional journey on her mother’s part to resolve.

It’s no wonder that Hsu became one of 2022’s biggest breakout stars, but not every awards show has given her the attention she deserves. While the Screen Actors Guild included Hsu among its Supporting Actress nominees, the Golden Globes shut her out in favor of co-star Jamie Lee Curtis. It was a curious choice; while Curtis certainly contributes laughs throughout the film, her character does not define the film in as specific a way as Hsu. (In addition to Hsu, Curtis is also in the running for the supporting actress Oscar.)

Fans of the film worried the Oscars would make the same choice the Globes did, but it seems the Academy’s voters take their jobs a little more seriously than the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. (Here’s hoping the Oscars don’t try to play off Michelle Yeoh or any of her co-stars like the Globes did; she might just yell at them to “shut up!” And she would be right to do so.)

Tuesday morning saw nominations for several Asian American performers: Yeoh received a Best Actress nomination for Everything Everywhere, and Yeoh and Hsu’s co-star Ke Huy Quan is now in the running for best supporting actor as well.

Alongside Hsu, Hong Chau received a best supporting actress nod for The Whale, and Turning Red will compete for best animated feature. (Dolly de Leon, sadly, was not nominated for her performance in Triangle of Sadness.) Meanwhile, the indie artist Mitski shared a Best Song nod with icon David Byrne, for Everything Everywhere’s “This Is a Life.” Indian film RRR also received a Best Song nomination, for "Naatu Naatu."

Hsu has a good shot at taking home the gold statuette once the Oscars roll around in March, but her win is far from guaranteed. She’ll still need to compete with Curtis as well as Angela Bassett for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, who has already taken home the Golden Globe and Critics Choice Award. Chau and The Banshees of Inisherin star Kerry Condon are also in the mix, but Curtis and especially Bassett seem like the stiffest competition for the award. If anyone can swipe a roomful of fearsome competitors to the side, however, it’s our beloved Jobu Tupaki.