# Evelyn Quan Wang

Evelyn Quan Wang is a fictional character and the protagonist of the 2022 absurdist comedy-drama film Everything Everywhere All at Once. Portrayed by Michelle Yeoh and created by Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, Evelyn is a Chinese-American immigrant and laundromat owner. While being audited by the IRS, Evelyn discovers she must connect with versions of herself across parallel universes to stop an omnicidal nihilist version of her daughter from another dimension from destroying her universe, along with the multiverse. Yeoh also portrays multiple alternate versions of Evelyn from different dimensions.
The filmmakers considered casting Jackie Chan in the lead role, but the script was revised to feature a female protagonist. The character and the film were inspired by the works of Hong Kong director Wong Kar-wai, the children's book Sylvester and the Magic Pebble, and the video game Everything. Yeoh garnered universal acclaim for her performance, earning the Academy Award for Best Actress at the 95th Academy Awards. She made history as the first Asian to win Best Actress, the second woman of color to achieve this honor, and the first Malaysian to win any Academy Award.

## Development

The character that would become Evelyn Quan Wang was originally written with Jackie Chan in mind, but directors Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert later decided to revise the role as a woman, feeling that the husband-wife dynamic would resonate more strongly with audiences. Initially named Michelle Wang, after their first choice for the role, Michelle Yeoh, Kwan and Scheinert said, "We are doing this for Michelle Yeoh." Yeoh, however, insisted that the character be renamed to Evelyn to give her an independent identity, separate from Yeoh’s own persona, particularly as one of the alternate versions of Evelyn was a martial artist and film star like Yeoh herself. Yeoh explained, "Evelyn deserves her own story to be told. This is a very ordinary mother and housewife... I don't like to integrate me, Michelle Yeoh, into the characters that I play, because they all deserve their own journey and their stories to be told."
In August 2018, it was announced that Yeoh had been cast as the lead in what was described as an "interdimensional action film" from Kwan and Scheinert, with Anthony and Joe Russo producing.

## Character biography

Evelyn Quan Wang was born in China. In the main universe, as a young woman, she elopes with her husband, Waymond Wang, to the United States, defying her father's wishes and risking disownment.
Upon settling in California, Evelyn becomes disillusioned with their modest lifestyle and the monotonous task of running a laundromat. Although she initially finds joy in the birth of their daughter, Joy, she later struggles with the challenges of raising her as a rebellious teenager.
Throughout her life, Evelyn harbors many unfulfilled ambitions, including dreams of becoming a professional singer. The story hints at her numerous attempts to pursue various paths, such as writing a novel, becoming a chef, teaching, becoming a singing coach, and even working as a masseuse, all of which ultimately ended in disappointment.

## Character storyline

In the present day, Evelyn Wang is stressed out as she tries to sort piles of receipts, as the laundromat is being audited by the IRS. Her husband Waymond tries to serve Evelyn divorce papers in an attempt to get her attention so they can talk about their marriage. She is also concerned about preparing for a Chinese New Year party at the laundromat that evening, which her demanding father (Gong Gong) will be attending. When their adult daughter Joy arrives to help them, along with her non-Chinese girlfriend Becky, Evelyn says that she accepts their gay, mixed-race relationship, but implies that her own father would not approve, and avoids Joy's pleas to discuss whether or not Becky is welcome at the party. Unable to have a meaningful conversation with her mother, Joy leaves the laundromat in tears with Becky, and Evelyn is left subdued.
In the elevator at the regional IRS office, Evelyn has her first encounter with Alpha-Waymond, a version of Waymond from the "Alphaverse", and sees a flashback of her own life. She is distracted and unable to focus during a meeting with IRS inspector Deirdre Beaubeirdre, who questions their business expenses, and scolds her for not taking the meeting seriously and for not bringing their daughter to help translate as promised. Meanwhile, Evelyn is having discussions in parallel in a janitor's closet with Alpha-Waymond, who tells her that every disappointment and failure she has experienced in life has made her uniquely qualified to save every world in the infinite multiverse from catastrophe. Deirdre gives the family an extension until 6 pm that evening, but Evelyn – confused by Waymond's sudden mention of divorce and berated by her father for never completing anything – punches Deirdre, landing them in trouble with security.
Alpha-Waymond reappears to help Evelyn out of this difficult situation. She learns, as they dodge security officers and more monstrous versions of Deirdre together, that many parallel universes exist because every life choice creates a new alternative universe. In the Alphaverse, the brilliant late Alpha-Evelyn developed "verse-jumping" technology, which enables people to access the physical skills, knowledge, and memories of their parallel selves by performing bizarre actions that are statistically unlikely. As chaos ensues around them, Evelyn herself experiences verse-jumping, briefly discovering other versions of herself including the glamorous kung fu film star that she could have been if she had refused to marry Waymond all those years ago.
All universes are now under threat of complete annihilation due to the all-powerful Jobu Tupaki, whose mind was splintered due to excessive pressure from Alpha-Evelyn; she can verse-jump and manipulate matter at will. When Evelyn has her first direct encounter with Jobu Tupaki, who is dressed like Elvis and coldly and disrespectfully destroys two police officers, it finally hits home with her that Jobu is simply another version of Joy, who is extremely unhappy. Evelyn and Jobu, dressed in a tennis outfit, face off in a tense one-on-one conversation. Evelyn blames Jobu for all of Joy's "failures", while Jobu starts to entice Evelyn with the empty nihilism of the Everything Bagel she has built, which has eased her pain with the realization that "nothing matters". As the force of the bagel starts to destabilize the multiverse, Alpha-Gong Gong appears in an electronic wheelchair to temporarily crush Jobu.
Alpha-Gong Gong instructs Evelyn to kill Joy to stop Jobu from using her to enter Evelyn's universe. Evelyn refuses and decides to face Jobu by gaining equivalent powers through repeated verse-jumping. Alpha-Gong Gong, convinced that Evelyn's mind has been compromised like Jobu's, sends soldiers after Evelyn. While they fight, Jobu locates and kills Alpha-Waymond in the Alphaverse. As Jobu confronts Evelyn in her universe, Evelyn's mind splinters, and she collapses.
Evelyn uncontrollably verse-jumps alongside Jobu across bizarre and diverse universes. Jobu reveals she does not want to fight at all, but that instead, she has been searching for an Evelyn who can see, as she does, that nothing matters. She brings Evelyn to the Everything Bagel, explaining that she wants to use it to allow herself and Evelyn to truly die. Upon looking into the Bagel, Evelyn is initially persuaded, and behaves cruelly and nihilistically in her other universes, hurting those around her.
Just as Evelyn enters the Bagel with Jobu, she pauses to listen to Waymond's pleas for everybody to stop fighting and to instead be kind, even when life does not make sense. Evelyn has an existentialist epiphany and decides to follow Waymond's absurdist and humanist advice, using her multiverse powers to fight with empathy and bring happiness to those around her; in doing so, she repairs her damage in the other universes and neutralizes Alpha-Gong Gong's fighters. In the universe where humans evolved to have hot dogs for fingers, Evelyn reconciles with her partner Deirdre.
In her home universe, Evelyn reconciles with Waymond, accepts Joy and Becky's relationship – and tells Gong Gong of it – while Waymond convinces Deirdre to let them redo their taxes. Jobu decides to enter the Bagel alone while, simultaneously in Evelyn's universe, Joy begs Evelyn to let her go. Evelyn tells Joy that even when nothing makes sense and even though she could be anywhere else in the multiverse, she will always want to be with Joy. Evelyn and the others save Jobu from the Bagel, and Evelyn and Joy embrace.
Sometime later, with the family's relationships improved, they return to the IRS building to refile their taxes. As Deirdre talks, Evelyn's attention is momentarily drawn to her alternative selves, before she grounds herself back in her home universe.

## Other versions

This section explores the alternate dimension versions of Evelyn featured throughout Everything Everywhere All at Once.

### Alpha-Evelyn

Evelyn Tupaki, informally known as Alpha-Evelyn, is the mother of Jobu Tupaki and the inventor of multiversal travel, whose actions lead to her daughter becoming one with all other versions of herself, and becoming an omnicidal nihilist who seeks to destroy the multiverse.

### Hot Dog Evelyn

In the Hot Dog Dimension, where humans evolved to have hot dog fingers and use their feet more often, Evelyn is married to Deirdre Beaubeirdre.

### Actress Evelyn

As part of the film's metatextuality with the "real world" of the viewer, one of the alternate versions of Evelyn—a famous martial arts movie star—is a portrayal of Yeoh herself, with footage of her from the red carpet of Crazy Rich Asians and other films being used to represent the character.

### Miscellaneous

Further alternate versions of Evelyn appear throughout the film, including a Chef Evelyn whose coworker is living through a raccoon-focused version of the film Ratatouille, and numerous random Evelyns who Jobu Tupaki kills in her pursuit of Evelyn, as well as others Evelyn inhabits, including a Rock Evelyn.

## Reception

Michelle Yeoh's performance as Evelyn Wang garnered universal acclaim, with many critics hailing it as the best of her career.
Rotten Tomatoes described her as "outstanding," and David Ehrlich of IndieWire called it the "greatest performance [she] has ever given." Marya E. Gates of RogerEbert.com praised Yeoh as the "anchor of the film," highlighting her versatility—from martial arts prowess to comedic timing to expressing deep human emotion. Maureen Ryan of Vanity Fair emphasized how Yeoh portrayed Evelyn with "melancholy, regret, resolve, and curiosity," making her performance "positively gripping."
Critics also noted the poignancy of the film as a showcase for Yeoh's talents. Adam Nayman of The Ringer called the movie "a love letter to Yeoh," providing her the opportunity to display both her acting range and the iconic fight choreography from her earlier career. Tasha Robinson of Polygon pointed to a key scene between Evelyn and her daughter Joy (in the form of rocks) as one of 2022's best movie moments, praising its emotional resonance and humor. Armond White of National Review lauded Yeoh for bringing "adult stability" to the film's chaotic energy, while Robert Lee III of Collider complimented her for being the "emotional core" of the film.
Additionally, Evelyn Wang was recognized as one of the "15 Best Movie Moms of All Time" by The A.V. Club, with Cindy White highlighting the character's profound love for her daughter, which "crosses universes and spans realities."

## Accolades

For her portrayal as Evelyn Wang, Michelle Yeoh won the Academy Award for Best Actress at the 95th Academy Awards, making her the first Asian Best Actress, the second woman of color Best Actress, and the first Malaysian to win any Academy Award.
Her performance also earned her the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy at the 80th Golden Globe Awards, and the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role at the 29th Screen Actors Guild Awards.
She also received nominations for the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role at the 76th British Academy Film Awards, and the Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Actress at the 28th Critics' Choice Awards.