30 Stunting Facts About Sandra Oh That Will Blow Your Mind

Sandra Oh, one of the most versatile actresses in the Hollywood, is world renowned for her role as Cristina Yang in “Grey’s Anatomy.” Her departure from the series, after 10 seasons, left millions of fans heartbroken. But, her role as Eve Polastri in “Killing Eve,” came as a consolation to them. Apart from acting career, the actress is known to speak for various humanitarian causes. She received the key to the city of Ottawa from Mayor Jim Watson, on July 8, 2013. She recently gave a speech at a Stop Asian Hate rally in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in response to the Atlanta spa shootings. Here are some really interesting facts about the actress that will make you love her more:

"Sandra Oh" by SamarthV is licensed under CC BY 2.0

1.  Oh is the first actress of Asian descent to have received a nomination for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series.
2.  She is the first Asian lead to have won a Golden Globe for “Best Performance by an Actress in a TV series – Drama, in 39 years. She is also the first woman of Asian descent to win 2 Golden Globes Award for her performances.
3.  She is the first woman and also the first person of Asian descent to host the Golden Globe Awards at the 76th ceremony in 2019.
4.  Oh is the first Asian-Canadian woman to host “Saturday Night Live,” and just the third actress of Asian descent to do so, after Lucy Liu in 2000 and Awkwafina in 2018.
5.  For her performance in “Last Night” and “Double Happiness,” she has won two Genie Awards for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role.
6.  Sandra Miju Oh was born on July 20, 1971 to Oh Jun-su (John) and Jeon Young-nam, in Nepean, Ontario, Canada. She has a brother named Ray, a doctor in genetics, and a sister named Grace, a lawyer.
7.  Her father was a businessman, while her mother was a biochemist. Her parents were middle-class South Korean immigrants, who moved to Canada in the early 1960s.
8.  At the very young age of four, she started to take acting classes and also practice ballet, in an effort to correct her pigeon-toed stance.
9.  She attended Sir Robert Borden High School, where she founded the environmental club BASE (Borden Active Students for the Environment), leading a campaign against the use of styrofoam cups.
10.  During her high school, she played the flute, while also continuing her training in ballet and acting, despite knowing that her dancing skills were not “good enough” to be a professional dancer.

"sandra oh" by geekchic89 is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

11.  She turned her focus on acting, and started taking drama classes. Oh acted in school plays, and joined the drama club, where she took part in the Canadian Improv Games and Skit Row High, a comedy group.
12.  She received an offer for a four-year journalism scholarship to Carleton University, but rejected it, against her parents’ wishes. She promised her parents that she would try acting for a few years, and if failed, she would return to the University.
13.  She went to study drama at the National Theatre School of Canada in Montreal, paying her own way, with little to no support from her parents.
14.  In the year 1993, soon after graduating from the National Theatre School, she starred in a stage production of David Mamet's “Oleanna” in London, Ontario.
15.  Simultaneously, she won two other roles in biographical television films of two significant female Chinese-Canadians: as Vancouver author Evelyn Lau in “The Diary of Evelyn Lau” and as Adrienne Clarkson in a CBC biopic of Clarkson's life.
16.  Oh’s performance as Lau in “The Diary of Evelyn Lau” won her a Gemini Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Dramatic Program or Mini-Series.
17.  She garnered critical acclaim for her performance as Rita Wu, in the six seasons of the HBO series “Arliss.” She received a nomination for an NAACP Image Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series and a Cable Ace award for Best Actress in a Comedy.
18.  She starred in the world premieres of Jessica Hagedorn's “Dogeaters” at the La Jolla Playhouse and Diana Son's “Stop Kiss” at Joseph Papp's Public Theater in New York City.
19.  In the year 2005, she appeared in the independent anthology drama “3 Needles,” in which she played a Catholic nun in an AIDS-stricken African village.
20.  She was cast as Cristina Yang in the first season of the hit medical series “Grey’s Anatomy.” The long-running role on the show, earned her worldwide recognition, and several accolades.

"Sandra Oh" by watchwithkristin is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0

21.  Her performance earned her nominations for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series, for five consecutive years from 2005 to 2009.
22.  Writer/Director Audrey Wells of the 2003 “Under the Tuscan Sun,” claimed that even when the script was in the initial stages, she had thought of Sandra Oh to play the character of Patti, and that she could not imagine any other person playing the role.
23.  Oh claimed in an interview that she waited for more than 30 years for a role as meaty as Eve in the series “Killing Eve.” However, she had no idea that which character was offered to her, when she read the script.
24.  She simply assumed that she would be a receptionist or doctor, or other supporting roles, and paid attention to those characters. But, when she got to know that she would be playing Eve, she was ecstatic.
25.  In fact, the entire production team of the show was looking forward to work with her. But, due to scheduling conflicts, she was unavailable. Phoebe Waller-Bridge wrote an e-mail to Oh's agent, stating that nobody else could play Eve.
26.  In the year 2019, she was ranked as one among the “100 Most Influential People in the World,” by Time magazine in their annual list.
27.  She dated filmmaker Alexander Payne for five years, before marrying him in January 2003. However, the relationship did not last long, and the couple separated in early 2005, before divorcing in late 2006.
28.  In preparation for her role as Stephanie in the 2004 “Sideways,” she learned how to ride a motorcycle. However, the initial script did not have her character riding a motorcycle.
29.  She received a star on Canada’s Walk of Fame on October 1, 2011 at Elgin Theatre in Toronto.
30.  Oh was awarded the National Arts Centre Award from the Governor General of Canada in 2019, as a part of the Governor General’s Performing Arts Awards
31.  Sandra Oh Net Worth: $25 Million