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Michelle Yeoh is a renowned Malaysian actress known for her iconic roles in action and martial arts films, as well as her performances in internationally acclaimed movies. She is celebrated for performing her own stunts and has won numerous awards, including an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award. Some of her most famous works include "Yes, Madam" (1985), "Police Story 3: Super Cop" (1992), "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" (2000), and "Everything Everywhere All at Once" (2022).
Bio Dates and Places
Born Date: 6 August 1962.
Born Place: Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia.
Career
Current occupation: Actress.
Past occupations: Ballet dancer, choreographer.
Current Place of Work: International film industry (Hong Kong and Hollywood).
Previous Place of Work: Hong Kong film industry.
Achievements and Recognition
Awards: Academy Award for Best Actress (2023), Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama (2023), BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role (nomination), Saturn Award for Best Guest Starring Role on Television (nomination).
Education
Bachelor of Arts degree from Crewe + Alsager College of Higher Education (1983).
Michelle Yeoh was born as Yeoh Choo Kheng in Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia, to a family of lawyers and educators, fostering a competitive spirit through sports and the arts.
Miss Malaysia World
1983
At 20, Yeoh won the Miss Malaysia World contest, representing Malaysia at the Miss World 1983 in London, placing 18th and later winning Miss Moomba International in 1984.
Acting Debut in Hong Kong
1984
Yeoh began her acting career in Hong Kong, performing her own stunts in action films like 'Yes, Madam' (1985), using the stage name Michelle Khan.
Marriage and Retirement
1987
Yeoh married Dickson Poon, leading to her temporary retirement from acting, focusing on her personal life.
International Breakthrough
1997
Yeoh gained global recognition starring in 'Tomorrow Never Dies' (1997) and 'Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon' (2000), earning a BAFTA nomination.
Academy Award Win
2023
Yeoh became the first Asian woman to win the Best Actress Oscar for her role in 'Everything Everywhere All at Once,' a historic milestone in her career.
Continued Success and Advocacy
Present Day
Michelle Yeoh continues to thrive in Hollywood, advocating for diversity and inspiring future generations with her enduring talent and resilience.
Yeoh was keen on dance from an early age, beginning ballet at age four. She went to the girls school Main Convent Ipoh. At age 15, she moved with her parents to England. There, she was enrolled in The Hammond School, Chester, where she started to train as a ballet dancer.[19][20] However, a spinal injury prevented her from becoming a professional ballet dancer, and she shifted her attention to choreography and other arts.[21] She received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Crewe + Alsager College of Higher Education in 1983.[22]
In 1983, twenty-year-old Yeoh won the Miss Malaysia World beauty contest.[23] She was Malaysia's representative at the Miss World 1983pageant in London, where she placed eighteenth.[24] Later that year, she traveled to Australia where she won the 1984 Miss Moomba International pageant.[25] Her first acting work was in a television commercial for Guy Laroche watches with Jackie Chan.[25] This caught the attention of a fledgling Hong Kong film production company, D&B Films. Although she had a passive understanding of the Ipoh Cantonese spoken in her hometown, she could not speak it. During a phone call in Cantonese, she was offered to co-star in a television commercial with a Sing Long, and only realized that was Jackie Chan's Cantonese name when she arrived in the studio.[26] She learned to speak Cantonese as she began her career in Hong Kong.[27]
Yeoh began her acting career in action and martial arts films, in which she performed her own stunts.[28] Yeoh's first lead role came in her third film, Yes, Madam (1985).[21][29] Yeoh initially used the pseudonym Michelle Khan, a stage name selected by D&B Films for its potential appeal to international and Western audiences. In 1987, Yeoh married her first husband Dickson Poon, a co-founder of D&B Films, and decided to retire from acting.[30]
She changed her stage name back to Michelle Yeoh when she started her Hollywood career with Tomorrow Never Dies in 1997.[23] In the 1997 James Bond film, she played Wai Lin opposite star Pierce Brosnan.[31] Brosnan was impressed, describing her as a "wonderful actress" who was "serious and committed about her work."[32] He referred to her as a "female James Bond" in reference to her combat abilities. Yeoh wanted to perform her own stunts but was prevented because director Roger Spottiswoode considered it too dangerous. Nevertheless, she performed all of her own fighting scenes.[33][34]
Yeoh at the Singapore Press Conference for The Touch, 2002
In 2002, Yeoh produced her first English film, The Touch, through her own production company Mythical Films. In 2004, Yeoh met Jean Todt, a French motor racing executive, in Shanghai during a publicity event for Ferrari. They became engaged later that same year.[38]
In October 2011, Yeoh was chosen by Guerlain to be its skincare ambassador.[43] Yeoh's role was to help strengthen the French cosmetics company's relationship with Asia.[44]
Yeoh did not branch out into television until 2015, with her first role playing Mei Foster, wife to the British Ambassador to Thailand, who is secretly a North Korean spy named Li-Na,[45] on the fifth season of the Cinemax/Sky series Strike Back.[46]
In 2016, Yeoh was cast as Starfleet Captain Philippa Georgiou of the starship USS Shenzhou in the series Star Trek: Discovery, and recurs as Georgiou's "mirror" doppelganger later in the series.[47][48] Yeoh went on to play the role for three seasons, garnering critical acclaim and becoming a fan favourite. Following the success of Star Trek: Discovery, a spinoff series with Yeoh in the leading role, was commissioned in 2019.[49] The series, which would centre on Yeoh's character, Emperor Georgiou working as a member of Section 31, a secret galactic spy organization, was still "in development" as of January 2023,[50] but in April, Paramount+ announced it had ordered a Star Trek: Section 31 feature film starring Yeoh, rather than a series.[51]
In 2025, Yeoh joined the English-language cast of the Chinese animated blockbuster Ne Zha 2, voicing a lead character in the version released by A24 and CMC Pictures.[57]
In May 2024, Yeoh was cast in a lead role as a replicant alongside Hunter Schafer in the Amazon science-fiction television series Blade Runner 2099.[80] She will also star as human scientist Dr. Karina Mogue in Avatar 4, set to release on December 21, 2029.[81]
Michelle Yeoh has donated her time as a WildAid ambassador for endangered animals and is a goodwill ambassador for the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) for the Sustainable Development Goals initiative since 2016.[89][90] Yeoh is a patron of the Save China's Tigers project committed to protecting the endangered South China tiger.[91] She also joined UNDP's first-ever animal ambassadors, two panda cubs, to kick off the Pandas for the Global Goals campaign.[92] In order to raise awareness about wildlife conservation and climate change, she collaborated with National Geographic to produce the documentary Among the Great Apes with Michelle Yeoh,[93] while emphasizing the importance of responsible consumerism, sustainable fashion, and ethical business practices.[94] In 2013, she changed to the role of executive producer for the project Pad Yatra: A Green Odyssey. The film recorded a journey of 700 people, led by the 12th Gyalwang Drukpa, to the perilous Himalayan mountain range. They traveled 450 miles, planted 50.000 trees, and educated the villagers on environmental responsibility.[95]
Yeoh's activism extends to health and well-being issues, ranging from patrons to ambassadors, through organizations including AIDS Concern,[96]Hong Kong Cancer Fund,[97]amfAR,[98] Live To Love,[99] and Paris Brain Institute.[100] She also joined UNAIDS's commissioner team,[101] and serves on the board of directors of the Suu Foundation, a non-political charity established to support the health, education, human rights, and development of the people of Myanmar.[102] As one of the survivors of the 2015 Nepal earthquake,[103] after evacuation, she returned to the disaster-hit country to help rehabilitate affected people and donate 100.000 euros for victims.[104][105]
Throughout her career, Yeoh has always portrayed strong roles and been defiant in working against stereotypes. After Tomorrow Never Dies, she did not work for almost two years due to the stereotypical roles offered to her in America.[106] She told People: "At that point (1990s), people in the industry couldn't really tell the difference between whether I was Chinese, Japanese, Korean or if I even spoke English. They would talk very loudly and very slowly".[107] She has long spoken out about racism in Hollywood, typically in her awards acceptance speech at the Golden Globes.[108] The day after her Oscar win, she published an opinion essay in The New York Times calling for true gender equality.[109]
Michelle Yeoh and her husband Jean Todt at the Festival Automobile International 2016.
Yeoh was married to Hong Kong entrepreneur Dickson Poon, known for his ownership of businesses such as Harvey Nichols and Charles Jourdan, from 1988 to 1992.[110] From 1998 to 2000, Yeoh dated and was eventually engaged to Alan Heldman, an American cardiologist.[111]
In 2004, she started dating Jean Todt,[112] then the general manager and CEO of Scuderia Ferrari and later the president of the FIA.[113] On 26 July 2004, the couple got engaged.[114] As of 2019, she lives in Geneva, Switzerland, with Todt.[115] In an Instagram post, former Scuderia Ferrari driver Felipe Massa said that Yeoh and Todt were married on 27 July 2023 in Geneva.[116][117]
Yeoh does not have any children,[118] and has cited her inability to have children as the reason for ending her first marriage.[119]
Michelle Yeoh's handprints on the "Avenue of Stars" in Hong Kong
In 1999, she was a member of the jury at the 49th Berlin International Film Festival.[124] On 19 April 2001, Yeoh was awarded the Darjah Datuk Paduka Mahkota Perak (DPMP), which carries the title Dato', by Sultan Azlan Shah, the Sultan of Perak, her home state, in recognition of the fame she brought to the state.[125] On 25 November 2002, Yeoh was honored as The Outstanding Young People of the World (TOYP) (Cultural Achievement) by JCI (Junior Chamber International).[126] On 23 April 2007, French President Jacques Chirac conferred upon Yeoh the title of Knight of the Legion of Honour (French: Chevalier de la Légion d'honneur). The decoration was presented to her in a ceremony in Kuala Lumpur on 3 October 2007.[127][128] She was promoted to Officer of the same French order (Officier de la Légion d'honneur) by French President Nicolas Sarkozy on 14 March 2012 at a ceremony held at the president's residence, the Élysée Palace, on that day,[129][130] and promoted to Commander (Commandeur), the highest honour available to non-French citizens, by François Hollande at the official residence of the French ambassador in Kuala Lumpur on 27 March 2017.[131]
On 9 January 2024, Yeoh was awarded the Crystal Award by the World Economic Forum for her role as a cultural leader and for her contributions to society as an exceptional artist.[143] On 3 May 2024, the White House announced Yeoh would receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honour. Yeoh was cited for continuing "to shatter stereotypes and enrich American culture."[144]
^ abThe term "Asian" is here used according to contemporary American parlance as described at Asian people § United States. While one Israeli actress and one actress of Armenian descent have won Best Actress, neither is considered Asian in this sense, which primarily includes East Asia, Southeast Asia, and South Asia.[4][5]
^Kleeman, Alexandra (15 March 2022). "Michelle Yeoh's Quantum Leaps". The New York Times Magazine. Archived from the original on 16 December 2022. Retrieved 16 December 2022.
^ abcKee Hua Chee (10 January 2004). "Her own person". The Star. Malaysia. Archived from the original on 30 October 2012. Retrieved 13 November 2011. Interview.
^鲁豫 (host) (6 October 2010). "杨紫琼-私家趣闻录". 爱传万家·说出你的故事. 24:00–25:30 minutes in. 安徽卫视. Archived from the original on 19 February 2023. Retrieved 19 February 2023. Also appear as 鲁豫 (host) (11 October 2010). "杨紫琼-私家趣闻录". 鲁豫有约. 24:00–25:30 minutes in. 凤凰卫视中文台. Archived from the original on 19 February 2023. Retrieved 19 February 2023.
Kho Tong Guan: "Yeoh Chu Kheng, Michelle". In: Leo Sury, Southeast Asian Personalities of Chinese Descent: A Biographical Dictionary. Chinese Heritage Centre, Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, 2012, ISBN9789814345217, pp. 1347–1350
Ken E. Hall: "Michelle Yeoh". In: Garry Bettinson: Directory of World Cinema: CHINA 2. Intellect Books, 2015 ISBN9781783204007, pp. 71–73
Lisa Funnell: Warrior Women: Gender, Race, and the Transnational Chinese Action Star. Suny Press, 2014, ISBN9781438452494, pp. 31–57 (chapter "Transnational Chinese Mothers: The Heroic Identities of Michelle Yeoh and Pei Pei Cheng")
Rikke Schubart: Super Bitches and Action Babes: The Female Hero in Popular Cinema, 1970–2006. McFarland, 2012 ISBN9780786482849, pp. 123–143 (chapter "Beautiful Vase Made of Iron and Steel Michelle Yeoh")
This is a community hub built on top of the Michelle Yeoh Wikipedia article. Here, you can discuss, collect, and organize anything related to Michelle Yeoh. The purpose of the hub is to connect people, foster deeper knowledge, and help improve the root Wikipedia article.
This is a community hub built on top of the Michelle Yeoh Wikipedia article. Here, you can discuss, collect, and organize anything related to Michelle Yeoh. The purpose of the hub is to connect people, foster deeper knowledge, and help improve the root Wikipedia article.
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Malaysia :
Commander of the Order of Loyalty to the Crown of Malaysia (PSM) – Tan Sri (2013)[145]
Perak :
Knight Commander of the Order of the Perak State Crown (DPMP) – Dato' (2001)[146][147]
Knight Grand Commander of the Order of the Perak State Crown (SPMP) – Dato' Seri (2012)[146]
France :
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Knight of the National Order of the Legion of Honour (2007)[128][148].png){kind=small}
Officer of the National Order of the Legion of Honour (2012)[149]
Officier of the National Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (2016)[138].png){kind=small}
Commander of the National Order of the Legion of Honour (2017)[131][150]
United States :
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