Michelle Yeoh

Michelle Yeoh Choo Kheng, ( ; born 6 August 1962) is a Malaysian actress. Credited as Michelle Khan in her early Hong Kong films, she rose to fame in the 1990s after starring in a series of Hong Kong action films where she performed her own stunts, such as ''Yes, Madam'' (1985), '' Police Story 3: Supercop'' (1992) and '' Holy Weapon'' (1993). She gained international recognition for her roles in the James Bond film '' Tomorrow Never Dies'' (1997) and in Ang Lee's martial arts film '' Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon'' (2000). The latter role earned her a BAFTA Best Actress nomination.

Yeoh's other works include '' Memoirs of a Geisha'' (2005), '' Reign of Assassins'' (2010), '' Kung Fu Panda 2'' (2011), '' Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Sword of Destiny'' (2016), and '' The Lady'' (2011), where she portrayed Aung San Suu Kyi. She went on to have supporting roles in the romantic comedies '' Crazy Rich Asians'' (2018) and ''Last Christmas'' (2019), and the 2021 Marvel Cinematic Universe film '' Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings'' (2021). On television, Yeoh had a recurring role in the science fiction series '' Star Trek: Discovery'' from 2017 to 2020. In 2022, she gained critical acclaim for starring as an overwhelmed mother navigating the multiverse in the science fiction film '' Everything Everywhere All at Once'', receiving a nomination for a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress.

The film review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes ranked her the greatest action heroine of all time in 2008. In 1997, she was chosen by ''People'' as one of the "50 Most Beautiful People in the World", and in 2009 the same magazine listed her as one of the "35 All-Time Screen Beauties". In 2022, ''Time'' named her one of the world's 100 most influential people on its annual listicle and its Icon of the Year.

Early life and education

Yeoh was born on 6 August 1962 in Ipoh, Perak, to a local ethnic Malaysian Chinese family of Hokkien and Cantonese ancestry. Her parents are Janet Yeoh and Yeoh Kian-teik (died on 5 November 2014), a lawyer and Malaysian Chinese Association politician, as well as the man behind the express bus service Sri Maju. She is fluent in Cantonese, Mandarin and English.

Yeoh was keen on dance from an early age, beginning ballet at the age of four. She studied at Main Convent Ipoh, an all-girls secondary school in Ipoh, as a primary student. At the age of 15, she moved with her parents to the United Kingdom, where she was enrolled in an all-girls boarding school. Yeoh later studied at the UK's Royal Academy of Dance in London, majoring in ballet. However, a spinal injury prevented her from becoming a professional ballet dancer, and she transferred her attention to choreography and other arts. She received a BA degree in creative arts with a minor in drama in 1982.

Career

In 1983, at the age of 20, Yeoh won the Miss Malaysia World contest. She was Malaysia's representative at Miss World 1983 pageant in London. Later that year, she travelled to Australia where she won Miss International Tourism Quest pageant. From there, she appeared in a television commercial with Jackie Chan which caught the attention of a fledgling Hong Kong film production company, D&B Films.

Yeoh started her film career acting in action and martial arts films, where she did most of her own stunts. Already with her third credit, ''Yes, Madam'' (1985), she was given a main role. She was credited as Michelle Khan in these earlier films. This alias was chosen by D&B Films, who thought it might be more marketable to international and western audiences. Yeoh married Dickson Poon, who headed the D&B Group, in 1987 and retired from acting.

Yeoh returned to acting with '' Police Story 3: Super Cop'' (1992) after having divorced Poon. She appeared in '' The Heroic Trio'' (1993), and the Yuen Woo-ping films '' Tai Chi Master'' and '' Wing Chun'' in 1993 and 1994, respectively.

She changed her stage name back to Michelle Yeoh when she started her Hollywood career with '' Tomorrow Never Dies'' in 1997. In the 1997 James Bond film, she played Wai Lin opposite star Pierce Brosnan. Brosnan was impressed, describing her as a "wonderful actress" who was "serious and committed about her work". He referred to her as a "female James Bond" in reference to her combat abilities. She 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. In 1997, she played Soong Ai-ling in the award-winning '' The Soong Sisters''. Yeoh was approached by Ang Lee to star as Yu Shu Lien in the Chinese language martial arts film '' Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon'' (2000). The film was shot in various provinces around China. Yeoh had grown up speaking English and Malay, before learning Cantonese. She spoke little Mandarin, and learned the Mandarin lines for ''Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon'' phonetically. The film was an international success, and earned Yeoh a BAFTA 2000 nomination for Best Actress in a Leading Role.

In 2002, Yeoh produced her first English film, '' The Touch'', through her own production company Mythical Films. In 2005, Yeoh starred as Mameha in the film adaptation of '' Memoirs of a Geisha'', and she continued her English-language work in 2007 with '' Sunshine''. In 2008, Yeoh starred in the fantasy action film '' The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor'' with Brendan Fraser and Jet Li. In 2011, she portrayed Aung San Suu Kyi in Luc Besson's '' The Lady''. Yeoh was blacklisted by the Burmese government allegedly because of her participation in ''The Lady''; she was refused entry to Myanmar on 22 June 2011 and was deported on the same day.

In October 2011, Yeoh was chosen by Guerlain to be its skincare ambassador. Yeoh's role was to help strengthen the French cosmetics company's relationship with Asia.

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, on the fifth season of the Cinemax/Sky series '' Strike Back''. 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 story.

In 2018, Yeoh played family matriarch Eleanor Young in Jon M. Chu's '' Crazy Rich Asians'', a film adaptation of Kevin Kwan's book of the same name, opposite Constance Wu and Henry Golding. Carlos Aguilar of ''TheWrap'' described her performance as "convincingly subdued". In 2019, she played Christmas themed-store owner "Santa" in ''Last Christmas'', opposite Henry Golding and Emilia Clarke. The film was released on 8 November 2019, and was a box office success grossing over $121 million worldwide.

Yeoh played Ying Nan in Marvel Studios' '' Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings'', directed by Destin Daniel Cretton. The film was released in theaters on 3 September 2021. It was announced at The Game Awards 2020 that Yeoh would star in ''Ark: The Animated Series'', a series based on the video game '' Ark: Survival Evolved'' by Studio Wildcard, in which she plays the role of Mei-Yin Li, the Beast Queen of the Jungle.

In 2022, Yeoh starred in the science fiction black comedy film '' Everything Everywhere All at Once'' from filmmaking duo Daniels, released in March to near-universal acclaim. In the film, she played struggling laundromat owner Evelyn Wang, a role that brought her widespread critical acclaim, with David Ehrlich of ''IndieWire'' claiming it the "greatest performance that Michelle Yeoh has ever given".

Yeoh is set to appear in the upcoming Disney+ series ''American Born Chinese'', based on the book of the same name by Gene Luen Yang. In June 2022, it was announced that she will star in the eight-part series ''The Brothers Sun'' for Netflix

She is also set to star in ''A Haunting in Venice'' directed by Kenneth Branagh and as Madame Morrible in the two-part film adaptation of the musical, '' Wicked'' directed by Jon M. Chu.

Personal life

Yeoh was married to Hong Kong entrepreneur Dickson Poon, owner of businesses such as Harvey Nichols and Charles Jourdan, from 1988 to 1992. In 1998, Yeoh was engaged to Alan Heldman, an American cardiologist. In 2004, she started dating Jean Todt, then the General Manager and CEO of Scuderia Ferrari and later the president of the FIA. In July 2008, she confirmed her engagement to him during an interview with Craig Ferguson on CBS's ''The Late Late Show''.

Yeoh is a Buddhist. In March 2008, she visited Vietnam to film a documentary for the Asian Injury Prevention Foundation. Yeoh is a patron of the Save China's Tigers project committed to protect the endangered South China tiger.

Filmography

Awards, honours and styles

In 1999, she was a member of the jury at the 49th Berlin International Film Festival.

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.

On 25 November 2002, Yeoh was honoured as The Outstanding Young People of the World (TOYP) (Cultural Achievement) by JCI (Junior Chamber International).

On 23 April 2007, French President Jacques Chirac conferred upon Yeoh the title of Knight of the Legion of Honour (Chevalier de la Légion d'honneur). The decoration was presented to her in a ceremony in Kuala Lumpur on 3 October 2007. 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. The decoration was presented to her at a ceremony held at the president's residence, the Élysée Palace on that day.

In 2011, Yeoh received a special award for her contribution to Malaysian cinema at 24th Malaysian Film Festival.

On 22 May 2012, Yeoh was awarded the Darjah Seri Paduka Mahkota Perak ( SPMP) which carries the title Dato' Seri during the investiture ceremony in conjunction with the Sultan of Perak Sultan Azlan Shah's birthday.

Yeoh received the Excellence in Asian Cinema award during the 7th Asian Film Awards in March 2013 in Hong Kong.

On 1 June 2013, Yeoh was awarded the Panglima Setia Mahkota (PSM) which carries the title Tan Sri during the investiture ceremony in conjunction with the birthday of Yang di-Pertuan Agong Tuanku Abdul Halim Mu'adzam Shah.

On 30 November 2013, Yeoh presided as the Chief Guest at the International Film Festival of India.

On 12 February 2016 Yeoh was conferred France's Officier of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres award by the French government in Kuala Lumpur.

Yeoh was included in the BBC's '' 100 Women'' list of 2020. She was placed on ''Time'' magazine's list of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2022.

On 13 August 2022, Yeoh received an honorary doctorate of fine arts degree from the American Film Institute for her contributions of distinction to the art of the moving image. She became the first Asian artist to receive the honor.

On 9 December 2022, Yeoh received the Kirk Douglas Award from the Santa Barbara International Film Festival.

Honours of Malaysia

* :
** Commander of the Order of Loyalty to the Crown of Malaysia (PSM) - Tan Sri (2013)
* :
** Knight Commander of the Order of the Perak State Crown (DPMP) - Dato' (2001)
** Knight Grand Commander of the Order of the Perak State Crown (SPMP) - Dato' Seri (2012)

International honours

* :
** Knight of the National Order of the Legion of Honour (2007)
** Officer of the National Order of the Legion of Honour (2012)
** Officier of the National Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (2016)
** Commander of the National Order of the Legion of Honour (2017)

Awards and nominations

Special awards

References

Further reading

*Kho Tong Guan: ''Yeoh Chu Kheng, Michelle''. In: Leo Suryadinata (ed.): ''Southeast Asian Personalities of Chinese Descent: A Biographical Dictionary, Volume I & II''. Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, 2012, , pp. 1347–1350
*Ken E. Hall: ''Michelle Yeoh''. In: Garry Bettinson: ''Directory of World Cinema: CHINA 2''. Intellect Books, 2015 , pp. 71–73
*Lisa Funnell: ''Warrior Women: Gender, Race, and the Transnational Chinese Action Star''. Suny Press, 2014, , 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 , pp. 123–143 (chapter ''Beautiful Vase Made of Iron and Steel Michelle Yeoh'')

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Yeoh, Michelle
1962 births
20th-century Malaysian actresses
21st-century Malaysian actresses
BBC 100 Women
Commanders of the Order of Loyalty to the Crown of Malaysia
Commandeurs of the Légion d'honneur
Living people
Malaysian beauty pageant winners
Malaysian born Hong Kong artists
Malaysian Buddhists
Malaysian emigrants to Hong Kong
Malaysian environmentalists
Malaysian expatriates in Hong Kong
Malaysian expatriates in the United Kingdom
Malaysian female dancers
Malaysian female models
Malaysian film actresses
Malaysian people of Cantonese descent
Malaysian people of Hokkien descent
Malaysian people of Chinese descent
Malaysian television actresses
Malaysian voice actresses
Malaysian women environmentalists
Miss World 1983 delegates
Officiers of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres
People from Ipoh
People from Perak
People with acquired permanent residency of Hong Kong