Michelle Yeoh is a Malaysian actress who has became a star in Hollywood. Her latest film seems the one that propels her to super stardom.
So let’s find out some trivia and facts about the actress.
- Her full name is Michelle Yeoh Choo Kheng
- She was born in August 6, 1962
- Michelle Yeoh is a Malaysian actress
- She rose to fame in 1990s Hong Kong action films
- Yeoh is best known internationally for her roles in the James Bond film Tomorrow Never Dies (1997) and Ang Lee’s Academy Award-winning martial arts film Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000)
- Yeoh is credited as Michelle Khan in her early Hong Kong films.
- She was born in Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia
- To a Malaysian Chinese family
- Yeoh won the 1983 Miss Malaysia pageant at the age of 20
- She later achieved fame in the early 1990s after starring in a series of Hong Kong action films
- In the films, Michelle Yeoh performed her own stunts, such as Yes, Madam (1985), Police Story 3: Supercop (1992) and Holy Weapon (1993)
- She was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Actress for her work in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
- Yeoh has appeared in many English, Mandarin and Cantonese language films
- Her 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), in which she portrayed Aung San Suu Kyi
- In 2018, she starred in the American romantic comedy-drama film, Crazy Rich Asians
- For the film she received a Screen Actors Guild Award nomination as part of its ensemble
- She has also co-starred in the 2018 film Master Z: The Ip Man Legacy and the 2019 film Last Christmas
- Yeoh was cast as original character Ying Nan in the Marvel Cinematic Universe film Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021)
- She received universal critical acclaim for her leading role in the 2022 science fiction film Everything Everywhere All at Once
- On television, Yeoh is known for her role in the Star Trek franchise as Philippa Georgiou in the Paramount+ series Star Trek: Discovery from 2017 to 2020
- She also stars in the untitled spin-off series, announced in 2019
- 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”
- 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 MCA politician, as well as the man behind the popular express bus service, Sri Maju
- 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 a 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 later received a BA degree in creative arts with a minor in drama
- 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, the former General Manager and CEO of Scuderia Ferrari and later the former 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 also a patron of the Save China’s Tigers project committed to protect the endangered South China tiger
- 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 official 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
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