Michelle Yeoh Choo Kheng, born on August 6, 1962, is an actress from Malaysia. She became famous in the 1990s for acting in action films from Hong Kong where she did her own stunts. Some of her notable films include “Yes, Madam” (1985), “Police Story 3: Supercop” (1992), and “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” (2000).
After moving to the United States, Yeoh gained international recognition for her roles in “Tomorrow Never Dies” (1997) and “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” (2000). She also starred in various other films like “Memoirs of a Geisha” (2005) and “Kung Fu Panda 2” (2011).
Yeoh won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her role in “Everything Everywhere All at Once” (2022), making her the first Asian to win in that category and the first Malaysian to win an Academy Award. She also starred in the action comedy series “The Brothers Sun” (2024).
Rotten Tomatoes ranked her as the greatest action heroine in 2008. In 1997, People magazine named her one of the “50 Most Beautiful People in the World,” and in 2009, she was listed as one of the “35 All-Time Screen Beauties.” Time magazine recognized her as one of the world’s 100 most influential people in 2022.
Michelle Yeoh was born in Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia, and started her career in dance at a young age. She studied ballet in the UK but had to shift to choreography due to a spinal injury. She received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Manchester Metropolitan University in 1983.
Yeoh’s career started with winning the Miss Malaysia World contest in 1983. She entered acting through Hong Kong films, initially using the stage name Michelle Khan. She took a break after marrying Dickson Poon in 1987 but returned to acting in 1992 after their divorce.
She gained popularity in Hollywood with “Tomorrow Never Dies” in 1997 and continued with successful films like “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.” In 2002, she produced her first English film, “The Touch,” and continued to work in various English-language films.
Yeoh has been married to Jean Todt since 2004. She does not have children and is a Buddhist and activist, expressing support for Malaysian political figures and sharing her favorite authors and fictional hero in various interviews.