Biography of Michelle Yeoh
Michelle Yeoh, a groundbreaking Asian actress, has captivated Hollywood with her extraordinary talent. She's built an impressive career with standout roles in films such as "The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor", "Memoirs of a Geisha", and "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon". Yeoh considers her role as Evelyn in the wild sci-fi comedy "Everything Everywhere All at Once", released in 2022, as her career-defining performance. The role earned her the coveted Oscar.
Childhood and Family
Michelle Yeoh Choo Kheng was born on August 6, 1962, in the Malaysian city of Ipoh, far from the glitz of Hollywood. Her parents, both Malaysians of Cantonese descent, lived quiet lives away from show business. Her father, Yeoh Kian Teik, was a lawyer, while her mother, Janet Yeoh, was a homemaker.Despite her Chinese heritage, Michelle isn't fluent in Chinese. She did grow up bilingual though, speaking both Malaysian and English fluently.
Janet was determined to raise Michelle with strong character—sometimes to an almost obsessive degree. In a funny story she told "By You" magazine, Michelle recalled being allowed to go on her very first date.
Her mother watched her so closely that Michelle barely had a chance to step out of line. "I would never dare act up—I never knew when my mother might show up!" she admitted.
As a teenager, she loved playing basketball with her brothers and mom, swimming, and practicing ballet. Acting never even crossed her mind back then. But dancing? That was her true passion.
But a spinal injury forced her to give up her dreams of becoming a prima ballerina and opening her own ballet school back home. She stayed at the academy but had to switch her focus to choreography and dramatic arts—neither of which really interested her.
She finished her time at the Dance Academy—though not in the field she'd dreamed of—and headed back to Malaysia.When I had to learn lines and perform monologues, I could literally hear my heart pounding. I tried to skip those classes whenever I could. If someone had told my drama teachers, 'One day, Michelle will become an actress,' they would have bet everything that it would never happen.
Acting Career
When she returned home, Michelle discovered that her mother had enrolled her in the "Miss Malaysia 1983" beauty contest. After winning, she earned the right to appear in a watch commercial, alongside none other than Jackie Chan, whose on-screen presence always commanded attention.
In 1985, she was offered a role in Corey Yuen's comedy "Yes, Madam", where she dove headfirst into combat scenes. She developed her unique stunt techniques, which subsequently shaped much of her career. Interestingly, this film is considered one of the pioneers in the "girls-with-guns" action genre, at least within Asian cinema.
In 1997, she put her career on hold when she married Hong Kong businessman Dickson Poon, founder of D&B Films. She planned to focus on her husband and starting a family. However, the marriage lasted a little over three years, after which Michelle returned to filming and quickly reclaimed her status as Hong Kong action cinema's leading lady.At first, they saw me as completely crazy because I had long hair, I was a little chubby, and I was a modest beauty queen — so clichéd.
Personal Life of Michelle Yeoh
In 1988, Michelle Yeoh was just launching her film career when she married Dickson Poon, head of the "D&B" film company, and decided to step away from cinema.The actress remained on good terms with Dickson Poon and even became the godmother of one of his daughters. In total, she has five godchildren, whom she considers her own children.I love children very much. I dreamed of having a family, but unfortunately, it turned out that this was not for me. I can only do something by giving my all to it. I look at actresses who juggle having children and working, and I don't understand how they do it? This is amazing.
In a 2008 interview, Michelle revealed: "I have people who love me, and people whom I love, and a person whom I love." Soon it was revealed that the actress and Jean Todt, former CEO of "Ferrari Formula 1" and considered the most influential person in motor racing, had announced their engagement.
Michelle Yeoh Now
In 2021, Michelle Yeoh starred in one of the main roles in Joe Carnahan's science fiction "Boss Level" with Mel Gibson, Naomi Watts, and Frank Grillo; in the thriller "Gunpowder Milkshake" with Lena Headey and Carla Gugino; and in Destin Daniel Cretton's fantasy adventure film "Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings" as Jiang Nan.
In March 2023, "Everything Everywhere All at Once" triumphed at the Oscars: it was nominated in 11 categories and won 7 statues, including the "Best Picture" nomination. Michelle won in the "Best Actress" category. This was her first Oscar nomination. "I have to dedicate this to my mom, all the moms in the world, because they are really the superheroes, and without them, none of us will be here tonight," Yeoh said in her acceptance speech.What I loved about it is this is an ordinary woman who is being seen, who is given a role to play as a superhero
