Michelle Yeoh
From ballet to Bond: the action icon who broke barriers.
She won the Miss Malaysia World beauty contest in 1983 and represented Malaysia at Miss World 1983.[1]
Quick Facts
- Birth name
- Yeoh Choo Kheng
- Born
- 6 August 1962
- Birthplace
- Ipoh, Perak, Malaya
- Other names
- Michelle Khan
- Education
- Royal Academy of Dance (BA)
- Occupation
- Actress
- Years active
- 1983–present
Facts from the source article.
Life and work
At age four, Yeoh started ballet; at fifteen, she relocated with her parents to the UK, where she enrolled at The Hammond School in Chester to train as a dancer, but a spinal injury ended her hopes of a professional ballet career.[2] Yeoh's debut as an actor was in a TV spot for Guy Laroche timepieces alongside Jackie Chan; this ad drew the notice of the fledgling studio D&B Films.[1] Yeoh wed Dickson Poon in 1987 and then stepped away from acting; the marriage ended in divorce after five years, and she resumed her career with Police Story 3: Super Cop (1992).[3][4] Director Ang Lee asked Yeoh to star in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000), which was her first martial arts film in Mandarin; this role brought her a BAFTA nomination.[5]
In 2004, while in Shanghai for a Ferrari promotional event, Yeoh encountered French motor racing executive Jean Todt; they got engaged later that same year.[6]
What the cited sources add
A Guardian interview notes that Yeoh's original co-star in a 1984 commercial was Jackie Chan, and that the directors of Everything Everywhere All at Once originally planned to cast Chan as the protagonist.[7] The friend also stated that Yeoh and he shared a love of horror movies, watching films like Evil Dead and Zombie Flesh Eaters.[8] A 2024 article reports that Yeoh and Todt married on 27 July 2023 in Geneva after a 6992-day engagement.[9] The same article notes that Yeoh became a grandparent on New Year's Day 2024 when her step-son Nicolas and his wife welcomed a baby.[9]
References
- Wikipedia, "Michelle Yeoh" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Kee Hua Chee, "Her own person", The Star, 10 January 2004; Quinn, "From beauty queen to Oscar winner: how Michelle Yeoh was cajoled by mum to join 1983 London beauty pageant", South China Morning Post, 14 March 2023; Kamal, "Michelle Yeoh: Rare photos, videos of Oscar winner from beauty pageants shared online", The Star, 15 March 2023; Kamal, "Michelle Yeoh: Rare photos, videos of Oscar winner from beauty pageants shared online", The Star, 15 March 2023 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Michelle Yeoh" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "'I know all about the crazy rich lifestyle' Michelle Yeoh on why she had to break out of her own super-wealthy bubble", You Magazine, 9 September 2018; Kleeman, "Michelle Yeoh's Quantum Leaps", The New York Times Magazine, 15 March 2022; Rose, "'I told Jackie Chan, your loss, my bro!': how Everything Everywhere gave Michelle Yeoh the role of a lifetime", The Guardian, 13 May 2022; "Oscar winner Michelle Yeoh's time at Cheshire college recalled by friend", 26 March 2023 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Michelle Yeoh" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "What we know about Michelle Yeoh's marriage to Hong Kong magnate Dickson Poon", South China Morning Post, 13 February 2024 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Michelle Yeoh" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Kee Hua Chee, "Her own person", The Star, 10 January 2004 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Michelle Yeoh" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Bergeson, "Ang Lee on 'Tough' 'Crouching Tiger' Shoot After Michelle Yeoh Injury: 'That Was Supposed to Be Her Strength'", IndieWire, 16 March 2022; "Michelle Yeoh Has Always Been Criminally Underrated", 17 February 2023; "Tiger fights Gladiator in Bafta race", 31 January 2001 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Michelle Yeoh" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Michelle Yeoh and Jean Todt Welcome Their First Grandchild", 2 January 2024 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Rose, "'I told Jackie Chan, your loss, my bro!': how Everything Everywhere gave Michelle Yeoh the role of a lifetime", The Guardian, 13 May 2022. facts only, no text reused. theguardian.com
- "Oscar winner Michelle Yeoh's time at Cheshire college recalled by friend", 26 March 2023. facts only, no text reused. manchestereveningnews.co.uk
- "Michelle Yeoh and Jean Todt Welcome Their First Grandchild", 2 January 2024. facts only, no text reused. elle.com
Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Michelle Yeoh (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.
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