Michelle Yeoh

Actor, Producer, Writer

Birthdate: August 6, 1962 (63 Years Old)

Birthplace: Ipoh, Malaysia

Ranked in 2008 as the greatest female action star in movie history*, Michelle Yeoh is an iconic Asian star with a rare international reach in her diverse fan base. Before her, East Asian female movie actors (a bit more rigidly than their male colleagues) tended to be slotted into one particular genre or another. Yeoh broke the mold as a major star of wide-appeal action and wuxia movies, as well as serious drama and auteur cinema. That she has maintained her iconic status for decades is even rarer for an East Asian actor, perhaps matched only in fan popularity by Jackie Chan, with whom she co-starred in Police Story 3: Supercop (1992). A recent sign of this appeal is her starring role in Jon M. Chu’s megahit Crazy Rich Asians (2018), her co-starring spot in Marvel’s first Asian-set epic, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021), and Dan Kwan’s and Daniel Scheinert’s science fiction comedy for A24, Everything Everywhere All At Once (2022). With her dance training, Yeoh gained an early reputation for being able to do her stunts. She quickly attained star status in Corey Yuen’s Yes, Madam (1985) but was billed as “Michelle Khan” to appeal to Asian audiences. After her marriage to Hong Kong businessman Dickson Poon, she retired from acting. She only resumed her acting career at age 30 after her divorce from Poon, uniting with Chan, who first discovered her during the making of a TV commercial. After a string of successful wuxia movies, Michelle Yeoh hit the Hollywood big time as a “Bond Girl” in Tomorrow Never Dies (1997) with Pierce Brosnan, who dubbed her a “female James Bond,” since she did her own fighting scenes, even though she was prevented by producers from doing her stunts. Yeoh’s great international success came in the year 2000, under Ang Lee’s direction in the renowned Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. Yeoh brought gravitas, elegance, and ferocity to the wuxia epic, marking a moment in world cinema history when a Chinese-based genre, formerly a cult specialty, became a worldwide phenomenon. Yeoh became the new face of modern Asian cinema that combined action, beauty, grit, intelligence, and character depth of a sort that hadn’t previously been widely received by Western audiences. Michelle Yeoh parlayed this triumph into Hollywood and European-produced projects with her name above the title, including Rob Marshall’s Memoirs of a Geisha (2005), The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor (2008), and Luc Besson’s The Lady (2011), in which she portrayed Burmese civil rights activist and future politician, Aung San Suu Kyi. She made a rare shift to TV in her recurring role in Star Trek: Discovery (2017). Yeoh has recently made a strong box office resurgence in the hits Crazy Rich Asians and Marvel’s Shang-Chi, but perhaps Yeoh’s biggest audience-grabber is soon to come, in her co-starring role as Dr. Karina Mogue in James Cameron’s Avatar 2 (2022), Avatar 3 (2024), Avatar 4 (2026), Avatar 5 (2028) as well as her co-starring role in A Haunting in Venice, co-starring director-producer Kenneth Branagh (as Hercule Poirot), Kelly Reilly, and Tina Fey.

Personal Life
Movies
Facts

Personal life

Michelle Yeoh was born to parents Janet Yeoh and bus magnate Yeoh Kian-teik in 1962 in the former Federation of Malaysia, in the capital city of the state of Perak, Ipoh. She is of both Cantonese and Hokkien descent. She attended London’s Royal Academy of Dance after her family moved to the U.K. when she was a teenager. She quit her first love, dancing, after a spinal injury, and switched to studying acting. She has been married once, to Hong Kong luxury goods businessman Dickson Poon. Her current partner is French motor racing industry executive Jean Todt. She is a Buddhist.

Known For

Avatar 5

(2031)

Avatar 4

(2029)

Wicked: For Good

Madame Morrible (2025)

Wicked

Madame Morrible (2024)

The Tiger's Apprentice

Loo (2024)

Awards

Winner, ShoWest International Star of the Year (2001); Outstanding Contribution to Asian Cinema, Asian Film Awards (2013); Nominee, Best Actress, Golden Horse Awards (2001); Member, France’s Les Officers d’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres; Member, France’s Commanders de la Légion d'honneur; Member, Commanders of the Order of Loyalty to the Crown of Malaysia.

BAFTA Film Award

BAFTA Film Award

BAFTA Awards

Actor

Actor

Screen Actors Guild Awards

Oscar

Oscar

Academy Awards, USA

Michelle Yeoh Movies

Actor

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Upcoming (2)

2031 |
Avatar 5
Avatar 5
2031
Action, Adventure, Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Sequel of Avatar 4 (2029) and last movie of the "Avatar" saga. The plot is unknown.
asDr. Karina Mogue
2029 |
Avatar 4
Avatar 4
2029
Action, Adventure, Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Sequel of Avatar: Fire and Ash (2025). The plot is unknown.
asDr. Karina Mogue

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Previous (22)

2025 |
Avatar: Fire and Ash
Avatar: Fire and Ash
2025
Action, Adventure, Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Jake and Neytiri's family grapples with grief after Neteyam's death, encountering a new, aggressive Na'vi tribe, the Ash People, who are led by the fiery Varang, as the conflict on Pandora escalates and a new moral focus emerges.
2025 |
Wicked: For Good
Wicked: For Good
2025
Family, Fantasy, Musical, Romance
Elphaba, the future Wicked Witch of the West and her relationship with Glinda, the Good Witch of the North. The second of a two-part feature film adaptation of the Broadway musical.
asMadame Morrible
2024 |
Wicked
Wicked
2024
Fantasy, Musical, Romance
Elphaba, a misunderstood young woman because of her green skin, and Galinda, a popular girl, become friends at Shiz University in the Land of Oz. After an encounter with the Wonderful Wizard of Oz, their friendship reaches a crossroads.
More Info
asMadame Morrible
2024 |
The Tiger's Apprentice
The Tiger's Apprentice
2024
Action, Adventure, Animation, Comedy, Drama, Family, Fantasy, Mystery
Tom Lee, a Chinese-American boy, after the death of his grandmother, has to be apprenticed to the talking tiger Mr. Hu and learn ancient magic to become the new guardian of an ancient phoenix.
asLoo
2023 |
A Haunting in Venice
A Haunting in Venice
2023
Crime, Drama, Horror, Mystery, Thriller
In post-World War II Venice, Poirot, now retired and living in his own exile, reluctantly attends a seance. But when one of the guests is murdered, it is up to the former detective to once again uncover the killer.
More Info
asJoyce Reynolds
2022 |
Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank
Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank
2022
Action, Adventure, Animation, Comedy, Family, Fantasy
Hank, a loveable dog with a head full of dreams about becoming a samurai, sets off in search of his destiny.
asYuki
2022 |
Minions: The Rise of Gru
Minions: The Rise of Gru
2022
Adventure, Animation, Comedy, Crime, Family, Sci-Fi
The untold story of one twelve-year-old's dream to become the world's greatest supervillain.
More Info
asMaster Chow
2022 |
Everything Everywhere All at Once
Everything Everywhere All at Once
2022
Action, Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy, Sci-Fi
A middle-aged Chinese immigrant is swept up into an insane adventure in which she alone can save existence by exploring other universes and connecting with the lives she could have led.
asEvelyn Wang
2021 |
Gunpowder Milkshake
Gunpowder Milkshake
2021
Action, Crime, Thriller
Three generations of women fight back against those who could take everything from them.
asFlorence
2021 |
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings
2021
Action, Adventure, Fantasy, Sci-Fi
Shang-Chi, the master of weaponry-based Kung Fu, is forced to confront his past after being drawn into the Ten Rings organization.
More Info
asYing Nan
2019 |
Last Christmas
Last Christmas
2019
Comedy, Drama, Fantasy, Romance
Kate is a young woman subscribed to bad decisions. Working as an elf in a year-round Christmas store is not good for the wannabe singer. However, she meets Tom there. Her life takes a new turn--that seems too good to be true.
More Info
asSanta
2019 |
Master Z: The Ip Man Legacy
Master Z: The Ip Man Legacy
2019
Action, Biography, Crime, Drama
While keeping a low profile after his defeat by Ip Man, Cheung Tin Chi gets into trouble after getting in a fight with a powerful foreigner.
More Info
asTso Ngan Kwan
2018 |
Crazy Rich Asians
Crazy Rich Asians
2018
Comedy, Drama, Romance
This contemporary romantic comedy based on a global bestseller follows native New Yorker Rachel Chu to Singapore to meet her boyfriend's family.
More Info
asEleanor Young
2016 |
Mechanic: Resurrection
Mechanic: Resurrection
2016
Action, Adventure, Thriller
Bishop's most formidable foe kidnaps the love of his life in order to make him complete three impossible assassinations and make them look like accidents.
More Info
asMei
2016 |
Morgan
Morgan
2016
Action, Horror, Sci-Fi, Thriller
A corporate risk-management consultant must decide whether or not to terminate an artificially created humanoid being.
More Info
asDr. Lui Cheng
-- |
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragonas Yu Shu Lien
-- |
as Insp. Jessica Yang - Director of INTERPOL
-- |
as Madame Morrible
-- |
Supercopas Insp. Jessica Yang - Director of INTERPOL
-- |
Kung Fu Panda 2as Soothsayer
-- |
The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperoras Zi Yuan
-- |
Tomorrow Never Diesas Wai Lin

Facts About Michelle Yeoh

Miss World: After being named Miss Malaysia, Michelle Yeoh competed for Miss World in 1983 with future fellow Asian superstar Maggie Cheung. Hong Konger: Although a Malaysian citizen, Yeoh also has acquired permanent residency in Hong Kong. Beauty: Michelle Yeoh was named by People magazine in 2009 as one of the “35 All-Time Screen Beauties,” and in 1997 was a People magazine pick for one of the “50 Most Beautiful People in the World.” High Profile: Michelle Yeoh was selected as a profiled artist in the BBC’s annual “100 Women” series in 2020. Green: Yeoh is an active supporter of environmental causes in her homeland of Malaysia, and is a patron of the “Save China’s Tigers” project. Look it Up: Yeoh is the subject of entire chapters in several books on the rise of female action stars in Asian cinema, including Rikke Schubart’s Super Bitches and Action Babes: The Female Hero in Popular Cinema, 1970-2006.

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