1. Michelle Yeoh is the recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award.
63 Facts About Michelle Yeoh
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Michelle Yeoh has appeared in Hong Kong and Chinese cinema, starring in True Legend, Reign of Assassins, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Sword of Destiny, and Master Z: Ip Man Legacy.
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Michelle Yeoh played supporting roles in the romantic comedies Crazy Rich Asians and Last Christmas, as well as in the Marvel Cinematic Universe film Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings and the television series Star Trek: Discovery.
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Michelle Yeoh's voice acting work has included Kung Fu Panda 2, Minions: The Rise of Gru, and Transformers: Rise of the Beasts.
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Michelle Yeoh has since featured in the mystery film A Haunting in Venice and the musical fantasy film Wicked.
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Michelle Yeoh's father was elected as a Senator of Malaysia from 1959 to 1969 as a member of Perak's Malaysian Chinese Association, the Chairman of the Perak Bar Association, and the founder of "Sri Maju" in 1975, a major intercity coach service in Malaysia and Singapore.
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Michelle Yeoh learned to speak Cantonese and Mandarin fluently in the 1980s and 1990s after starting her career in Hong Kong.
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Michelle Yeoh was keen on dance from an early age, beginning ballet at age four.
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Michelle Yeoh went to the girls school Main Convent Ipoh.
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Michelle Yeoh received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Crewe + Alsager College of Higher Education in 1983.
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In 1983, twenty-year-old Michelle Yeoh won the Miss Malaysia World contest.
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Michelle Yeoh was Malaysia's representative at the Miss World 1983 pageant in London, where she placed eighteenth.
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Michelle Yeoh's first acting work was in a television commercial for Guy Laroche watches with Jackie Chan.
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Michelle Yeoh learned to speak Cantonese as she began her career in Hong Kong.
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Michelle Yeoh began her acting career in action and martial arts films, in which she performed her own stunts.
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Michelle Yeoh appeared in The Heroic Trio, and the Yuen Woo-ping films Tai Chi Master and Wing Chun in 1993 and 1994, respectively.
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Michelle Yeoh changed her stage name back to Michelle Yeoh when she started her Hollywood career with Tomorrow Never Dies in 1997.
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Michelle Yeoh wanted to perform her own stunts but was prevented because director Roger Spottiswoode considered it too dangerous.
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In 1997, Michelle Yeoh played Soong Ai-ling in the award-winning The Soong Sisters.
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Michelle Yeoh was approached by director Ang Lee to star as Yu Shu Lien in her first Mandarin-language martial arts film Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.
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Michelle Yeoh did not speak Mandarin until the 2000s, and she had to learn the Mandarin lines for Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon phonetically.
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In 2002, Michelle Yeoh produced her first English film, The Touch, through her own production company Mythical Films.
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In 2004, Michelle Yeoh met Jean Todt, a French motor racing executive, in Shanghai during a publicity event for Ferrari.
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In 2005, Michelle Yeoh starred as Mameha in the film adaptation of Memoirs of a Geisha, and she continued her English-language work in 2007 with Sunshine.
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In 2008, Michelle Yeoh starred in the fantasy action film The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor with Brendan Fraser and Jet Li.
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Michelle Yeoh was blacklisted by the Burmese government allegedly because of her participation in The Lady; she was refused entry to Myanmar on 22 June 2011 and was deported on the same day.
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In October 2011, Michelle Yeoh was chosen by Guerlain to be its skincare ambassador.
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Michelle Yeoh's role was to help strengthen the French cosmetics company's relationship with Asia.
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In 2016, Michelle Yeoh was cast as Starfleet Captain Philippa Georgiou of the starship USS Shenzhou in the series Star Trek: Discovery, and recurs as Georgiou's "mirror" doppelganger later in the series.
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Michelle Yeoh went on to play the role for three seasons, garnering critical acclaim and becoming a fan favourite.
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In 2018, Yeoh played family matriarch Eleanor Young in Jon M Chu's Crazy Rich Asians, a film adaptation of Kevin Kwan's book of the same name, opposite Constance Wu and Henry Golding.
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Michelle Yeoh played Ying Nan in Marvel Studios' Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, directed by Destin Daniel Cretton.
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In 2022, Michelle Yeoh starred in the science fiction surreal comedy film Everything Everywhere All at Once from filmmaking duo Daniels, released in March 2022 to widespread critical acclaim.
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Michelle Yeoh became the first Malaysian to be nominated for and win an Academy Award, and the first Asian and second "woman of color" to win the Academy Award for Best Actress.
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Michelle Yeoh appeared in the Disney+ series American Born Chinese, based on the book of the same name by Gene Luen Yang.
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Michelle Yeoh starred as a psychic medium alongside Kenneth Branagh in A Haunting in Venice, released in 2023.
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Michelle Yeoh has since starred as Madame Morrible in the two-part film adaptation of the musical Wicked directed by Jon M Chu, with the first film released in November 2024, and the second film slated for November 2025.
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In May 2024, Michelle Yeoh was cast in a lead role as a replicant alongside Hunter Schafer in the Amazon science-fiction television series Blade Runner 2099.
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Michelle Yeoh has been an ambassador and leading campaigner for FIA's Make Roads Safe campaign to be recognized as a global public health and development priority since 2008.
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Michelle Yeoh filmed a documentary on global road safety, Turning Point, a version of which was shown on BBC World News.
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Michelle Yeoh has donated her time as a WildAid ambassador for endangered animals and is a goodwill ambassador for the United Nations Development Programme for the Sustainable Development Goals initiative since 2016.
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Michelle Yeoh is a patron of the Save China's Tigers project committed to protecting the endangered South China tiger.
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Michelle Yeoh joined UNDP's first-ever animal ambassadors, two panda cubs, to kick off the Pandas for the Global Goals campaign.
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Michelle Yeoh's activism extends to health and well-being issues, ranging from patrons to ambassadors, through organizations including AIDS Concern, Hong Kong Cancer Fund, amfAR, Live To Love, and Paris Brain Institute.
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Michelle Yeoh joined UNAIDS's commissioner team, and serves on the board of directors of the Suu Foundation, a non-political charity established to support the health, education, human rights, and development of the people of Myanmar.
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Michelle Yeoh has long spoken out about racism in Hollywood, typically in her awards acceptance speech at the Golden Globes.
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Michelle Yeoh was married to Hong Kong entrepreneur Dickson Poon, known for his ownership of businesses such as Harvey Nichols and Charles Jourdan, from 1988 to 1992.
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From 1998 to 2000, Michelle Yeoh dated and was eventually engaged to Alan Heldman, an American cardiologist.
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Michelle Yeoh expressed her support for Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak and the political coalition Barisan Nasional ahead of the 2013 Malaysian general election.
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On 25 November 2002, Michelle Yeoh was honored as The Outstanding Young People of the World by JCI.
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Michelle Yeoh was promoted to Officer of the same French order by French President Nicolas Sarkozy on 14 March 2012 at a ceremony held at the president's residence, the Elysee Palace, on that day, and promoted to Commander, the highest honour available to non-French citizens, by Francois Hollande at the official residence of the French ambassador in Kuala Lumpur on 27 March 2017.
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On 22 May 2012, Michelle Yeoh was awarded the Darjah Seri Paduka Mahkota Perak which carries the title Dato' Seri during the investiture ceremony in conjunction with the Sultan of Perak Sultan Azlan Shah's birthday.
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Michelle Yeoh received the Excellence in Asian Cinema award during the 7th Asian Film Awards in March 2013 in Hong Kong.
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On 1 June 2013, Michelle Yeoh was awarded the Panglima Setia Mahkota 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.
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On 30 November 2013, Michelle Yeoh presided as the Chief Guest at the International Film Festival of India.
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On 12 February 2016, Michelle Yeoh was made an of the by the French ambassador to Kuala Lumpur, becoming the first Malaysian citizen to receive that honour.
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Michelle Yeoh was included in the BBC's 100 Women list of 2020.
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Michelle Yeoh was placed on Time magazine's list of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2022.
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On 13 August 2022, Michelle Yeoh received an honorary doctorate of fine arts degree from the American Film Institute for her contributions of distinction to the art of the moving image.
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Michelle Yeoh became the first Asian artist to receive the honour.
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On 9 December 2022, Michelle Yeoh received the Kirk Douglas Award from the Santa Barbara International Film Festival.
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On 9 January 2024, Michelle Yeoh was awarded the Crystal Award by the World Economic Forum for her role as a cultural leader and for her contributions to society as an exceptional artist.
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On 3 May 2024, the White House announced Michelle Yeoh would receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honour.