With the exception of a few like Jet Li, Jackie Chan, Michelle Yeoh, etc., actors and actresses from the eastern part of the planet have not enjoyed the same degree of worldwide fame as their western counterparts. When it comes to actors in the Asian film industry, popularity among the general public is not what they value, which can be attributed to a combination of factors such as language barrier and racial discrimination.
Michelle Yeoh and a few others on the other have broken down those barriers and gained a level of relevance in Hollywood. She was recently featured in the hit movie Crazy Rich Asians and is currently starring in Star Trek: Discovery. Who is Michelle Yeoh? Learn more about the Malaysian-born actress by reading below.
Who is Michelle Yeoh?
Michelle Yeoh was born Yeoh Choo-Kheng on August 6, 1962 to a Malaysian Chinese family in Ipoh, Malaysia. Her father, Yeoh Klan Teik, is an MCA politician while her mother is a lawyer. Daughter of a wealthy family, she had some childhood experiences, including moving with her parents to the United Kingdom at the age of 15. While in the UK, in London, she enrolled The Royal Academy of Dance has been pursuing her passion for dance for four years.
She studied dance, particularly ballet with the intention of becoming a ballet dancer. Unfortunately for Michelle, her dream was cut short due to a spinal injury and she was forced to pursue other interests. Her affection for the arts led her to focus more on choreography and acting, eventually earning a Bachelor of Creative Arts.
Career
Michelle Yeoh started her career as a public figure at the age of 20 in 1983 when she entered the Miss Malaysia beauty pageant. She won the pageant and the others that followed, such as the Queen of the Pacific beauty pageant and the Miss Moomba pageant. Her tenure as Miss Malaysia ended with Malaysia’s representation in the Miss World pageant in 1983 and a commercial for Hong Kong film icon Jackie Chan. While it was the end of her career in pageantry, it was the start of her acting career, as her performance in TV commercials exposed her to one of Hong Kong’s biggest production companies. , D&B Movies.
She was then made an actress by D&B Films and started acting in films, especially action and martial arts films. She starred in movies like Twinkle, Twinkle Lucky Stars, Yes, Madame, and The Owl vs. Bombo in the early days of her career. Her performance in Yes, Madam earned her a Hong Kong Film Award nomination for Best New Performer.
After acting in films between 1984 and 1987, she retired after marrying Dickson Poon, owner of the D&B Group, owner of D&B Films. She was married to Poon for four years until their divorce in 1992, after which she returned to acting.
Her return to acting was with the movie Police Story 3: Super Cop which was released in 1992. Since then, she has remained in the profession, playing a starring role in 56 movies and TV shows. She made her film debut in 1997 as Wai Lin in Tomorrow Never Dies. In the film, Michelle Yeoh, known around the world as an action star, the Hong Kong film industry performed all her fight scenes on her own and was only able to pull off her own stunts because they were considered too dangerous.
Her film, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon earned her a BAFTA nomination for Best Actress. Her reputation as an actress gave her other international opportunities, such as an offer to star in The Matrix, but she was unable to star in the cult film because of the scheduling conflict. She did, however, later star in The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor alongside Brendan Fraser and Jet Li.
Michelle Yeoh recently found her way back into mainstream conversation after appearing in the 2018 hit movie, Crazy Rich Asians. The film, which is based on a novel by Kevin Kwan, stars Michelle as Eleanor Sung-Young, mother of one of the film’s two leads. The film was a box office success, earning over $200 million on a $30 million budget. Michelle’s popularity and performances are widely hailed as one of the factors in the film’s success.
She has received several recognitions for her career, both as an actor and as a world personality. Yeoh was honored with the award for Greatest Action Heroine of All Time by film review website, Rotten Tomatoes. Besides acting, she was an ambassador for a cosmetics company, Guerlain. She is currently the United Nations Global Road Safety Ambassador. She has received several national honors in Malaysia, France and Perak, including the Chevalier de l’ordre national de la Légion d’honneur in 2007.
The 5ft 4in Malaysian actress is a Buddhist and she is currently in a relationship with Jean Todt, whom she has been dating since 2004.
What is Michelle Yeoh net worth?
Michelle Yeoh might as well have played herself in Crazy Rich Asians. The Malaysian actress is one of the richest actresses in the business with a total net worth of over $40 million. She can look to appearances in films like Tomorrow Never Dies, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon as significant contributors to her wealth.
