Early life

Yeoh was born into a wealthy Malaysian family. From an early age, she was involved in various physical activities, including basketball and swimming, though she was particularly interested in ballet. As a teenager, she attended the Royal Academy of Dance in London, but a back injury ended her dreams of becoming a professional ballet dancer. She subsequently planned on opening a ballet school, but in 1983 her mother entered her in the Miss Malaysia pageant. Yeoh won, and she later appeared in a commercial with Jackie Chan. The ad led to an acting contract with a Hong Kong production company, which suggested her early stage name, Michelle Khan.

Star of Hong Kong films

In 1984 Yeoh made her big-screen debut, appearing in the action-drama Mao tou ying yu xiao fei xiang (The Owl vs. Bumbo). Although cast as the love interest, she was drawn to the fight sequences, noting that their choreography and rhythm were reminiscent of dancing. Hoping to again express herself physically, Yeoh began intense training, and her dance background proved invaluable. She was flexible, fast, and highly tolerant of pain. In 1985 she starred in the martial arts movie Huang jia shi jie (Yes, Madam!), about two female police officers. It was an early entrant in the so-called “girls with guns” genre. A series of other action films followed for Yeoh, but in 1988 she married film producer Dickson Poon and retired. Although Yeoh hoped to start a family, she was unable to have children. After the couple divorced in 1992, she resumed her acting career.

In 1992 Yeoh starred with Chan in Ging chaat goo si III: chiu kup ging chaat (Police Story 3: Supercop; also called Supercop). The action-comedy film featured a number of incredible stunts. In one memorable sequence, Yeoh hung from one side of a speeding van, swung onto the roof to avoid a bus, rolled toward the back, tumbled off, and landed on the hood of a pursuing car. That and subsequent films, including Chiu kup gai wak (1993; Supercop 2), established her as a leading star in Hong Kong. Her stunts typically highlighted her grace, precision, and fearlessness. However, Yeoh suffered a number of serious injuries during her career. For instance, during the filming of A Jin de gu shi (1996; The Stunt Woman) in 1995, she almost broke her back. While recuperating, she considered retiring again, but a conversation she had with American director Quentin Tarantino, who was a fan, encouraged her to continue acting.

Global fame and later movies

In 1997 Yeoh became known to a wider audience with Tomorrow Never Dies, a James Bond film in which she played a Chinese agent. A departure from the typical “Bond girl,” her character is as intelligent and capable as the British spy. The film was also notable because Yeoh was hired for her acting, not her stunt work. She attained global stardom with Ang Lee’s Wo hu cang long (2000; Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon). The critically acclaimed film combined spectacular action scenes with a heartfelt love story between warrior Yu Shu Lien (Yeoh) and martial arts master Li Mu Bai (Chow Yun-Fat). It was a box office sensation and won several Academy Awards.

A series of English-language films followed. In 2005 Yeoh appeared in the drama Memoirs of a Geisha, and three years later she played an ancient sorceress in the action-adventure film The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor. Continuing to show her range as an actress, she starred in The Lady (2011), a biopic about Aung San Suu Kyi, an embattled activist whose efforts to bring democracy to Burma (now Myanmar) earned her the 1991 Nobel Prize for Peace. In 2016 Yeoh reprised the role of Yu Shu Lien in Wo hu cang long: qing ming bao jian (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Sword of Destiny). The following year she appeared in the second installment of Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy franchise. Her high-profile projects continued with Crazy Rich Asians (2018), a rom-com based on Kevin Kwan’s best-selling novel. Hugely popular, the movie featured Yeoh as a steely matriarch who objects to her son’s girlfriend. During this time she also had a recurring role on the TV show Star Trek: Discovery.

In 2021 Yeoh appeared in another Marvel movie, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. The next year, she garnered rave reviews for Everything Everywhere All at Once, the first Hollywood film in which she had the lead role. In the sci-fi comedy, Yeoh was cast as a laundromat owner who must save the multiverse. The role required her to play various versions of the character, one of whom is an actress who is also a martial arts expert. For her portrayal, Yeoh won the Oscar for best actress, becoming the first Asian performer to receive that award. In addition, she also earned a Golden Globe Award. Her other 2022 films include Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank and Minions: The Rise of Gru—animated comedies to which she lent her voice.

Yeoh remained busy. Her films from 2023 include Kenneth Branagh’s A Haunting in Venice, an adaptation of an Agatha Christie novel featuring detective Hercule Poirot. The following year she did voice work for several projects, including the animated movie The Tiger’s Apprentice. Also in 2024 Yeoh received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from U.S. Pres. Joe Biden.