Michelle Yeoh
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| Michelle Yeoh 楊紫瓊 |
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 Michelle Yeoh at Cannes, 2000 |
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| Birth name | Yeoh Choo-Kheng |
| Born | August 6, 1962 (age 44) Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia |
| Notable roles | Yu Shu Lien in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon Wai Lin in Tomorrow Never Dies Mameha in Memoirs of a Geisha |
Dato' Michelle Yeoh Choo-Kheng (Traditional Chinese: 楊紫瓊; Simplified Chinese: 杨紫琼; pinyin: Yáng Zǐqióng; Cantonese (Yale romanization): yeung4 ji2 king4; born August 6, 1962) is a Hong Kong-based actress and dancer, sometimes billed as "Michelle Khan". Yeoh is a Chinese Malaysian born in Ipoh, Malaysia. Yeoh was chosen by People magazine as one of the 50 Most Beautiful People in the World in 1997.
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[edit] Beginning of career
In 1983, Yeoh returned to her home country, Malaysia. It was at the age of 21 when Yeoh became the winner of the Miss Malaysia beauty pageant in 1983. She was also Malaysia's representative at the 1983 Miss World pageant in London. From there, she appeared in a television commercial with Jackie Chan which caught the attention of a fledgling film production company called D&B Films.
Yeoh's career in Hong Kong started with a few commercials for Charles Jourdan, opposite action movie heroes Jackie Chan and Chow Yun-Fat before being offered a film contract. The Charles Jourdan brand was handled by D&B Group in Hong Kong, run by Yeoh's future husband, Dickson Poon. In 1988, she retired after marrying Poon. Three years later, the couple divorced, and Yeoh returned to acting in 1992. Her first movie after the comeback was Police Story 3, which was partly shot in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
[edit] Ascension to fame
Despite having no formal martial arts training, Yeoh is best known for her roles in action and martial arts movies (notably The Heroic Trio in 1993, and the Yuen Woo-ping films Tai Chi Master and Wing Chun in 1994). She relies on her dance training and instructors, and does many of her own stunts. She is one of the few women Jackie Chan allows to do her own stunts in his movies; they first worked together on a commercial in 1984.
Yeoh learned English and Malay before Cantonese, and still cannot read Chinese. In some of her early films, she recited her dialogue by rote.
Like many other Hong Kong stars, Yeoh has attempted to break into Hollywood. She starred in the James Bond film Tomorrow Never Dies (1997) --garnering considerable praise as one of the genre's most popular Bond Girls-- and the popular Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000). Thereafter she was offered the role of Seraph in the two Matrix sequels but could not accept due to a scheduling conflict (the Matrix writers then changed Seraph into a male character and cast Collin Chou in the role). In 2002, she produced her first English movie, The Touch through her own production company, Mythical Films.
In early 2005, Michelle finished the shooting of Memoirs of a Geisha, a Hollywood-produced ensemble drama based on a story of Japanese geisha. The film was released on December 9, 2005. [1]
[edit] Romance
In December 2004, some media reported that Ferrari Formula One team principal Jean Todt engaged to Yeoh. "I proposed to her and we are now engaged," reportedly said the 58 year old Todt. However, a day later, Yeoh denied the engagement. During a phone interview with Chinese-language newspaper Oriental Daily News, Yeoh was asked about the engagement and she exclaimed, "What? How did that come about? I did not know about it?" When asked whether Todt had asked her to marry him, she said, "No, I have a lot of responsibilities and I've got a lot of work and projects to do. I think I'll get them done first." The marriage rumors began circulating when Yeoh brought Todt home to visit with her family in December 2004. "This is the first time I have brought Jean to see my parents. Everybody seems to like him and he has been accepted by family members, but we have not talked about marriage just yet," she said. When questioned about the beautiful blue diamond ring that she was wearing, she said it was not an engagement ring but just a present from Todt. Yeoh stated that she was happy with the relationship as it was and that she would "inform everyone if she got married in the future." Todt and Yeoh met in June 2004 in a promotional event organized by Ferrari in Shanghai, China. They were introduced by Yeoh's former beau of four years, Hong Kong movie producer Thomas Chung.
Michelle Yeoh was previously married to Hong Kong businessman Dickson Poon.
Michelle Yeoh has announced she will marry Jean Todt after Babylon AD is completed.
[edit] Awards
In 2001, Yeoh was given the title of Dato' by the Sultan of Perak, her home state. Dato is an honorary Malaysian title somewhat like a British knighthood, and it lies below the ranks of Dato' Seri, Tan Sri and Tun.
[edit] Nominations
BAFTA Film Awards 2000 - Best Actress (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon)
[edit] Filmography
- The Owl and Bumbo (1984)
- Yes, Madam (1985)
- My Lucky Stars 2 - Twinkle, Twinkle Lucky Stars (1985)
- In the Line of Duty (1986)
- Magnificent Warriors (1987)
- Easy Money (1987)
- Supercop - Police Story III (1992)
- The Heroic Trio (1993)
- Butterfly and Sword (1993)
- Executioners (film) (1993)
- Holy Weapon (1993)
- Once a Cop (1993)
- Wing Chun (1994)
- The Tai-Chi Master (1994)
- Shaolin Popey 2 - Messy Temple (1994)
- Wonder Seven (1994)
- The Stunt Woman (1996)
- The Soong Sisters (1997)
- Tomorrow Never Dies (1997)
- Moonlight Express (1999)
- Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000)
- The Touch (2002)
- Silver Hawk (2004)
- Memoirs of a Geisha (2005)
- Fearless (2006) (directors cut only)
- Sunshine (2007)
- True North (2007)
- The Children of Huang Shi (2007)
- Babylon A.D. (film)
[edit] External links
- Michelle Yeoh at the Internet Movie Database
- Supercop as Woman Warrior at Salon magazine.
- Interview with Michelle Yeohon the Tavis Smiley show
- Michelle Yeoh Web Theatre - complete website on Michelle Yeoh
