Michelle Yeoh Chu-Ken (aka Michelle Yeo and Yang Ziqiong) is a Malaysian actress, producer, screenwriter and singer of Chinese descent. According to the publishing house "People", in 1997, Michelle entered the list of fifty most beautiful people on the planet. The actress is known to the audience for her roles in the films: "Tomorrow Never Dies", "The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor", "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon", "Mechanic: Resurrection".
Michelle began her creative biography in the 80s of the last century with work in advertising. Today Michelle is the highest paid Chinese-speaking actress in the world and the most famous actress in Asia. Yeo has been a member of the jury at the Cannes and Berlin Film Festivals several times.
Michelle has been nominated for several prestigious cinematic awards: Saturn, MTV, BAFTA, Golden Horse, Hong Kong Film Academy Award. The actress also won a Media Award at the Asian American International Film Festival and a ShoWest Convention Award.
The actress received the honorary Malaysian title of Dato from Sultan Perak in 2001.
Former French President Jacques Chirac presented the actress with the Legion of Honor for strengthening the friendship between France and Malaysia in 2007. And in 2012 she received the Legion of Honor from Nicolas Sarkozy.
Michelle is the only actress who was allowed by the famous Jackie Chan to stage her own stunts on the set.
early years
The girl was born in Malaysia in the summer of 1962. Her father was a lawyer by training and practiced law, and her mother was a housekeeper.
In early childhood, Michelle was very fond of dancing, so her parents sent her to study at a ballet school. When she was fifteen years old, the family moved to London. There, the girl continued to practice dancing professionally, first at a specialized school, and then at the Royal Academy.
Yeo dreamed of performing on the big stage. But, having received a serious spinal injury, she was forced to refuse further education at the academy. Doctors were unable to fully restore Michelle's health. Then she decided to try herself as a choreographer.
Creative way
At the age of twenty-one, Michelle entered a beauty pageant and was named Miss Malaysia. In 1983 she represented the country in the Miss World competition. It was there that the girl was noticed by representatives of the advertising company and invited to the shooting.
Michelle starred in an advertisement for a watch along with the famous actor Jackie Chan, who was very impressed with the actress's talents, and later worked with her on the set more than once.
Yeoh made his film debut in the early 80s. She played a small role in Flynn and Bambo. The actress got her first leading role in the project “Yes, Madame!”, Where for the first time she independently demonstrated complex tricks on the set, abandoning understudies and stuntmen.
It is interesting to note that the actress has never practiced the oriental martial arts, which she demonstrated so magnificently in the frame. She was helped by professional sports and choreographic training and classes with instructors.
There was a short break in the career of the actress when she got married and decided to devote herself entirely to her family. But after the divorce, Michelle returned to the cinema and took up her acting career again.
In 1997, Michelle was invited to play the role of Colonel Wei Ling in the next film about the adventures of James Bond: "Tomorrow Never Dies." Here she played with Pierce Brosnan. The actress again worked on the set without understudies, independently performing all the difficult stunts, for which she was nominated for an MTV Film Award in the Best Fight category.
Real fame in world cinema came to Yeoh after the release of the movie "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon", which won four Oscars. The actress herself was nominated for the Saturn and BAFTA awards.
In her later career as an actress, there are many excellent roles in famous films: Adventurers, Memoirs of a Geisha, Inferno, Babylon AD, The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, Lady, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Sword of Destiny”,“Morgan”,“Mechanic: Resurrection”,“Guardians of the Galaxy 2”,“Star Trek: Discovery”,“Master Z: Legacy of Ip Man”.
In the coming years, several new projects will be released, where Michelle will play the leading roles. In particular, she was invited to shoot the second and subsequent parts of the cult picture "Avatar".
Personal life
Dixon Poon became Michelle's husband in 1988. He had nothing to do with cinema and was a well-known businessman in Hong Kong. The husband did not want his wife to continue working in the cinema, and Michelle did not contradict him. However, the marriage lasted only a few years. In 1992, Michelle and Dixon divorced.
In 2008, rumors appeared in the press that Yeo was engaged to Jean Todt, the manager of Ferrari. But soon this information was refuted and the wedding, which the fans of the actress had been waiting for, did not take place.
