Michelle Yeoh

Biography

Michelle Yeoh Choo Kheng (born Yeoh Choo Kheng; August 6, 1962) is a Malaysian actress. Credited as Michelle Khan in her early films in Hong Kong, she rose to fame in the 1990s after starring in a series of Hong Kong action films where she performed her own stunts, such as Yes, Madam (1985), Magnificent Warriors (1987), Police Story 3: Supercop (1992), The Heroic Trio (1993), and Holy Weapon (1993).

After moving to the United States, Yeoh gained recognition for starring in the James Bond film Tomorrow Never Dies (1997) and in Ang Lee's martial arts film Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000), for which she was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role. For her role as an overwhelmed mother navigating the multiverse in Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022) she won the Academy Award for Best Actress, becoming the first Asian woman to win the award. Yeoh won a Golden Globe Award and a SAG Award as well. Her performance also garnered her nominations for a BAFTA Award and a Critics’ Choice Movie Award, among other accolades.

Yeoh's other notable works include Memoirs of a Geisha (2005), Sunshine (2007), The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor (2008), Reign of Assassins (2010), Kung Fu Panda 2 (2011), and The Lady (2011), where she portrayed Aung San Suu Kyi. She played supporting roles in the romantic comedies Crazy Rich Asians (2018) and Last Christmas (2019), the Marvel Cinematic Universe films Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 2 (2017) and Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021), Gunpowder Milkshake (2021), Minions: The Rise of Gru (2022), The School for Good and Evil (2022), Transformers: Rise of the Beasts (2023), A Haunting in Venice (2023), Wicked: Part One and Two (2024 and 2025), and Avatar 3 and its sequels (2025 onwards).

In television, Yeoh has starred in Marco Polo (2014-2016), Star Trek: Discovery (2017–2020), The Witcher: Blood Origin (2022), American Born Chinese (2023) and The Brothers Sun (2024).