Michelle Yeoh
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Michelle_Yeoh_20040129_50.jpg
January 29, 2004
Dato' Michelle Yeoh (Template:Zh-cp; 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 graduated from the Royal Academy of Dance with a Bachelor's Degree in Dance. She was chosen by People magazine as one of the 50 Most Beautiful People in the World 1997.
Yeoh started ballet dancing at the age of four. She also excelled in athletic events. During her teenage years, Yeoh enjoyed playing squash and was also a national competitor in swimming and diving. Yeoh achieved a bachelor’s degree in creative arts. She attended London’s Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts. Yeoh was quite ambitious and was determined to gain a master’s in dancing. While she was living in England, Yeoh explored contemporary, jazz and ballet dancing. Unfortunately, her professional dancing career ended when she encountered a serious injury. Her doctor advised her not to do any stressful physical activities in the future. In 1983, Yeoh returned to Malaysia. It was at the age of 21 when Yeoh became the winner of the Miss Malaysia beauty pageant.
Yeoh's career in Hong Kong started in modeling, where she appeared in a series of commercials for Pierre Cardin, opposite action heroes Jackie Chan and Chow Yun-Fat. The Pierre Cardin brand was handled by D&B Group in Hong Kong, and this is where Yeoh met her future husband, Dickson Poon. In 1988, she retired after marrying prominent Hong Kong tycoon, Dickson Poon of D&B Films. 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.
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, 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 Chinese (Cantonese dialect), and still cannot read Chinese. In some of her early films, she recited her dialogue by rote.
In 2001, Yeoh was given the title of dato' by the Sultan of Perak, her native state. Dato' is an honorary Malaysian title somewhat like an English knighthood, and it lies below the ranks of Dato' Seri, Tan Sri and Tun.
Like many other Hong Kong stars, Yeoh has attempted to break into Hollywood. Despite starring in the James Bond film Tomorrow Never Dies (1997) and the popular Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000), which also starred Zhang Ziyi, she has not won a mainstream audience in the English-speaking world. In 2002, she produced her first English movie, The Touch through her own production company, Mythical Films.
Yeoh was reportedly engaged to Formula One Scuderia Ferrari team principal Jean Todt. However, in subsequent interviews with the press, Yeoh emphatically denied that she was engaged, saying, "I have major responsibilities now and a lot of work to do. With Memoirs of a Geisha on hand, I think I have to finish my work first."
Filmography, as actress, includes
- Silverhawk (2004)
- The Touch (2002)
- Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000)
- Moonlight Express (1999)
- Tomorrow Never Dies (1997)
- The Soong Sisters (1997)
- The Stunt Woman (1996)
- Wonder Seven (1994)
- Shaolin Popey 2: Messy Temple (1994)
- Tai-Chi Master (1994)
- Wing Chun (1994)
- Once a Cop (1993)
- Holy Weapon (1993)
- Executioners (1993)
- Butterfly and Sword (1993)
- The Heroic Trio (1993)
- Police Story 3 (1992)
- Easy Money (1987)
- Magnificent Warriors (1987)
- In the Line of Duty (1986)
- My Lucky Stars 2: Twinkle, Twinkle Lucky Stars (1985)
- Police Assassins (1985)
- The Owl and Bumbo (1984)
External links
- Template:Imdb name
- Michelle Yeoh Webring (http://yeohring.michelleyeoh.info/)
- Michelle Yeoh Web Theatre (http://michelleyeoh.info/)
- Cult Sirens: Michelle Yeoh (http://www.cultsirens.com/yeoh/yeoh.htm)fr:Michelle Yeoh