6 Things to Know About Michelle Yeoh
Her claim to mainstream fame may have skyrocketed in the past couple of years, but Michelle Yeoh has always been a star.
There's a reason why everyone loves Michelle Yeoh. From her highly acclaimed performances to her impeccable sense of style to her utmost humility and captivating personality, Yeoh will always be one of Hollywood's most supported stars. There's no role that Yeoh can't do: there's the skilled Wai Lin in Tomorrow Never Dies; the protective Yu Shu Lien in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon; the cutthroat Eleanor Sung-Young in Crazy Rich Asians, and wondrous Evelyn Wang in Everything Everywhere All At Once, among many more notable roles. But there's more to Yeoh than the characters she plays. Below, L'OFFICIEL rounds up six things about the actress that you probably didn't know.
She's Buddhist.
Born into a Buddhist family, the actress is still a practicing Buddhist. "If you're a Buddhist, you'll forever be practicing. That's the philosophy! You are learning every day. Also, my parents are Buddhists, too, so it's something that's always been in my life," Yeoh said in a 2015 interview with Condé Nast Traveler.
She initially had plans to have a career in ballet.
Yeoh may be well known for her martial arts and roundhouse kick, but she grew up practicing the elegant dance form of ballet. She went to study at the Royal Academy of Dance in London at age 15 but ultimately returned home after facing a career-ending spinal injury.
She's a former beauty pageant queen.
In her early 20s, Yeoh's mother entered her in the 1983 Miss Malaysia beauty contest, where Yeoh won the grand title. Afterward, Yeoh competed in Miss World 1983 representing Malaysia. In an interview on The Graham Norton Show, Yeoh recalls only agreeing to do the pageant to appease her mother: "I did it to shut her up. Because she wouldn't stop about it, so we had a deal. If I do this, you will never do something like this again."
She did not have any formal martial arts training.
In the 40 years that Yeoh has been an actress, one of her signatures is her martial arts moves. However, the actress did not grow up a martial artist and learned everything on the job. Her years of dance training did allow her to gain easier flexibility and fast pick up with the fighting techniques and choreography.
She's trilingual.
Most of us struggle to pick up a second language—Yeoh is fluent in three. She can speak English, Malay, and Cantonese.
Her first on-screen credit was a commercial with Jackie Chan.
Yeoh's introduction to being onscreen happened completely by chance. After winning Miss Malaysia, a friend recommended Yeoh to the co-founder of D&B Films who was looking for an actress to star in a commercial with Jackie Chan. After accepting the opportunity, Yeoh eventually signed a contract with the filming company, which was her first stepping stone into the acting industry.
