Curiosidades

Malaysian actress. Miss Malaysia 1983. Miss Moomba 1984.

Member of the jury at the 2002 Cannes Film Festival.

Member of the jury at the 1999 Berlin International Film Festival.

Member of the International Olympic Committee since October 2023.

One of the highest paid Chinese-language actresses in the world.

Attended The Hammond School in Chester, Cheshire, England where she began her training as a ballet dancer. However, a spinal injury keep her from becoming a professional ballet dancer and she changed her attention to choreography and other arts.

Received her Bachelor of Arts degree in creative arts with a minor in drama from the Royal Academy of Dance (RAD) in London, England (1982). Received her Bachelor of Arts degree in creative arts with a minor in drama from Crewe + Alsagar College of Higher Education in Manchester, England (1983).

She is the second woman of color to win the Academy Award for Best Actress. She received her Oscar for Tudo em Todo o Lugar ao Mesmo Tempo (2022) from Jessica Chastain and Halle Berry, the latter of whom is the first woman of color to win the award. Yeoh won the award twenty-one years after Berry.

Her Best Actress Academy Award nomination for Tudo em Todo o Lugar ao Mesmo Tempo (2022) made her the first self-identifying Asian actress to be nominated in the category. (Merle Oberon was the first Best Actress nominee of Asian descent in 1936, but she did not publicly reveal her ancestry).

Is known to have full contract stunt fighting style. For the fight scene in the bicycle shop in 007 - O Amanhã Nunca Morre (1997), the producers had to call in Jackie Chan's Stuntmen Association because none of the stuntmen wanted to do the scene with her, on account of her skill set.

During the making of O Tigre e o Dragão (2000), she injured her anterior cruciate ligament during the shooting of an early fighting sequence and had to be flown to the United States for knee surgery. She returned to the movie scenery at dissimilar times to film non-action scenes until her knee had recovered.

During the making of Podres de Ricos (2018), she was dissatisfied with the mock-up ring that her character, Eleanor Young, was going to wear. She showed director Jon M. Chu a ring from her personal collection and this eventually became the emerald and diamond ring Eleanor wears in the movie.

She has appeared in three films that have been nominated for the Best Picture Oscar: O Tigre e o Dragão (2000), Tudo em Todo o Lugar ao Mesmo Tempo (2022) and Wicked (2024). Tudo em Todo o Lugar ao Mesmo Tempo (2022) is a winner in the category.

During the making of Police Story 3: Supercop (1992), she and Jackie Chan became involved in a stunt competition, which keep escalating until the former had to inform the latter that he would end up dead trying to exceed her each time at the rate they were going.

She went through an intense six-week preparation for Memórias de uma Gueixa (2005), described as a "geisha boot camp" before production commenced. She and her co-star Ziyi Zhang nicknamed this crash course as "The Seven Rooms of Torture".

She has been an ambassador and leading campaigner for the FIA's Make Roads Safe campaign to be recognized as a global public health and development goal since 2008. She has also been a goodwill ambassador for the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) for the Sustainable Development Goals initiative since 2010.

She worked with the National Geographic Society (BGS) to produce the television documentary Among the Great Apes with Michelle Yeoh (2009) in order to raise awareness about wildlife conservation and climate change, while emphasizing the importance of responsible consumerism, sustainable fashion, and ethical business practices.

On June 22, 2011, she landed at Rangoon Airport (now Yangon International Airport) and was deported on the same day. She had previously travelled to Myanmar, including in December 2010 to visit Daw Aung San Suu Kyi with Kim Aris, Suu Kyi's son. A Burmese government official later said the actress was blacklisted and would not be able to enter Burma.

Knight Commander of the Order of the Perak State Crown (DPMP) (19 April 2001), Knight of the National Order of the Legion of Honour of France (3 October 2007), Officer of the National Order of the Legion of Honour of France (14 March 2012), Knight Grand Commander of the Order of the Perak State Crown (SPMP) (22 May 2012), Officer of the National Order of Arts and Letters of France (12 February 2016), Commander of the National Order of the Legion of Honour of France (27 March 2017).

She was awarded Commander of the Order of Loyalty to the Crown of Malaysia (PSM) by Tuanku Abdul Halim Mu'adzam Shah, the Yang di-Pertuan Agong on June 1, 2013 for her services to the film industry. She eventually received the honorary title of Yang Berbahagia Tan Sri Dato' Seri.

She was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Joe Biden on May 3, 2024, America's highest civilian honor, at a White House ceremony for her services to the film industry. She was cited for continuing "to shatter stereotypes and enrich American culture".

She was awarded a star on the Hong Kong Avenue of Stars in Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong.

She was awarded the Kirk Douglas Award from the Santa Barbara International Film Festival in Santa Barbara, California on December 9, 2022. She was awarded the International Star Award from the Palm Springs International Film Festival in Palm Springs, California on January 5, 2023.

Received an honorary degree (Doctor of Fine Arts) from the American Film Institute for her services of distinction to the arts of the moving image on August 13, 2022 Received an honorary degree (Doctor of Humane Letters) from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology for her services to the film industry on November 16, 2023.

She was honored as The Outstanding Young Person in the World (TOYP) (Cultural Achievement) by Junior Chamber International (JCI), an international non-governmental organization of young people between 18 and 40 years old. (25 de novembro de 2002)

She was awarded as the Crystal Award by the World Economic Forum (WEF), an international non-governmental organization, for her role as a cultural leader and for her services to society as an exceptional artist. (9 de janeiro de 2024)

Unlike many of her contemporaries from Hong Kong action films, she has no formal martial arts training and simply learned moves for films, assisted by extensive ballet training.

She has expressed her support of Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak and the political coalition Barisan Nasional (National Front) ahead of the 2013 Malaysian general election.

She was very good friends with singer-actress Anita Mui since the early 1990s. She also hosted a memorial service for the singer-actress (called the Madonna of the East) (2007).

Was on the Time 100, a list of the 100 most influential people in the world by Time magazine. (2022)

Chosen by People (USA) magazine as one of the 50 Most Beautiful People in the World. (1997)

As of 2019, currently resides in Geneva, Switzerland.

Speaks Cantonese, Mandarin and English fluently.