10 Things You (Probably) Didn’t Know About Michelle Yeoh

By Melissa Romualdi. 19 May 2023 10:00 AM

To celebrate Asian Heritage Month, here are 10 things you might not know about Oscar-winning Malaysian actress, Michelle Yeoh.

Her First Screen Name Wasn't Michelle Yeoh

Photo: Keith Hamshere/Danjaq/Eon/Ua/Kobal/Shutterstock

Photo: Shutterstock

She Was Blacklisted By The Burmese Government

Photo: AP Photo/Lai Seng Sin

Photo: Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP

Photo: Lionsgate

Photo: Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP/CP Images

Photo: Gilbert Flores/Variety via Getty Images

Photo: Reuters

Photo: TPG/Getty Images

Photo: AP Photo/Chris Pizzello/CP Images

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Her First Screen Name Wasn't Michelle Yeoh
Photo: Keith Hamshere/Danjaq/Eon/Ua/Kobal/Shutterstock
After rising to fame in the mid '80s, Yeoh had gone by the screen name Michelle Khan until she starred as a Chinese spy in the James Bond franchise — 1997's "Tomorrow Never Dies" — alongside Pierce Brosnan, Judi Dench and more.
She Has 'Beef' With Jackie Chan
Photo: Shutterstock
In recent months, a clip of Yeoh calling her "good friend" Jackie Chan a "chauvinistic pig" has resurfaced from an interview she did on “Late Night with David Letterman” in 1997.

While recalling shooting a 1984 Guy Laroche watch commercial in Hong Kong with Chan — her first on-screen credit — the actress called him "a male chauvinistic pig" because "he always believes that women should stay at home and cook and don't do anything and be the victim," Yeoh explained.

"'Except for Michelle, except for Michelle,' he said because I would kick his butt," Yeoh recalled what her pal would say to her.

She added that the two "are very good friends" and that she even calls him a chauvinistic pig "to his face."
She Was Blacklisted By The Burmese Government
Photo: AP Photo/Lai Seng Sin
Prior to the release of 2011's "The Lady", in which Yeoh portrayed Aung San Suu Kyi's life — Burma's pro-democracy leader — she was banned from Burma (now Myanmar).

She tried to enter the country on June, 22, 2011 but was deported on the same day. An official told reporters that Yeoh was blacklisted and would not be able to enter the country.
She Wanted To Have A Career In Ballet
Photo: Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP
Growing up, Yeoh thought she'd be a ballerina. After beginning ballet lessons at the age of four, little Michelle dreamt of chasing her ballet dream so much so that she moved to England at 15 to study at London's prestigious Royal Academy of Dance. However, she ultimately returned home to Malaysia after facing a career-ending spinal injury, a rotated vertebrae to be exact.

"I always wanted to be a dancer," Yeoh told Letterman elsewhere during her 1997 interview. "[I wanted to be a] ballerina [and] choreographer. I wanted to share my passion with little kids and have a school back in Malaysia."
She Has No Formal Martial Arts Training
Photo: Lionsgate
Despite Yeoh's impressive kung fu skills onscreen, the actress has no formal training in martial arts. Fortunately, her bodily control and flexibility, thanks to her dance background, allowed her to take on tough action roles. She learned the moves on set of her martial arts films and trained herself in a gym with the help of veteran action stars like Dick Wei, whom she starred with in the 1985 action/crime "Yes, Madam".
She Has 'Terrible' Phone Skills
Photo: Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP/CP Images
Yeoh admits she's "terrible on the phone."

"I just text my friends and family and say, 'Hey, I'm in town'," she once said via IMDb.
She's Trilingual
Photo: Gilbert Flores/Variety via Getty Images
The "Crazy Rich Asians" star can speak fluent English, Malay, and Cantonese. Although English is not her mother tongue, despite being a well respected Hollywood star, Yeoh first learned English and Malay before picking up on Cantonese.
She'd Love To Be A Part Of Bollywood
Photo: Reuters
Yeoh previously expressed her admiration for Bollywood.

"I have done many films across the globe and would love to be a part of Bollywood, but the script must have a strong character for me," she revealed. "I grew up in Malaysia, and Bollywood is really big there. As a result, I've grown up watching a lot of Hindi movies. India is a great talent pool of actors. I see Freida Pinto making it big in Hollywood, and I am sure many others can also make it."

Yeoh also expressed a desire to work with Bollywood star, Aamir Khan.

When asked years ago if she had seen the 2009 film "3 Idiots", starring Khan, she replied: "Of course, I don't think there is anybody who hasn't seen that."
She Exercises While Brushing Her Teeth
Photo: TPG/Getty Images
After starring in “Tomorrow Never Dies", Yeoh learned to keep fit by working out whenever and wherever she got the chance to amid her busy work schedule.

“What I do is from the minute I wake up, before I get out of bed, I’m stretching," she told the Los Angeles Times in a 1999 interview, noting that she even does leg kicks and squats while brushing her teeth.

Furthermore, she added: "Throughout the day--if I’m reading, I do my sit-ups. If I’m in plane rides, I do sit-ups. If I’m waiting for a meeting--if someone else is not there--I would be doing push-ups."
She Won The Title Of Miss Malaysia
Photo: AP Photo/Chris Pizzello/CP Images
In 1983, Yeoh was crowned Miss Malaysia after her mother entered her in the beauty contest when she was in her early 20s. That same year, she headed to London where she competed in Miss World 1983 and placed eighteenth while representing Malaysia. Yeoh then travelled to Australia where she won several other beauty pageants, including Miss Moomba International 1984 and Queen of the Pacific.

10 Things You (Probably) Didn’t Know About Michelle Yeoh

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