Early Life and Education
Born on August 6th, 1962 in Ipoh, Malaysia, Michelle Yeoh(楊紫瓊Yáng zǐ qióng) grew up in a modest family and was sent to a convent school for her education. From a young age, she showed an interest in dance and arts, and she eventually moved to England to study at the Royal Academy of Dance. There, she trained in ballet, and her rigorous dance education would later prove valuable in her action movie career.
Michelle Yeoh’s journey to stardom began when she won the Miss Malaysia beauty pageant in 1983. However, it was her passion for martial arts and her dedication to honing her craft that truly set her on a path to greatness.
Rising to International Fame
In 1992, Michelle Yeoh’s career took a significant turn when she cast in Jackie Chan’s movie, “Police Story 3: Super Cop(警察故事III超級警察).” Her skills of martial arts, which has been accumulated during her dance training were on full display, and audience and movie critics saw her full preparation for her role in this movie. Therefore, she gained recognition as a formidable action star. This movie paved the way for her international career.
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon(臥虎藏龍Wò hǔ cáng lóng)
Her breakthrough came with the role of Yu Shu Lien(俞秀蓮) in Ang Lee(李安)’s movie of martial arts masterpiece, “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon(臥虎藏龍)“, a performance that earned her international acclaim and an Academy Award nomination. In the movie, Yu Shu Lien was a strong, independent, and complex female character, which was somewhat unconventional for mainstream cinema at the time. Michelle Yeoh’s portrayal of Shu Lien helped break gender stereotypes in martial arts cinema, paving the way for more empowered female characters in the genre. Moreover, “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” was a culturally significant film, blending elements of traditional Chinese wuxia martial arts with a compelling and emotionally charged narrative. Michelle’s involvement in the film contributed to its authenticity and appeal to both Western and Eastern audiences.
Her memorable roles in movies like James Bond 007-sereis movie “Tomorrow Never Dies(1997)”, “Memoirs of a Geisha(2005)”, “Reign of Assassins(2010)”,”The Lady(2011)”, “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings(2021)”, “Crazy Rich Asians(2018)”, and definitely “Everything Everywhere All at Once(2022)”. Her ability to excel in different roles of diverse genres has solidified her as a beloved and respected figure in both Hollywood and the global film industry.
Everything Everywhere All At Once 媽的多重宇宙(Mā de duōchóng yǔzhòu)
“Everything Everywhere All at Once” is a highly innovative and experimental film released in 2022, directed by Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert. The movie stars Michelle Yeoh in a central role and has garnered significant attention for its unique storytelling and visual style.
Xiulian played by Michelle Yeoh, a 55-year-old Chinese-American immigrant, burns the candle at both ends between the family and career. On the birthday of her old father, in addition to preventing his daughter from coming out of the closet and wiping the butt of her useless husband, she also has to go to the tax bureau to explain to the old-fashioned woman about the tax issue. As soon as her cowordly husband stepped into the elevator of the building, he suddenly transformed into a hacker mission, claiming that he was from a version of another universe, and Xiulian was also one of millions of universes. Before she has time to understand, evil forces have spread across the multiverse and the world is about to be destroyed. Only Xiulian, who seems useless in this universe, can save the world…
In “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” Michelle Yeoh plays a character, who is entangled in a complex multiverse narrative. Her performance is multifaceted, as she portrays different versions of her character across multiple dimensions. This required a high level of acting skills and versatility, showcasing her ability to handle intricate and challenging roles.
The Lady 以愛之名(Yǐ ài zhī míng)
Another movie that I would like to recommend to everyone is the Lady directed by Luc Besson.
“The Lady” is a biographical film released in 2011. It tells the remarkable real-life story of Aung San Suu Kyi, a Burmese political leader and Nobel laureate, and Michelle Yeoh portrayed Aung San Suu Kyi in the film.
The film depicts the story of Aung San Suu Kyi, a promoter of Myanmar’s democratization, from being a housewife to joining the political movement.
She had been under house arrest by the government for in total more than 20 years and won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991. It not only performed the emotion between her and her family, but also brought out the modern political history of Myanmar.
Aung San Suu Kyi’s father, Aung San, advocated promoting democracy in Myanmar from British colonization during his lifetime. Aung San served as the 5th Premier of the British Crown Colony of Burma from 1946 to 1947. Afterwards, he led his party, the Anti-Fascist People’s Freedom League, to victory in the 1947 Burmese general election, but unfortunately he and most of his cabinet were assassinated shortly before the country became independent, and the country fell into the dictatorship of the military government for a long time.
Before returning to Myanmar in 1988
Aung San Suu Kyi, played by Michelle Yeoh, has been living in the UK for many years and has never paid attention to political affairs. After returning to visit her mother living in Yangon, she found that the country needed her to stay and fight for democracy together in 8888 Uprising in August 1988. However, the Burmese’s military government repressed the civil movement and kept her home arrest in the end. She bagan her years as a “political prisoner”. Although the government tried every means to drive her back to the UK, it also used every possible means to prevent her husband and son from visiting her in Myanmar.
In the end, she was not able to see her husband who was dying in the hospital, but she and her family firmly believed that this was her mission, and she could not leave for the sake of the people.
For her safety, her family worked hard to get her to win the Nobel Peace Prize, just to prevent the military government from taking any rash actions.
Michelle Yeoh’s performance demonstrated her acting versatility by portraying the emotional depth and strength of this historic figure. In fact, Michelle Yeoh also met with Aung San Suu Kyi in person several times to prepare for the role. Therefore, the real-life connection added authenticity to her portrayal and demonstrated her dedication to accurately representing the character.
Other Business
Her father used to work as a lawyer and politician, he is also very popular as the main person who created Express Bus Service, Sri Maju. The bus is still available, and travellers to Malaysia or Singapore are able to book bus tickets in BusOnlineTicket.
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