Michelle Yeoh

Michelle Yeoh’s critically acclaimed filmography has made her an icon of 20th and 21st century cinema.  Born in Ipoh, Malaysia, Yeoh cut her teeth in beauty pageants before rising to fame in 1980s Hong Kong action films, in which she famously performed her own stunts and martial arts. Yeoh moved to the US in the 1990s and kickstarted her Hollywood chapter with the 1997 James Bond flick "Tomorrow Never Dies," before starring in "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" and "Memoirs of a Geisha". But it was for her role in the 2022 film "Everything Everywhere All at Once" that Yeoh won the 2023 Academy Award for Best Actress, making her the accolade’s first Asian recipient and the first Malaysian to win an Oscar. 

The Oscar also revived interest in Yeoh as a fashion muse, helping her to secure covers for international editions of magazines like Vogue and Elle. Earlier in her career, Yeoh had appeared in several fashion titles and collaborated with the likes of Guerlain, Helena Rubinstein, La Mer and Richard Mille, but it wasn’t until 2023 that she secured a luxury fashion brand ambassadorship — in her 60s, with Balenciaga. The link-up with the latter not only made her a front row fixture at the brand’s shows but is to thank for her bold gown at the 2024 Met Gala. 

Considered one of the film industry’s greatest action heroes of all time, Yeoh was named Time magazine’s Icon of the Year in 2022. She received the US Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2024 for continuing “to shatter stereotypes and enrich American culture.”