If you have any corrections or things you think I should add to this page please just e-mail me and I take a look. I will always be adding little things to this page so I can have the best Michelle Yeoh FAQ on the Internet.
(1) Michelle's vital info
What are Michelle's Statistics?
What is her marital status?
(2) General information
Yeoh or Khan? Which is her name!?
What are Michelle's origins?
What languages does she speak?
What martials art does Michelle perform?
Was she a stunt woman?
Does she do all of her own stunts?
What injuries has she suffered?
(3) Michelle's acting career
How did she get into acting?
What was her first film?
How many movies has she made?
Has she won any awards for acting?
Where can I buy her movies?
What is 'Mythical Films'?
What is her next project?
What is her most successful film?
(4) Misc. questions
Why did she quit dancing?
When did she move to Hong Kong?
Who are some of the people she has worked with?
(5) About this site and the webmaster
Are you Michelle Yeoh?
Have you ever met her?
Do you have any contact with her?
(1) Michelle's vital info
- What are Michelle Yeoh's Statistics?
- Birthdate: August 6th, 1962
- Birthplace: Ipoh, Perak (Malaysia)
- Real Name: Michelle Yeoh
- Previous Name: Michelle Khan
- Professional Name: Known to Chinese people as Yeoh Chu-Kheng (Cantonese) or Yang Zi-Qiong (Mandarin). She is known to western audiences as Michelle Yeoh (formely known as Michelle Khan, see below).
- Height: 5'3" (162cm)
- Weight: 100lbs (47kgs)
- What is her marital status?
She was married to Dickson Poon. The marriage ended in divorce in 1992. She was also engaged again to another man later in the 90's, it ended because he couldn't accept her working all the time.
(2) General information
- Yeoh or Khan? Which is her name!?
This one has confused a lot of people. Michelle's Chinese name is Yeoh Choo-Kheng, her old friends
in England and Malasyia call her 'Choo'. The surname Khan was chosen for her because it sounded
less Asian to people when her movies were distributed to Europe. When Supercop was released in
America she was advised to keep the name Khan because people outside of Asia new her as that
name from her ealier movies released. She changed her name back to Michelle Yeoh for the
release of Tommorow Never Dies.
- What are Michelle's origins?
She was born in the tin mining town of Ipoh, in western Malasyia. She began Ballet dancing at the age of
four. Her ethnically Chinese parents tought her Malay and English before she learned Cantonese.
She began ballet dancing at the age of four, and, inspired by Fame (1980), she enrolled in England's
Royal Academy of Dance, where she eventually earned a BA. As a back injury ended her career as a dancer,
she returned to Malaysia where she won the Miss Malaysia contest in 1983. From there, she appeared in a
television commercial with Jackie Chan which caught the attention of a fledgling film production company
called D&B Films.
- What languages does she speak?
She speaks English, Malay and Cantonese fluently. She also knows some Mandarin as a result of starring in Crouching Tiger, Hidden
Dragon, which was filmed entirely in Mandarin. She had to learn all of her lines from a voice coach 3 months before the movie, and
even then, she still had difficulty with the language, Non-Mandarin speaking people will not be able to notice.
- What martials art does Michelle perform?
None actually, she has never been formally trained in any fighting style. Make no mistake though, she can fight,
she studied people such as Jackie Chan, Bruce Lee etc. and improvised. Her favourite part of fighting is her kicks, she performs several hundred each day.
Note: Even in the movie Wing Chun (about the famous female martial artist who invented her own style of fighting
called 'Wing Chun', made famous by Bruce Lee) she does not perform any actual Wing Chun.
- Was she a stunt woman?
No, infact, she has been quoted as saying "I'm not a stunt woman. I'm just an actress who enjoys doing my own stunts". That
is a very modest responce though, she has performed some of the most dangerous stunts ever seen on film. eg the motorbike
jump from a cliff onto a moving train in Police Story 3. Has to be seen to be believed.
- Does she do all of her own stunts?
No. No famous actor or actress performs all of there own stunts, even the legendary stunt man Jackie Chan uses a
double sometimes. But, she has performed the most dangerous stunts of her career on her own.
- What injuries has she suffered?
Too many to count. But her most serious ones are tearing her knee ligaments in a scene in Crouching Tiger involving
wires. She also fell 18 feet off a bridge in Ah Kam and cracked her rib. There is also the non-movie related injury
from ballet in which she injured her spine (ending her dance career). However, there would be just too many to list
on this page that she would have suffered over her career.
(3) Michelle's acting career
- How did she get into acting?
She appeared in a TV commercial with Jackie Chan which caught the attention of a film production company
called D&B Films. From there she got her start.
- What was her first film?
Her first film was an action comedy called 'Owl vs Dumbo'. It also starred Sammo Hung and George Lam.
- How many movies has she made?
She been in a total of 21 movies. Check the filmography section for more info.
- Has she won any awards for acting?
Yes she has. Infact, she just won the 2001 BT Ethnic Multicultural Media Awards Best Actress award
for her work in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.
- Where can I buy her movies?
There are many places to buy her movies online. (Beware though, different countries have different region codes
and video formats for DVD and VHS. Make sure you can play the movie before you actually buy it!) Note:
I have tried to include places to buy from all areas of the world. There are some from America, Europe, Australia
and Asia. (These links will open a new window)
- Amazon.com : stock a huge range of her movies including her Hong Kong and Hollywood work. The place to buy her movies if you live in America or can play US version movies. (DVD/VHS)
- HKFlix.com : another great place to buy Michelle movies, they have most of her movies on DVD and VCD (no VHS unfortunatly, for those of you with no DVD player), second only to Amazon. (DVD/VCD)
- Topshop.com.au : a small Australian webshop with only a couple of Michelle Yeoh titles (Tommorow Never Dies, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon) but great customer service. (DVD)
- Blackstar Video : probably the best place to shop if you live in the UK, they have a great range of VHS and DVD titles with her best Hong Kong and Hollywood movies. (DVD/VHS)
- Chinatown Video : a very good place to buy Michelle Yeoh VHS movies if you live in Australia. Titles they have include Wing Chun, Heroic Trio, Police Story 3...etc. (VHS)
- Tai Seng : a collection of over 2000 titles on DVD, VHS and VCD! They have all of the usual movies plus harder to find Michelle Yeoh movies like Easy Money. A US and Canada store. (DVD/VCD/VHS)
- Poker Industries : simply fantastic. All of the movies you could ever want and ALL of there DVDs are region code free! A highly recommended place to buy her movies. (DVD/VCD)
- Hong Kong Legends : While they only have one Michelle Yeoh DVD right now (about to change soon), simply put, there DVD's are AMAZING!. Perfect picture and sound quality. (DVD)
- YesAsia.com : a huge shop that ships all over the world and has a great range of Michelle titles. Another good bonus is that a lot of they DVDs are region-free. Great place to buy. (DVD/VCD)
Click here to see more information on buying online.
- What is 'Mythical Films'?
It is the production company Michelle founded with Media Asia. She will be using it to produce and star in a number
of new films including The Touch. The company will mainly make movies in Asia because thats Michelle's home and
her favourite place to work.
- What is her next project?
It is a film made by her production company (Mythical Films) called 'The Touch'. It will be released in mid-2002.
For a lot more information on that click here. She has also signed up to
star in the prequel to Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.
- What is her most successful film?
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. It grossed over $120 million in the US and won several awards including 2 Golden Globes
(Best Director, Best Foreign Film) and 4 Oscars (Original Score, Cinematography, Best Art Direction and Best Foreign Film).
She also won the best actress award at the 2001 BT Ethnic Multicultural Media Awards for Crouching Tiger.
(4) Misc. questions
- Why did she quit dancing?
She didn't quit, a spinal injury ended her career.
- When did she move to Hong Kong?
I don't know the exact date, but it was after she won the Miss Malaysia contest. She got a role
in a commercial with Jackie Chan then moved to Hong Kong to pursue an acting career (which was a very good move).
- Who are some of the people she has worked with?
She has worked with just about every Hong Kong star and a few big Hollywood stars. Some of them are : Jackie Chan, Chow-yun Fat,
Jet Li, Maggie Cheung, Anita Mui, Pierce Brosnan, Ang Lee, Zhang Ziyi and more..
(5) About This Site and Me
- Are you Michelle Yeoh?
No. Please don't send me fan mail. I often recieve it and have nowhere to send it.
- Have you ever met her?
Again, no. As I live in Australia it would be very difficult for me to meet her. I would really like to meet her one day though.
- Do you have any contact with her?
No. I have absolutely no contact with Michelle at all.
