MICHELLE YEOH: THE FIRST ASIAN WOMAN WINNER OF THE OSCAR- AAPI MONTH SPECIAL

Who is the first person you will think of when speaking of martial arts movies? Some of the most expected answers might be Jackie Chan, Bruce Lee, or Jet Li. This year, another Asian actress’s name is entering the household of American movie lovers. The winner of 2023’s oscar for best actress, Michelle Yeoh became the first Asian woman to win this award in history. She is deserving of her title for her absolutely stunning performance in the movie Everything Everywhere All At Once. (Check out our Youtube video where we analyzed this movie's Cantonese conversations!) In honor of this year’s Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) month, we will unfold the background, language journey, and some movie recommendations of Michelle Yeoh.

Background

Michelle Yeoh, 楊紫瓊 (joeng4 zi2 king4 | yáng zǐ qióng, yieng4 du2 ken4)

Michelle Yeoh, or 楊紫瓊, borned on August 1962 in Ipoh, Malaysia, did not envision herself as a movie star as a child. Being an incredibly active girl, she tried out all types of different sports and physical activities such as swimming and ballet. Her childhood dream was to become a professional ballet dancer and she was well-equipped on her way of achieving that dream when she entered the Royal Academy of Dance in London. Unfortunately, this dream was cut short by a spinal injury that occurred during a ballet practice session.

She compromised with her situation and set her sights on becoming a dance teacher after she graduated with a Bachelor’s in Creative Arts. But life certainly had different plans for her when her mother entered her into the 1983 Miss Malaysia beauty pageant without her knowledge. She ended up winning and was crowned Miss Malaysia at the age of 21 and entered into Miss World in 1983. Her title as Miss Malaysia opened up different opportunities for her. 

Michelle met a Hong Kong businessman who was looking for someone to shoot a watch commercial with Jackie Chan. She accepted the offer and traveled to Hong Kong. One thing led to another, Michelle got other commercial offers after her first one. The businessman, Dickson Poon (she was later married to for three years), saw potential in Michelle and offered her a film contract under his production company D&B films. Her first film was The Owl Vs. Bumbo. The film’s fight scenes inspired her to start picking up on different physical activities again. She trained intensively in an attempt to overcome her back injury, spending seven to eight hours in the gym a day. She gained a major role in the action movie Yes! Madam in 1985. With a good foundation and her intensive training, her movements are powerful yet graceful. Her dance-like fighting movements and stunts (she likes to do the stunts herself) attracted a lot more action film offers. She established her name as a leading action star in Hong Kong through the film series Supercop. 

Language Journey

Michelle speaks many languages. As a native Malaysian with ethnic Chinese parents, her first language is English and did not speak Cantonese often before beginning her acting career in Hong Kong where she had to learn and practice the local language. She learned English and Malay in schools in Malaysia. Knowing a little Cantonese, she was able to enter into the entertainment world in Hong Kong during its golden era. Through everyday interactions with friends and co-stars she began to improve her Cantonese. In a 1984 interview with TVB, she can already speak pretty fluent Cantonese with very little pronunciation and structural flaws. Not very long after, she learned some Mandarin under the influence of her movie Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon 臥虎藏龍. She mentioned how it was quite a challenge for her to learn and pronounce her Mandarin lines. She used the language in many following interviews. Although there were some pronunciation mistakes and she might sometimes have trouble with finding the right vocabulary, Michelle was totally communicative with the hosts. We stan a multilingual queen!

Her Inspiring Purpose

The stunts in many of her movies were dangerous and Michelle ended up with a lot more heavy injuries. The worst of them all would be an almost broken back during a shooting session of The Stunt Woman. She also tore a ligament during Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and dislocated her elbow during Wing Chun. These are only a few examples of her injuries. There were times where she considered retiring from her career, but she held onto her passion and her dream. Yeoh has mentioned many times that by doing what she loves, she hopes to inspire others who think their goals are impossible to achieve. She uses action to boldly say the words “You can do it too. You can do anything.” Her determination, bravery, and commitment is something so precious and rare to find. She is a role model for many out there including us here at Inspirlang.

Recommendations of Movies Michelle Yeoh Starred In

1.The Soong Sisters (宋家皇朝)

This movie is very interesting because it is a compact of Chinese history. It starts out at the end of China’s last dynasty (Qing Dynasty) and how it fell to open a new chapter of China. A lot of politics and well known historical events are included in the movie. The story is told through the lives of the Soong sisters (Nancy Ai-Ling Soong, Soong Ching-ling, Soong May-ling) instead of a historical documentary which adds life to the story.

2.Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (臥虎藏龍)Directed by Ang Lee and starred by Michelle Yeoh and Chow Yun-fat in Mandarin, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon is one of Michelle’s most successful films. The wuxia martial arts film revolves around honesty, gender inequality, and love. The movie is filmed in Mandarin  (even Chow Yun-fat 周潤發 uses mandarin here lol). I wish they could speak more during the movie though since most of it is martial arts scenes. 

3.警察故事3：超级警察

This movie starred Jackie Chan and Michelle Yeoh. They are partners for a case to capture a major drug lord. When they are executing their plan, a mishap happens when Jackie’s character’s girlfriend appears and misunderstands him for cheating. She was then taken as hostage when she accidentally blew Jackie and Michelle’s cover. Watch the movie if you want to know what happens next, we will stop here with the spoilers. This movie is filled with action and comedy. A good movie for family movie night.

4.Crazy Rich Asians

Last but not least there is one of the newer ones, Crazy Rich Asians. This is an English film but it is still an entertaining movie recommendation. The story takes place in Singapore, and there are some Mandarin scenes in there but most importantly the film demonstrates many Asian cultural characteristics. You can see the Asian (more specifically upper class Chinese) view of marriage and social class. In China, families are very much involved in a couple’s marriage. They have a saying of 門當戶對 which translates to “Gate Match House Fits”. It means that in order to have a long lasting and happy marriage, the social class and upbringing of two people must be equal. The movie shows how a mother rejects her son’s girlfriend due to the difference in social class and how the girlfriend (female protagonist) proves her worth and love. A cute and inspiring story wrapped in luxury. Quite worth watching… or even re-watching.

Watching movies are a great way to learn a new language. A few of the movies Michelle Yeoh participates in are Cantonese and Mandarin. You may want to learn some basics before watching them for language practice. We have multiple resources available for you.

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