Aug. 6 (UPI) — Oscar-winning actress Michelle Yeoh is celebrating her 64th birthday.
The Malaysian actress has entertained audiences for over 40 years with her versatile roles, from wuxia heroine Shu Lien in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon to parallel universe-hopping laundromat owner Evelyn in Everything Everywhere All at Once.
Yeoh will next star with Hunter Schafer in the Prime Video series Blade Runner 2099, which premieres in November. For now, here’s a look back at 8 of her iconic film and TV roles.
The 1997 action spy movie introduced Yeoh to an international audience and helped launch her Hollywood film career.
The second James Bond movie to star Pierce Brosnan, Tomorrow Never Dies follows 007 as he attempts to stop a media mogul (Jonathan Pryce) from intentionally starting a third world war. The mission brings Bond to China, where he works and develops a romance with local agent Wai Lin (Yeoh).
Tomorrow Never Dies also stars Teri Hatcher, Joe Don Baker and Judi Dench. The film is available to rent on streaming platforms.
‘Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon’
The 2000 period drama is based on the Wang Dulu novel and helped acquaint Western audiences with the wuxia fantasy martial arts genre.
Directed by famed Taiwanese filmmaker Ang Lee, the film takes place in 18th-century Imperial China and follows two warriors, Shu Lien (Yeoh) and Mu Bai (Chow Yun-fat), as they attempt to retrieve a stolen legendary sword.
Zhang Ziyi, Chang Chen and Cheng Pei-pei also star.
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon became an international hit and was nominated for 10 Academy Awards, including Best Picture. The movie is available to stream on Prime Video.
Yeoh returned to star in the 2016 sequel Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Sword of Destiny, released on Netflix. That film also features Donnie Yen, Harry Shum Jr. and Natasha Liu Bordizzo.
Rob Marshall (Chicago) directed the 2005 film adaptation of the bestselling Arthur Golden novel.
Zhang Ziyi, Gong Li, Youki Kudoh and Ken Watanabe star with Yeoh in the romantic period drama, which tells the story of Chiyo Sakamoto (Zhang), a young woman who becomes a noted geisha in pre- and post-World War II Japan.
Yeoh plays Mameha, a prominent geisha who takes Chiyo under her wing.
The winner of three Academy Awards, including Best Cinematography and Best Costume Design, Memoirs of a Geisha is available to rent on streaming platforms.
Yeoh became a fan-favorite character in the recurring dual roles of Captain Philippa Georgiou and Emperor Philippa Georgiou in Seasons 1-3 of the Paramount+ sci-fi series.
Set in the Star Trek universe, the show follows the crew of the Discoveryand opens about 10 years before the events of Star Trek: The Original Series.
Other cast members include Sonequa Martin-Green, Doug Jones, Anthony Rapp, Mary Wiseman and Wilson Cruz.
Star Trek: Discovery concluded in 2024 after a five-season run. The show is available to stream on Paramount+, Hulu and Prime Video.
Yeoh returned to star as Georgiou in the 2025 film Star Trek: Section 31, released on Paramount+.
The 2018 romantic comedy drama is based on the Kevin Kwan novel and directed by Jon M. Chu (Wicked).
The film casts Yeoh as Eleanor Sung-Young, the disapproving mother of Nick Young (Henry Golding), a young man who brings his girlfriend Rachel (Constance Wu) to Singapore to meet his fantastically wealthy family.
Also starring Gemma Chan, Lisa Lu, Awkwafina and Ken Jeong, the movie was the first Hollywood film to feature an all-Asian cast since The Joy Luck Club (1993).
Crazy Rich Asians is available to rent on streaming platforms.
Cast members gather for a photo op on the turquoise carpet. | License Photo
‘Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings’
Yeoh joined the Marvel Cinematic Universe with her role as Ying Nan in the 2021 superhero movie.
Based on the Marvel character Shang-Chi, created by Steve Englehart and Jim Starlin, Simu Liu plays a modern version of the character searching for the mythical realm of Ta Lo.
Awkwafina, Meng’er Zhang, Fala Chen, Florian Munteanu, Benedict Wong, Yuen Wah, Ben Kingsley and Tony Leung also star in the first MCU film to feature a predominantly Asian cast.
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings is available to stream on Disney+.
‘Everything Everywhere All at Once’
Yeoh won an Oscar for Best Actress for her leading role in the 2022 comedy-drama film written and directed by Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert.
The actress plays Evelyn Quan Wang, a Chinese immigrant whose life takes a surreal turn when she is subject to an IRS audit. Evelyn must traverse parallel universes to save the multiverse from being destroyed.
Other cast members include Stephanie Hsu, Ke Huy Quan, James Hong and Jamie Lee Curtis. The movie won six other Oscars, including Best Picture, Best Supporting Actor for Quan and Best Supporting Actress for Curtis.
Everything Everywhere All at Once is available to stream on Hulu and Disney+.
The 2024 musical fantasy film is based on the Broadway musical inspired by the Gregory Maguire novel of the same name.
The film reunited Yeoh with Chu (Crazy Rich Asians), who directed both Wicked and its sequel.
Wicked imagines the origin story of Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo), depicted as the villainous Wicked Witch of the West in L. Frank Baum’s book The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and its 1939 film adaptation, The Wizard of Oz.
The cast also includes Yeoh as Madame Morrible, the headmistress at Shiz University, Ariana Grande as Galinda (Ariana Grande), the future Glinda the Good, and Jonathan Bailey as the prince Fiyero.
Wicked is available to stream on Prime Video and Peacock.
Yeoh and the cast returned for the sequel, Wicked: For Good, released in November 2025.
Actress Michelle Yeoh sits beside her star during an unveiling ceremony honoring her with the 2,836th star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in Los Angeles on February 18, 2026. Photo by Jim Ruymen/UPI | License Photo
