Why Michelle Yeoh’s star is on the rise as she heads for 60: the OG Malaysian actress’ is taking over Hollywood in 2022 with roles in Avatar 2, a prequel to Netflix’s The Witcher and a sci-fi movie

Jan 26 , 2022

Malaysian actress Michelle Yeoh, 60 later this year, has a string of hit movies and TV series to her name, from Star Trek and a Bond film, to Marvel’s Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings and Crazy Rich Asians. Photo: Invision/AP

The Crazy Rich Asians and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon star is next up in Everything Everywhere All at Once, plus James Cameron’s Avatar sequels with Vin Diesel and Kate Winslet

On the small screen this year she’s in Star Trek: Discovery and The Witcher: Blood Origin, plus joins Russell Crowe, Gerard Butler and David Tennant for animation Ark: Survival Evolved

From Miss Malaysia beauty queen to Hong Kong action movie star and global Hollywood celebrity, as her 60th birthday approaches later this year, Michelle Yeoh’s life is possibly the best it has ever been. The former Bond girl and glamorous star of Crazy Rich Asians has come a long way from the dangerous stunts that helped make her name in films like Jackie Chan’s Police Story 3: Super Cop.

The movie industry can be a ruthless one, and older stars can be quickly pushed to the side as the latest young talent steps into the spotlight – especially female ones. But that’s not happening to Michelle Yeoh – and here’s why.

1. Her biggest roles are yet to come

Michelle Yeoh and Nico Santos in a still from Crazy Rich Asians. Photo: Warner Bros.

It’s tough to imagine bigger things on the horizon for a woman who has already starred in Hong Kong action classics, a James Bond movie and that trailblazing Asian-centred Hollywood production Crazy Rich Asians, but the best may be yet to come for Yeoh.

For starters, forget that cameo role she had in Marvel’s Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings as the eponymous hero’s aunt, Yeoh is set to be the leading lady in Everything Everywhere All at Once, expected to be released on March 25. The sci-fi concept has Yeoh fighting a great evil thanks to the powers and abilities of her various multiverse incarnations in what sounds like a cool combination of Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse and Free Guy.

Kate Winslet is set to star in the upcoming Avatar sequels alongside Michelle Yeoh. Photo: MCT

That’s not all, though. Remember Avatar, the most successful movie ever? (Yes, it reclaimed the top spot from Avengers: Endgame after a special re-release in China last year.) Well, Yeoh is starring in the forthcoming sequels that have been years in the making. Although little is know about Yeoh’s role as human scientist Dr Karina Mogue, it really doesn’t getting any bigger than working on the sequels to the biggest film ever, alongside director James Cameron and other stars like Kate Winslet and Vin Diesel.

2. She owns the small screen as well as the big one

It’s not just big budget movies that are keeping Yeoh busy as she heads into her sixties. The international star has a number of high profile TV series gigs, too. She’s been a recurring character on Star Trek: Discovery for the last few years playing Captain Philippa Georgiou. Yeoh’s outstanding work on the show even saw her nominated for the Saturn Award for the Best Guest Starring Role on Television in 2020.

Older and better, more is to come from Yeoh, who was recently confirmed to be in the forthcoming series The Witcher: Blood Origin. Netflix’s prequel to its popular fantasy series The Witcher will see Yeoh work alongside the likes of Oscar-winner Helen Mirren in a story that examines the creation of the Witcher order.