She achieves the impossible again and again. Simply put, that is what Michelle Yeoh has been doing for decades. An aristocratic Malaysian beauty becoming the queen of Hong Kong’s male-dominated action cinema? Michelle Yeoh did it. Subverting stereotypes in a Bond movie and breaking into the global consciousness with an Oscar-winning kung fu epic? Michelle Yeoh did it. Leading the first Hollywood film with an all-Asian cast in 25 years to become the highest-grossing romantic comedy in over a decade? Yes, Michelle Yeoh did it. We all delighted in watching her turn a would-be villain into a sympathetic portrait of maternal strength and sacrifice in Crazy Rich Asians. And now, with Everything Everywhere All at Once, she truly blows our minds. Without vanity, without fuss, Michelle Yeoh astonishes us with her honesty, humor, and grace, and we realize we will never get enough of her achieving the impossible.
Kwan is an author, most recently of Sex and Vanity