The Ipoh lass has certainly come a long way; we look at her glamorous life rubbing shoulders with the biggest names in showbiz
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Tell anyone that Datuk Seri Michelle Yeoh turns 49 and you can expect a reaction of awe and surprise; the actress has certainly maintained her youthful looks incredredibly well.
Yeoh has come a long way from her Ipoh hometown, often photographed in Cannes and Hollywood alongside stars like Eva Longoria, Pierce Brosnan and Sharon Stone. Not too shabby, considering she never wanted to be an actress in the first place.
Yeoh moved to England when she was 15 years old, and aspired to be a professional ballet dancer but a spinal injury had prevented her from pursuing that path. At 21, she won the Miss Malaysia beauty pageant and represented the country at the 1983 Miss World pageant in London.
It was in Hong Kong where her acting career kicked off after starring in commercials with Jackie Chan. Martial arts naturally became her pathway before she became a Bond girl, reportedly beating Natasha Hensdrige for the role. Then-007 himself Pierce Brosnan even called Yeoh a 'female James Bond' because of her fighting abilities.
The embodiment of grace, strength and elegance, Michelle Yeoh is right up there with Hollywood's A-listers with a BAFTA nomination, Rotten Tomatoes naming her the greatest action heroine of all time, and being the only Asian actress on People magazine's '35 all-time screen beauties' list.
Click on for more of this screen siren as we celebrate Michelle Yeoh's 49th birthday on Aug 6th...
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