“Maybe it comes from the Asian culture”: Michelle Yeoh Credited Her Upbringing and Billionaire Husband for a Decision That Nearly Jeopardized Her Oscar Win

Michelle Yeoh is an iconic and veteran actress who made a name for herself by starring in Hollywood movies as far back as the 1980s. Hailing from Malaysia, this actress decided that Asian culture needed to be represented more accurately and she breached every Asian stereotype out there with her iconic performance.

During her learning years, the actress wasn’t able to break one stereotype in her personal life when she married billionaire Dickson Poon. Taking a break from acting, Yeoh would come to realize years later that had she stayed in the marriage, it would have cost her her fame, worldwide love, and an Oscar!

Michelle Yeoh Thought It Stemmed From Her Upbringing

In Asian cultures, it is often seen that women tend to leave their jobs to handle the house and raise the children. Although this tradition has been breaking over time, this custom is oftentimes seen in several countries.

Veteran actress Michelle Yeoh revealed that she was also raised that way. In 1992, the actress married billionaire Dickson Poon. Wanting to give her 100% in her marriage, Yeoh thought that she would eventually leave the movie world.

In an iconic interview with The Guardian, Yeoh revealed that when she quit acting it wasn’t a hard choice for her. Stating that she was raised in an Asian upbringing, Michelle Yeoh stated that she wouldn’t be able to run around the world while giving her 100% in the marriage.

It wasn’t a hard decision. because I saw marriage as a full existence … Maybe it comes from the Asian culture, but my thinking was that I couldn’t be running around all over the world jumping off buildings if I was going to give my marriage 100%.

However, things took a turn for the better when Yeoh divorced Dickson Poon in 1992. Almost a decade later, she got engaged to Jean Todt, a French motor racing executive. For 21 years, the couple did not marry and were simply engaged to each other.

Nineteen years ago, We’ve been threatening to get married for such a long time. Sometimes we say, ‘Wait, didn’t we already do it?’

It wasn’t until 2023 when the duo decided to marry finally and on 27 July 2023, the couple announced via their Instagram that they had been officially married. Turns out that her separation from Dickson Poon was actually a good thing for Yeoh since she would have missed out on a lot of things had she stayed in that marriage!

Michelle Yeoh Wouldn’t Have Won An Oscar!

In another world, if Yeoh would have stayed married to Dickson Poon, she would have left her Hollywood career behind. Although it all comes down to personal choices, Yeoh loved working in the movies.

Despite working in Hollywood since the 1980s, Yeoh hadn’t won an Oscar for her performance yet. That all changed when she portrayed the role of Evelyn in the 2022 film Everything Everywhere All At Once!

Being an A24 production, the film was convoluted and funny. The special thing about that film, however, was that in 2023, Michelle Yeoh earned an Oscar for Best Performance By An Actress in a Leading Role for the 2022 film! Earning worldwide love and fame, Yeoh continues to star in amazing and iconic movies and has been praised by Jackie Chan and Quentin Tarantino as well!

The Oscar-winning film received a rating of 7.8/10 on IMDB and a whopping 93% on Rotten Tomatoes but more than that, Michelle Yeoh found the fame that she so rightfully deserved.

Everything Everywhere All At Once is available to stream on Netflix in the U.S.