Michelle Yeoh: the woman behind the icon – who is the Oscar-tipped actress dating, which millionaire Hong Kong tycoon was she married to, and does the Crazy Rich Asians star have any children?
Hollywood – interview
Apart from her sterling career, what do you know about the Memoirs of Geisha actress’ personal life? Did you know that she is in a long-term relationship with a former F1 boss? Or that she was once married to a Hong Kong tycoon? Find out more …
Her romance with Dickson Poon
When she was 28, Yeoh married Hong Kong magnate Sir Dickson Poon and stepped back from her film career for what could have been indefinitely. They had locked eyes on the set of Yes, Madam (1985), where Yeoh played the lead and Poon was the producer, per Glamour Buff. The two married in 1988 but divorced three years later.
In an interview with Bustle earlier this year, Yeoh disclosed that there was no bad blood between them now. “In 1988, I got married to a wonderful man called Dickson Poon. At 28 years old, I decided maybe it was time to settle down, get married, and have a new life,” she recalled.
10 Miss Hong Kong winners from the 1980s – what are they doing now?
She added that it was her own decision to leave acting then, and not because of any pressure from reported millionaire Dickson and his family, “Because in Asia, it does happen where the women are [expected to be] a married housewife or a mother as soon as possible and not work. But at that time, it was my choice to leave because I’m not a good multitasker.”
Their marriage ultimately ended due to Yeoh’s inability to conceive. She said in the same interview that she didn’t want them to be bitter “10 years down the road” and opted for a divorce, before going back to acting.
Crazy rich kids: 10 Asian ‘nepotism babies’ born into privilege
She has been engaged to Jean Todt since 2005, but the couple never married
A decade after her first and only marriage, Yeoh met Jean Todt, the former president of the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (which oversees the Formula One races), at a tournament in Shanghai back in 2004. The two fell head over heels with each other and got engaged a year later, according to Town and Country magazine.
Yeoh said that she loves Todt’s sense of humour and his blue eyes, but they are not thinking of tying the knot any time soon.
She told the same publication recently: “He counts the number of days rather than the years. I’ll ask him, ‘What is the present for 6,725 days?’” she quipped.
Yeoh is also not shy about sharing her romance on social media. She has 1.1 million Instagram followers, and wasn’t afraid to celebrate her and Todt’s 6,000-day anniversary with them all back in 2020, with a moving post.
Todt, 76, also often shows his affection and pride for his fiancée. Back in August, he took to Twitter and congratulated Yeoh for receiving the honorary doctorate from the American Film Institute.
Who is Meghan Markle’s ex-husband Trevor Engelson – and why did they divorce?
Her struggles with IVF
As with her marriage to Poon, Yeoh has not had any children with Todt, who has a 45-year-old son Nicolas from a previous relationship. The Lady opened up about never having biological children of her own, and shared her experience with IVF during the interview with You Magazine.
“Unfortunately, I couldn’t. I tried IVF, everything. I was desperate. I love kids and saw myself surrounded by them. But there’s only so much you can put your body and mind through. It comes to a stage where you have to accept it, move on and deal with the repercussions,” she said.
She is close to her step children and loves being a godmother
Yeoh is very close to ex-husband Poon’s daughter, Dee, and her brother’s children – she is godmother to both.
Boss babe billionaire heiress: inside Isha Ambani’s momentous 2022
“I’m very strict with my brother’s children. My sister-in-law will call me from Malaysia and tell me: ‘They won’t go to sleep.’ So, I’ll ask for them to be put on the phone and I say: “Go to sleep now!” and they do. I adore children, but they need that kind of discipline,” she told You Magazine.
Yeoh is also apparently close to her fiancé’s son, Nicolas. In a 2020 Instagram post she shared an adorable picture of the three of them together having a year-end meal, movingly writing, “With my Todt boys and the best dinner.”
- Everything Everywhere All At Once star Michelle Yeoh ended a three-year marriage to Hong Kong magnate Dickson Poon after she was unable to conceive
- The former Bond Girl got engaged to former F1 boss Jean Todt in 2005, but the couple aren’t married and never had children – despite a gruelling IVF battle