From beauty queen to Oscar winner: how Michelle Yeoh was cajoled by mum to join 1983 London beauty pageant

Yeoh, who took part in the Miss World 1983 pageant in London, won a pageant hosted by Melbourne’s Moomba Festival in 1984
The Moomba victory may have helped Yeoh catch the attention of action movie superstar Jackie Chan, whose parents lived in Australia from the 1960s

Australia

SCMP’s Asia desk

Published: 8:22pm, 14 Mar 2023

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As Michelle Yeoh basks in the glory of the best actress Oscar, a decades-old footage of the star taking part in an Australian beauty pageant has offered a glimpse of her stint in the modelling world.

The Malaysian-born performer told British television talk show host Graham Norton earlier this year that she represented her country at the Miss World 1983 pageant in London after her mother nudged her to sign up.

“I did it to shut her up,” Yeoh recalled.

Yeoh, who finished 18th at the London event, later took part in a pageant hosted by Melbourne’s Moomba Festival in 1984. She took home the Miss Moomba International crown and rode a parade float pulled by a big red tractor on the Australian city’s Swanston Street, archival footage unearthed by national broadcaster ABC showed.

Motorists in Kuala Lumpur pass by a giant electronic billboard set up to congratulate Michelle Yeoh. Photo: AP

Yeoh was also seen waving to the crowd from the top of the float. She said she had to talk for more than 30 minutes about her country as part of the contest, Singapore’s The Straits Times reported at the time, adding the model was “glowing with pride over the achievement”.

According to The Guardian, the Moomba victory may have helped Yeoh catch the attention of action movie superstar Jackie Chan, whose parents lived in Australia from the 1960s. The duo also starred in a luxury watch advertisement and went on to act together in 15 films.

“My first working job was a commercial, and of all things, with Jackie Chan,” Yeoh said in an interview last year.

Yeoh, 60, last week became the first Asian woman to win the best actress Oscar for Everything Everywhere All at Once. She dedicated her award to her mother and said “all the mums in the world” were the real superheroes.

Janet Yeoh, mother of Michelle Yeoh, celebrates after her daughter won in the best actress category during the 95th Academy Awards in Los Angeles, as seen in a live view event at a cinema in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on March 13, 2023. Photo: AP

Janet Yeoh praised the actor as intelligent and hardworking and a filial daughter.

“I so love my daughter and she has made Malaysia proud. Malaysia Boleh (Malaysia Can)!” she said.

Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said his government joined the country to congratulate Yeoh for creating history.

“Coupled with this achievement, Michelle’s illustrious and exemplary career in this field will certainly continue to be a source of great inspiration and motivation to our home-grown actors and actresses and provide even greater impetus to the growth of our local industry,” Anwar said in a statement. “Way to go, Michelle!”