Oscar winner Michelle Yeoh (61, “Everything Everywhere All At Once”) will enrich the most powerful sports body in the world over the next four years. The Chinese-born Malaysian was elected as one of eight new members to the IOC on Tuesday (October 17) at the 141st General Assembly of the International Olympic Committee in Mumbai, India, the IOC confirmed on its website.
The conference participants elected four women and four men to the Olympic group under the chairmanship of the German IOC President Thomas Bach (69). Yeoh received 67 votes in favor, nine against and one abstention. According to the IOC’s own information after the election, the proportion of female IOC members is 41.4 percent.
Yeoh is once again setting new standards with her election to the IOC. Just in March of this year, she became the first Asian actress to win the Oscar for Best Actress in Los Angeles. In “Everything Everywhere All At Once” she shines as the owner of a laundromat who repeatedly immerses herself in a parallel world over the course of the film.
She has been known to cinema audiences in Europe since her leading role in the 2000 hit film “Tiger and Dragon”. Yeoh has also been involved in professional sports for a long time: “Sports have had an important place in my life since I was a teenager,” said Yeoh in Mumbai. “Squash, athletics and swimming have played a big role for me for a long time.” The now 61-year-old was once the Malaysian junior squash champion. As a child, she didn’t dream of becoming an actress, but rather of taking part in the Olympics, says Yeoh.
Princess Anne (73), in her role as chairwoman of the IOC election committee, humorously noted that “her other skills” had led Yeoh away from a sports career.
Aside from her new IOC membership, Yeoh is also in private contact with the really big sport and the really big money in sport: she has been in a relationship with Formula One great Jean Todt (77) for a long time. On July 27th, 19 years after their engagement, they officially sealed their partnership and got married in Geneva.
