“I did it to shut her up” – Michelle Yeoh Reveals She Won Miss Malaysia to Silence Her Mother

Malaysian born Hollywood superstar Tan Sri Michelle Yeoh has recently appeared in various international interviews after securing the Best Actress Award at the Golden Globe and after being nominated for the same category at the Oscars for her role as Evelyn in Everything Everywhere All at Once.

Recently, in an appearance on The Graham Norton Show on Friday night (February 3), the Everything, Everywhere All At Once star revealed that the only reason she took part in the Miss Malaysia beauty contest in 1983 was because of her mother.

Yeoh who went on to win the contest at the age of 20, said her mother was the one who “signed the form” to enter her.

“She had entered me for Miss Malaysia. She actually signed the form, so technically, I’m not legit,” she joked.

Norton then responded by saying, “But you’d think, ‘Oh, terrible thing to do’, but – you won!”

Yeoh continued by saying, “I did it to shut her up. Because she wouldn’t stop about it, so we had a deal. If I do this, you will never do something like this again.”

After the show, Norton then tweeted: “Winning Miss Malaysia just to shut your mum up? ICONIC BEHAVIOUR.”

Winning Miss Malaysia just to shut your mum up? ICONIC BEHAVIOUR #MichelleYeoh 👑👑 #TheGNShow

— Graham Norton Show (@TheGNShow) February 3, 2023

Yeoh then went on to recall how her mother used to chaperone her dates until she went to England.

“Now, you have to remember mums are very protective, right, for all the right reasons,” Yeoh responded.

“She always went on a date. Always, until I went to England to study.”

She then recalled going on a date when she was 17 years old and sitting between her mother and the boy she was on a date with.

“One time I was sitting like this (gestures with her arms crossed) and I suddenly realised, ‘Why are there two hands on my leg?’ It was his hand on my mum’s hand,” she recalled, bursting into laughter.

“He was holding the hand he thought was mine, and then I looked at it like, ‘Excuse me, guys’.”

It seems that Yeoh’s mother is exactly the same as any of our Asian mothers!

Also read: After Golden Globe, Michelle Yeoh Receives Nomination for Best Actress Category at the Oscars