LONDON – Malaysian actress Michelle Yeoh has her mother, Janet Yeoh, to thank for kick-starting her career in the entertainment industry.

In a hilarious interview with British talk-show host Graham Norton on The Graham Norton Show, Yeoh revealed that it was her mother who pushed her to take part in the Miss Malaysia beauty pageant in 1983.

Yeoh, 60, told Norton that she was back in Malaysia from her studies in England when her mother “suddenly looped into this whole thing about” how she should go for more auditions at the age of 21, as she would not have the same opportunities as she got older.

Yeoh remembered being perplexed at what her mother said. “I’m thinking, ‘What on earth is she on about?’” the Ipoh-born actress said on the show, which aired last Friday.

“The next thing I knew... she had entered me for Miss Malaysia... she actually signed the form, so technically, I’m not legit,” Yeoh said, drawing laughter from the audience and guests on the show including actor Austin Butler, star of Elvis (2022).

Norton interjected: “But you’d think, ‘Oh, terrible thing to do’, but – you won.”

Yeoh said: “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.”

The Everything Everywhere All At Once (2022) actress also revealed that her mother used to follow her on dates when she was younger.

“Now, you have to remember mums are very protective, right, for all the right reasons. She always went on (the) date (with me). Always, until I went to England to study,” Yeoh said.

The Crazy Rich Asians (2018) star then went on to tell a story of an awkward date she had at age 17, that had everyone at the studio in stitches.

“One time, I was sitting like this (with arms crossed) and I suddenly realised, ‘Why are there two hands on my leg?’

“It was his hand on my mum’s hand.”

At this point, Yeoh held on to Butler’s hand to re-enact the scene.

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

Following her pageant win, Yeoh forged a successful film career in Hong Kong, before moving on to Hollywood and appearing in the James Bond movie, Tomorrow Never Dies (1997).

She made history in January when she became the first Malaysian to win a Golden Globes for Best Actress In A Musical Or Comedy Motion Picture for her role in the indie hit, Everything Everywhere All At Once.

Yeoh is up for an Academy Award in the Best Actress category. If she wins, she will be the first actress of Asian descent to win in that category in the Academy’s 95-year history.

This year’s awards ceremony will take place in Los Angeles on March 12. THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK