RATINGS: Cast & Crew

DOB: August 6, 1962

Background: Yeoh is a Malaysian actress who began dancing ballet at the age of four. Her family moved to England when she was a teenager, and she attended the Royal Academy of Dance in London, but a spinal injury forced her to turn her attention to choreography and other arts. She graduated with a degree in Creative Arts and a minor in Drama. She won the Miss Malaysia beauty pagaent in 1983 and represented her country at Miss World that year.

Filmography: Though she has no martial arts training, her film career started in martial arts films including "Yes, Madam" (1985), "The Heroic Trio (1993), and "Tai Chi Master" and "Wing Chun" (both 1994). She played a Bond girl in "Tomorrow Never Dies" (1997), opposite Pierce Brosnan. Perhaps her most famous role came three years later in Ang Lee's crossover martial arts epic "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" (2000). Since then she has appeared in "Memoirs of a Geisha" (2005), "Sunshine" (2007), and "The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor" (2008). This year she will appear in the political love story "The Lady."

BAFTA Awards: Nomination - Best Actress ("Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon," 2001)