Name at birth: Yeoh Choo Kheng

Named Miss Malaysia in 1983, Michelle Yeoh went on to become one of Asia's top film stars. Known for action films -- and for performing many of her own stunts -- Yeoh became a Hong Kong favorite after landing the lead role in the martial arts film Yes, Madam (1985). She conquered American audiences with her scene-stealing roles in Jackie Chan's Supercop (1992) and the 1997 James Bond movie Tomorrow Never Dies. As she matured into middle age and more subtly dramatic roles, she was an even bigger hit alongside Chow Yun-Fat in the 2000 hit Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (directed by Ang Lee). Her other films include The Touch (2002), Memoirs of a Geisha (2005), Sunshine (2007) and 'The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor (2008) and True Legend (2010). Yeoh played Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi in the 2011 biopic The Lady, and was subsequently barred from entering Myanmar (Burma).