The International Olympic Committee (IOC) welcomed Michelle Yeoh, the first Asian actress to receive an Oscar, on Tuesday when she was elected as a member during a ceremony in Mumbai.
She was one of eight new candidates who were put up to join the Olympic organization during its session in India’s financial hub.
“I recall being questioned about how I became an actor. After taking the oath to join the IOC, a grinning Yeoh told reporters, “I always said, ‘I never thought of being an actress, but as a youngster, I always dreamed of being an Olympian.
Growing up, I was actively interested in squash, athletics, swimming, diving, and other sports.
It has always existed and is expanding, but how can I become a part of this (IOC) family? They are incredibly close-knit, and they must be certain that you share their ideology, devotion, and enthusiasm.
“So it took me a little while to ensure this is what I do believe in and I need to be part of this family.”
Yeoh, a former Malaysian junior squash champion, received the Oscar earlier this year for Best Lead Actress for her work in the movie “Everything Everywhere All at Once.”
Her big break in Hollywood came when Pierce Brosnan cast her as the first ethnically Chinese Bond girl in the 1997 film “Tomorrow Never Dies” with her.
Yeoh, who is also a producer and a Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations, appeared in the 2018 romantic comedy “Crazy Rich Asians,” the 2005 period drama “Memoirs of a Geisha,” and the martial arts film “Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon.”
In her youth, squash was Yeoh’s preferred sport. “But then two knee surgeries, a bad back,” she said.
Because I still practice martial arts for my movies, I now perform a lot of free shadowboxing. I continue to participate in swimming and hiking, two more easy sports.
The 61-year-old is wed to Jean Todt, a former leader of the FIA, the organization that oversees motorsports and was acknowledged by the IOC in 2013.
She is one of five new individual members, joining judoka Yael Arad, who won Israel’s first Olympic medal, businessman and sports administrator Balasz Furjes from Hungary, politician and former Olympic volleyball medalist Cecilia Roxana Tait Villacorta from Peru, and sports entrepreneur Michael Mronz from Germany.
Mronz and Furjes have also spearheaded unsuccessful bids to bring the Olympics to Germany and Hungary, respectively.
The International Table Tennis Federation’s Petra Sterling from Sweden and the International Skating Union’s Kim Jae-you from South Korea both joined in their capacity as presidents of international federations.
The head of the Tunisian Olympic Committee, Mehrez Boussayene, also participated.
