Michelle Yeoh Called Her Inability To Have Children The "Biggest Sadness" Of Her Life (original) (raw)

Michelle Yeoh opened up about being unable to have kids.

Michelle Yeoh wearing an elegant, off-shoulder gown and ornate earrings, with hair styled to one side, posing at an event

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Her career spans 30 years — and exploded after her Oscar-winning performance in 2022's Everything Everywhere All at Once. Michelle has also appeared in movies like Crazy Rich Asians, Tomorrow Never Dies, and the upcoming film adaptation of Wicked.

Michelle Yeoh at the Wicked LA premiere, wearing a glamorous, sparkling gown with long sleeves and a train

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She was previously married to Hong Kong business tycoon Dickson Poon, whom she met after her 1983 Miss World Malaysia win when he hired her to appear in a fashion ad with Jackie Chan. Michelle told the Sunday Times that after they wed in 1988, she retired from her budding acting career because she "really wanted to start a family," only to learn she could not bear children.

Woman with wavy hair in a textured jacket, wearing large hoop earrings, at a celebrity event

Dickson Poon in a pinstripe suit and open-collared shirt speaking at an event

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Knowing Dickson wanted kids, Michelle amicably divorced him after three years of marriage. She tells the Times they remain friends, with Dickson even making her his eldest daughter's godmother. Michelle remarried last year to businessperson Jean Todt after a 19-year engagement.

"Maybe that is the biggest sadness in my life, that I cannot have kids," Michelle told the Times.

Michelle Yeoh in an dress seated at a media event with "TIME" backdrop

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“But the beauty is that I have six godchildren, many nephews and nieces," she added. "I don’t live with regrets because I have always given it my 110 percent."

Michelle Yeoh in an elegant off-the-shoulder dress with embellished detail, smiling on a red carpet

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"I did everything to make it work, and sometimes even that is not enough, you have to be able..." she continued while reportedly raising her arms with her fists balled. "In life we say, you have to not go around holding your hands like this, you have to learn to let go, and sometimes letting go helps you move forward."

Michelle Yeoh speaking at an amfAR event, wearing a high-neck outfit with an elaborate necklace, standing at a podium with microphones

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Michelle previously told Bustle that after their divorce, she resumed her acting career, and within a year, she snagged a leading role alongside Jackie Chan in 1992's Supercop.

Jackie Chan and Michelle Yeoh pose playfully on the red carpet in a fighting pose

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"I was very, very fortunate that when I stepped away from our [marriage], it was the media in Hong Kong that actually said, 'The audience is still waiting for you. They don't think that you have gone away. They're just thinking that you're working on [a movie] and haven’t presented it to them yet,'" she shared.

Michelle Yeoh wearing an elegant off-the-shoulder dress and ornate earrings at a formal event, surrounded by greenery

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"So I put it out there in the universe and said maybe I should come back. And lo and behold, there was [director] Stanley Tong, who was going to do Supercop with Jackie Chan," she recalled. "He knocked on my door and said, 'Remember that promise you made me many years ago, when I said that one day, if I become a director, and I had a good movie, I could call on you?' And he did."

Michelle Yeoh in elegant gown and diamond necklace on a red carpet, looking at the camera, surrounded by a crowd

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You can read Michelle's full Sunday Times interview here.