Oscar Winner Yeoh Joins IOC Along With Seven New Members

By: Gyang Dakwo

Michelle Yeoh, the first Asian actress to win an Oscar, joined the International Olympic Committee (IOC) on Tuesday after being voted in as a member at a ceremony in Mumbai.

She was one of eight new proposed members to join the Olympic body at its session in the Indian financial capital.

“I remember when someone asked me, how did you become an actress? I always said, ‘I never dreamt of being an actress, but as a child I always dreamt of being an Olympian,'” a beaming Yeoh told reporters after taking the oath as an IOC member.

“Sports was very much part of my life growing up, I was very much involved with squash, athletics, swimming and diving.

“It has always been there and growing, but how do I find a way to join this (IOC) family? They are very tight-knit and also they have to be very sure that you share their passion, you share their commitment and ideology.

“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.”

A former Malaysian junior squash champion, Yeoh won the Oscar for best lead actress earlier this year for her role in the film, “Everything Everywhere All at Once”.

Yeoh, also a producer and a United Nations Goodwill Ambassador, starred in martial arts movie “Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon”, the 2005 period drama “Memoirs of a Geisha” and the 2018 romantic comedy, “Crazy Rich Asians”

She joins judoka Yael Arad, who won Israel’s first Olympic medal, Hungarian businessman and sports administrator Balasz Furjes, Cecilia Roxana Tait Villacorta, a former Olympic volleyball medallist and politician from Peru, and German sports entrepreneur Michael Mronz as the five new individual members.