Michelle Yeoh is Time's icon of the year

Malaysian actress Michelle Yeoh has been named Time Magazine’s icon of the year.

This comes after Yeoh achieved her first starring role in Hollywood surrealistic action-drama movie ‘Everything Everywhere All at Once’ earlier this year.

Time Magazine described Yeoh as a person who fought stereotypes and turned down offers that perpetuated harmful tropes about Asian women during her Hollywood career.

“It shouldn’t be about my race, but it has been a battle,” Yeoh told Time Magazine. “At least let me try.”

Ipoh-born Yeoh, 60, achieved fame through Hong Kong cinema in the 1980s and 1990s.

Trained in ballet, Yeoh was famous for playing heroine figures adept in martial arts.

Her first Hollywood appearance came in 1997 when she was cast in James Bond flick ‘Tomorrow Never Dies’ as Wai Lin - an atypical “Bond girl” often described by film critics as an equal to the film’s titular character.

When Time Magazine asked Yeoh about potentially being in the running for an Oscar for ‘Everything Everywhere All at Once’, she replied that she was feeling the weight on her shoulders.

“I’ve thought about it... And not just me - I feel like my full Asian community has thought about it. They come up to me and they say, ‘You're doing it for us.’”

Suatukala invites you to wedding banquet - retelling a Langkawi tale

Allan Perera – 40 years of laughs and music

Malaysian-made Tamil film ‘Poochandi’ is making waves

Malaysian-born Syabira Yusoff bakes her way to the top

Coming soon - movie on Anwar's struggles starring Farid Kamil