Nee Yeoh Choo-Kheng, Big is now the most popular Asian female action star. Born in Ipoh, Malaysia, to a lawyer and a homemaker, Michelle was taught Malay and English growing up in the tropical tin-mining town of Ipoh.

Michelle, who was a tomboy and an athlete as a young girl, became a dancer and even received her Bachelor's Degree in dance and drama from London's Royal Academy of Dance.

Ironically enough, she majored in dance and only minored in drama so that she could apply more expression to her dancing.

Unfortunately (depending on how you look at it), Michelle's dancing career was cut short when she injured her back. After graduating in 1983, she returned to Malaysia, at which time her mother had secretly entered her in a "Miss Malaysia" beauty contest.

That same year, Michelle won the "Miss Mooba" title in Melbourne, which led to her formal invitation to Hong Kong to make a commercial for watches with famed "I do my own stunts" actor Jackie Chan.

In 1985, she signed with D & B Films and debuted in the action comedy Owls vs. Dumbo. It was here that she first met her soon to be husband, Dickson Poon, owner of the company. Her character in the film was a demure social worker, and the love interest of one of the main characters. Upon observing the characters fighting scenes, however, Michelle envisioned herself as being able to execute the same fighting moves.

Although Owls Vs. Dumbo was her first major film, her breakthrough role came when she starred in Yes, Madam, her second film. The movie also starred undefeated female martial arts champion, Cynthia Rothrock, and Michelle trained in both kung fu and karate in order to make her fight scenes more convincing -- and convincing it was.

Her role as a cop in this film established her as an efficient stuntwoman as well as an amazing actress. Michelle began appealing to a wide array of fans, men and women alike, and she quickly became a premiere action star in Asia.

Michelle had a bit part in Clint Eastwood's film In The Line Of Duty and Magnificent Warriors, which ultimately increased her already established prestige as a martial artist and actress.

Michelle was a quick study and rapidly learned the styles of martial arts maneuvers and mastered them. She was determined to shake loose the preconceived notions that she was a beauty queen. Also, considering she was an Asian woman in Hollywood, Michelle swiftly realized that in order to survive in a male-dominated industry, she had to make her mark in by being a woman that demands to be reckoned with.

From that point on, she decided that she would do all of her own stunts. Michelle traveled to Hong Kong to continue her acting career instead of remaining in Hollywood. Whereas the films in the US were coordinated so that no one really gets hurt, Hong Kong's film include real fighting - and real pain.

Although she was unable to speak Cantonese in Hong Kong, Michelle was able to hide behind her fighting sequences until she finally picked up on the dialect. Her Cantonese name was Yeung Ji-king, but because the film companies wanted to adopt more European-sounding names for the European and American markets, her name was finally changed to Michelle Khan.

In 1988, and at age 25, after finishing up one more film entitled Easy Money, Michelle married Dickson Poon. Unfortunately, the couple was unable to balance a marriage and their careers. After four years in a rocky marriage, the two divorced and Michelle persevered and moved on.

Soon after her separation, Michelle was offered a co-starring role with Jackie Chan in Police Story III: Supercop . The film ended up being a breakthrough role for her in a multitude of ways. She proved to audiences all over the world that even though she had been gone for so many years, she still had what it takes to be a great stuntwoman and actress. As a note, Michelle is the only woman that Jackie Chan has ever allowed to do her own stunts.

Because the movie became the highest grossing film in Asia in 1992, Dimension Films decided to pick it up and have it released in American theatres. Since her fans still knew her as Michelle Khan, they kept that name for the release. The re-release of the film in American theatres landed Michelle many appearances in magazine and interviews.

After her worldwide fame had finally established itself firmly, she appeared in other films such as The Heroic Trio, Executioners, Wing Chun, and in 1995, she starred in two dramatic films consecutively: .The Soong Sisters and Ah Kam: The Stuntwoman.

Michelle has suffered many injuries from her stunts including torn ligaments, cracked ribs, dislocated shoulders, and even messing up her neck vertebrae. Luckily, however, she has never actually suffered a broken a bone. Suffice it to say, she has been blacklisted by all of the insurance companies in Hong Kong.

Because of Michelle's last name "Khan", which was adopted in Hong Kong, rumors began circulating that Michelle had secretly gotten married in the US. So in order to squash any more gossip, Michelle finally changed her name back to Yeoh. After seeing her grand performances as an actress and stuntwoman, Michelle was soon offered a role in the new Bond film entitled Tomorrow Never Dies. Once she realized that she was going to play the female equivalent of James Bond and not a "Bond Girl", Michelle jumped at the opportunity.

Although very few Asian women have made it big in Hollywood, it is quite possible that tinsel town will not soon forget Michelle. Not only is she an exquisite actress, but Michelle is beautiful and tough to boot.