Oscar-winning actor Michelle Yeoh from Malaysia has been elected onto the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in Mumbai on Tuesday. Yeoh, who became the first Asian woman to win an Academy Award earlier this year, received 67 votes in favor, with nine against and one abstention. She was one of eight new members voted in during the final day of the 141st IOC session in Mumbai, India.
In response to the announcement, Yeoh stood up and placed her hand on her heart. Following this, she and the other newly elected members took the Olympic oath. Yeoh, 61, who was accompanied by her husband Jean Todt, the former president of motorsport governing body FIA, then received an IOC member medal from Bach.
Prior to the vote, Princess Anne of Britain, the chair of the IOC’s member election committee, introduced Yeoh as a former Malaysia junior squash champion. Princess Anne expressed regret that Yeoh’s various other skills led her away from her sporting career, but recognized her “fulfilled career and a lot of interest in sport throughout that.”
Yeoh gained international recognition after being cast in the 1997 James Bond film “Tomorrow Never Dies” alongside Pierce Brosnan. She solidified her reputation through her roles in martial arts movies, most notably in “Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon”.
Yeoh was elected alongside other notable individuals, including Israel’s first Olympic medallist Yael Arad, Hungarian businessman Balazs Furjes, Peruvian politician and former Olympic medallist Cecilia Tait, and German sports entrepreneur Michael Mronz. All five were proposed as individual members by the IOC’s executive board in September. Petra Soerling, head of the International Table Tennis Federation, and South Korean Kim Jae-youl, president of the International Skating Union, were also elected in recognition of their roles within international sports federations.
Mehrez Boussayene, president of the Tunisian Olympic Committee, was also elected as an ex-officio member. IOC President Bach spoke highly of the new members, stating that they bring valuable experience and diverse expertise to the work of the IOC.
