Michelle Yeoh's Hollywood breakthrough came when she was cast as the first ethnic Chinese Bond girl in 1997’s 'Tomorrow Never Dies'. Photo: Berlinale/Instagram
Malaysian actress Michelle Yeoh will be honoured with a lifetime achievement award at the 2026 Berlinale film festival, organisers said Nov 14.
Yeoh, 63, will receive the Honorary Golden Bear in recognition of her “outstanding achievements in film and cinema”, the festival said in a statement.
“Michelle Yeoh is a visionary artist and performer whose work defies boundaries ‒ whether geographic, linguistic or cinematic,” Berlinale director Tricia Tuttle said.
The award will be presented at the festival’s opening ceremony in the German capital on Feb 12, 2026.
The Berlinale, running Feb 12-22, is Europe’s first big cinema showcase of the year and ranks along with Cannes and Venice among the continent’s top film festivals.
Yeoh was a member of the jury in 1999 and has appeared at the festival in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and more recently Everything Everywhere All At Once.
“Berlin has always held a special place in my heart,” she said, crediting the event as “one of the first festivals to embrace my work with such warmth and generosity”.
Yeoh won the best actress Oscar in 2023 for her portrayal of Chinese-American laundromat owner Evelyn Wang in Everything Everywhere All At Once – becoming the first Asian woman to win the award.
Her film credits stretch back to the 1980s, but her Hollywood breakthrough came when she was cast as the first ethnic Chinese Bond girl in 1997’s Tomorrow Never Dies, opposite Pierce Brosnan.
She also starred in the Oscar-winning 2000 martial arts film Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, the 2005 period drama Memoirs Of A Geisha and the 2018 romantic comedy Crazy Rich Asians.
The 2024 Honorary Golden Bear went to Scottish actress Tilda Swinton, with previous recipients including Martin Scorsese and Steven Spielberg. - AFP
