SINGAPORE: Multi-awarded actress Michelle Yeoh just added another feather to her cap, announcing over social media on Wednesday (Oct 18) that she has just become part of the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
“So happy so humbled… It’s a such huge privilege to become an IOC Member. I understand the power that sport has to inspire people, change their lives and improve the world – and this is why I am so excited to become an IOC Member,” an obviously awed Yeoh, 61, wrote in a Facebook post, where she also posted several photos.
Earlier this week, Yeoh, arguably the best-known Asian actress across the globe, posted photos from Mumbai, where she was attending the 141st IOC Session, held this year from Oct 14 to 17. There she met “new friends and old”, she wrote in the caption.
The Malaysian actress who won the Best Actress Oscar earlier this year for “Everything Everywhere All at Once” received 67 votes, which gave her entrance into the IOC. Seven others were voted into the IOC, including Israel’s first Olympic medallist, Yael Arad; German sports entrepreneur Michael Mronz; Peruvian Olympic medallist and politician Ms Cecilia Roxana Tait Villacorta; and Hungarian businessman and sports administrator Balazs Furjes. There are currently 107 IOC members.
Yeoh told the BBC that she had always dreamt of being an Olympian when she was a child but had never dreamt of being an actress. She was involved with a number of sports in her youth, including 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,” Yeoh said.
“Sports is something that brings people together. And you can see with the Olympics, it crosses borders, it crosses culture, it crosses language. It is a language of love and respect and dignity. With that, we can exercise this goodwill on a much much deeper and meaningful, but so necessary, place. So I hope that they will welcome me into the refugee team and allow me to work together with them and bring this joy and sense of hope to the 110 million refugees around the world,” she told Olympics.com.
/TISG