A Match Made in Hollywood Heaven: Michelle Yeoh and Jamie Lee Curtis’s Inspiring Friendship Story

It feels as if Michelle Yeoh, 60, and Jamie Lee Curtis, 64, were destined to star together in Everything Everywhere All at Once, and it’s a good thing they did because the 2 have developed a close friendship as a result. Their strong, genuine bond and wholesome, one-of-a-kind relationship sets a new bar for female best friends worldwide.

“The love between me and Jamie Lee Curtis, it’s all real, yeah,” said Oscar nominee Michelle Yeoh as she gushed over her co-star and fellow first-time Oscar nominee, Jamie Lee Curtis. Yeoh mentioned how they had supported each other throughout award season, but their friendship extends beyond acceptance speeches.

The actress revealed that she had known Curtis for several years, but they connected on a deeper level on the set of Everything Everywhere All at Once, even before filming began. Yeoh said they fell in platonic love after their first email exchange when Curtis suggested they should ditch the movie directors and run away.

“A woman after my own heart,” Yeoh shared. “When you meet someone and have that connection, it’s not the length of time you’ve known them. A friendship became a very precious relationship,” the actress explained.

Yeoh shared that Curtis is usually the first person to text her in the morning. She described her co-star as one of the most big-hearted people she knows, always giving and sending her things, always cheering for and supporting her. “Jamie Lee is one of the most generous in spirit that I have ever met... And yet, at the same time, she’s Hollywood royalty, but she is nurturing,” the actress shared.

Yeoh emphasized that awards aren’t the most important things to her and Curtis. However, both were considered frontrunners for the Oscars in their respective acting categories and went on to win. And, while their film won an Academy Award for Best Picture, Yeoh believes that Curtis was already a winner in her eyes and has always been one.

In addition, Curtis has taught her how to honor lost friends, be one’s own friend, and deal with turmoil in friend groups. The Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon actress considers Curtis an inspiration, along with other women who have led or encouraged her, including Barbara Broccoli, the producer of the James Bond films. She first met Broccoli while filming Tomorrow Never Dies and credits her with changing her life.

Yeoh reflected on her experience playing Chinese spy Wai Lin in the 1997 film Tomorrow Never Dies alongside Pierce Brosnan. Yeoh shared that, at that time, Bond was only known as a macho character, and female characters were relegated to having cutesy names. However, Yeoh’s portrayal of Wai Lin subverted this trope, as she saved Bond’s life, rejected his advances, and stood on equal footing with male characters.

Yeoh credits Barbara Broccoli with recognizing the need to evolve the Bond legacy with the changing times and audience expectations. Yeoh notes that she has always been surrounded by independent, strong, and intelligent women who are also wise.

Yeoh was raised in Ipoh, a city known for tin mining, by her father, Kian Teik, a lawyer and politician, and her mother, Janet, a former beauty queen. Despite being young when she had Yeoh and her brother, Yeoh credits her mother for igniting her passion for movies and exposing her to films from India, Europe, America, and China.

The actress also noted that her mother had the potential to become a great movie star herself and that her passion for film was passed down to Yeoh. She is grateful for her mother’s influence on her life and for the opportunity to pursue her own career in the film industry.