August 6 is the birthday of one of the greatest action stars of all time… Michelle Yeoh, star of Super Cop: Super Cop Too?

Starship captain, martial arts master, Bond counterpart, mummy sorceress, potential mother-in-law, OG Guardian of the Galaxy, dirtbike riding supercop, geisha …. superhero?

Who is this mysterious panda-rescuing hero who goes by Silver Mask?

Yeoh studied ballet at the Royal Academy of Dance in London, but after suffering a spinal injury she transferred her talent to creative arts and drama. (Crouching Tiger co-star Zhang Ziyi also started out in dance school. Moral of the story: don’t pick a fight with dancers. They will mess you up… and look good doing it.)

Yeoh was crowned Miss Malaysia in 1983, which opened up her career to starring in films. She’d been acting since 1983 (originally as “Michelle Khan”) and performing her own stunts in Hong Kong (most famously a dirtbike jump onto a moving train in Police Story 3: Super Cop). Western audiences, though, would be introduced to Michelle Yeoh through the one-two punch of Tomorrow Never Dies and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.

An understated skill of Yeoh’s being recently showcased to audiences: her glower power. Sure, she can defeat you in combat… but why even get that far when you can destroy their souls with your steely eyes, as in Crazy Rich Asians?