Malaysian-born actor Michelle Yeoh has been named a global brand ambassador for Bentley Motors, formalising her longstanding relationship with the British luxury automotive marque as it prepares to enter a new chapter with its first fully electric vehicle, the Torcal.
The appointment comes weeks after Bentley unveiled the new model line. Yeoh’s association with the marque also has a personal dimension: her husband, Jean Todt, owns several Bentleys, including a 1965 Continental S3, a 2019 Mulsanne and a 2025 Flying Spur Speed 1st Edition.
For Yeoh, the connection extends beyond the car. After leaving Malaysia to pursue her education in the UK as a teenager, she trained in ballet and studied creative arts with drama in Cheshire, near Bentley’s headquarters in Crewe.
Her career subsequently took her from Hong Kong action cinema to international recognition, with roles in Tomorrow Never Dies, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Crazy Rich Asians and Everything Everywhere All at Once. In 2023, she became the first Asian woman to win the Academy Award for Best Actress.
Reflecting on the partnership, Yeoh drew parallels between her career and Bentley’s evolution.
“Bentley embodies that same idea: a brand that has reinvented itself again and again while staying true to its craftsmanship and its soul,” she said. “Torcal represents Bentley’s next chapter, and I’m honoured to be part of telling that story.”
Bentley’s marketing director, Ben Whattam, said Yeoh’s career and dedication to her craft reflected the marque’s own approach to performance and craftsmanship.
Her appointment places a familiar Malaysian name at the centre of Bentley’s next phase, as the marque seeks to carry its established identity into an era of electrification.
