Michelle Yeoh’s portrayal of an incredible secret agent in the 1997 film Tomorrow Never Dies marked a sea change in the way the 007 franchise portrayed its female characters.
But now the 62-year-old has found herself at the center of a sexism row after BBC Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour appeared to dismiss her achievements, describing her as a former “Bond girl”.
Critics say the term used by presenter Nuala McGovern in the introduction to an interview with the star has no relation to what Yeoh actually did in the film, which included performing some of his own stunts.
Last night Dame Jenni Murray, who presented Woman’s Hour until 2020, said: “For me, ‘Bond Girl’ can only apply to a woman he (James Bond) slept with and even then it shouldn’t be used for any female character.” , regardless of sleeping ability, after 1972.’
Yeoh’s portrayal of Chinese agent Wai Lin in the film, which stars Pierce Brosnan as 007, could hardly be further removed from the more passive Bond heroines played by the likes of Britt Ekland, Jane Seymour and Jill St John in the 1960s. and 1970. .
The character Wai Lin was a weapons expert who could handle herself in a fight, and was Bond’s equal in every way.
Malaysian-born Yeoh, who won the best actress Oscar last year for her role in Everything Everywhere All At Once, began her career in Hong Kong action films.
At the time of Tomorrow Never Dies’ release, the Bond franchise was making a determined effort to appeal to female audiences and shed its sexist image.
The character Wai Lin (pictured) was a skilled weapons expert who could handle herself in a fight, and was Bond’s equal in every way.
Yeoh’s portrayal of Chinese agent Wai Lin in the film, which stars Pierce Brosnan as 007, could hardly be further removed from Bond’s more passive heroines.
Malaysian-born Yeoh (pictured), who won the best actress Oscar last year for her role in Everything Everywhere All At Once, began her career in Hong Kong action films.
Kathy Lette, the best-selling novelist, said last night: “It’s time for the term ‘Bond girl’ to bite the linguistic dust.”
‘Michelle was the third protagonist of Tomorrow Never Dies and, as A trained martial arts artist, she did many of her own stunts. In fact, “maybe she could be our first female Bond.”
In an interview two years ago, Yeoh, who is currently starring in the film version of the musical Wicked, reflected on how her role in the 007 franchise changed the way female stars would be viewed in the future.
She said: ‘Because it was always very much a man’s world, right? All the boys love to be James Bond and the women were almost always the Bond girls.
‘But they (the producers) were ready the moment they came to get me to have much more depth, emotion and quality of their nature in the film.
“I felt very blessed because that was the line of thought that was going through their minds when they were writing Tomorrow Never Dies.”
Author Dr Julia Long said: “Referring to an actress who is clearly extremely successful, talented and highly skilled at her craft as a Bond Girl is infantilising.” It just seems like a very old-fashioned term.
“It’s part of a vocabulary that undermines women’s participation as human beings in the world and it’s really unfortunate that Woman’s Hour participates in that.”
At the time of Tomorrow Never Dies’ release, the Bond franchise was making a determined effort to appeal to female audiences and shed its sexist image. In the photo: Brosnan and Yeoh in a scene from the film.
Ms. Yeoh (pictured on set) did many of her own stunts on the set of Tomorrow Never Dies.
The controversy over the term is the second to hit McGovern and Woman’s Hour in the space of a week.
The presenter came under fire for a scathing interview with nurses at Darlington Memorial Hospital in County Durham who objected to a trans colleague wearing a female changing room.
Some listeners and Christian groups were concerned about Ms McGovern’s questioning of a nurse’s Christian beliefs, with one Mumsnet user criticizing her “cynical tone”.
A BBC Radio 4 spokesman declined to comment.