Quote Of The Day By Michelle Yeoh: 'I Never Use Numbers To Define Myself...'

After four decades in showbiz, Michelle Yeoh, who was one of the celebs that easily owned her success after Hollywood tried to tear her down, has proven that longevity was never about fitting into a certain mold. Long before she became the first Asian to win the Academy Award for best actress for "Everything Everywhere All At Once," she was already redefining what it meant to be a leading lady by doing her own stunts. Whether she was leaping from a moving car or climbing walls and doing martial arts, the "Wicked" star has spent a majority of her career proving that her place at the top was never up for debate. 

Born in Ipoh, Malaysia, in August 1962 to a prominent lawyer-turned-politician and a devoted homemaker, Yeoh grew up immersed in ballet. She spent her teen years training at the Royal Academy of Dance in London until a spinal injury ended this passion. It was that unexpected detour that would lead her into the world of beauty pageants and ultimately, cinema. After being crowned Miss Malaysia in 1983, she landed a commercial with Jackie Chan which changed the trajectory of her life forever.

After dominating Hong Kong cinema, the actor brought her signature mix of elegance and fearlessness to the global stage with her breakthrough roles in films like "Tomorrow Never Dies" and "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon," and a global star was born. That's why Michelle Yeoh is our quote of the day. 

Michelle Yeoh has never been one to shy away from speaking out on aging, challenging the entertainment industry's obsession with youth and proving that a woman's prime doesn't come with an expiration date. When asked about what life in her 50s was like in a 2014 interview with the Bangkok Post, the actor simply said, "I never use numbers to define myself. Sometimes the biggest problem that we have is that we put limits on ourselves, thinking that 'I'm already this age, I shouldn't be doing this and that.'" Yeoh is an older woman who radiates confidence with certain habits, like learning exactly what suits her. 

Just like her grandiose presence on the silver screen, Yeoh's words carry a quiet authority that challenges us to stop gatekeeping our own futures because of fear of aging. It's a sharp, necessary reminder that our greatest limitation isn't time passing, but the restrictive lenses through which we perceive ourselves. 

Sometimes, it's easy to get caught up in what society tells us we should or shouldn't be doing at a certain stage of life. It makes it so easy to turn a number into an invisible ceiling for ourselves. Michelle Yeoh's words are a reminder that we just might be our biggest gatekeepers when it comes to our potential. And it really doesn't have to be that way. 

The "Crazy Rich Asians" star is truly living by her words. She never limits herself because of her age. In fact, even in her late 50s, the actor was filming the majority of the physically demanding action sequences for the award-winning "Everything Everywhere All at Once." Despite the stunt coordinator estimating Yeoh would need two weeks to go over the stunts she would be performing, she mastered them in just three days. If that isn't proof of living life without limits, we're not sure what is. 

So, listen to Yeoh, and don't tell yourself you're not going to do something simply because of your age. Life is too short for setting your own expiration dates. Give yourself the freedom to try something new, go on an adventure, or take that leap on the dream you've been sitting on. 

• "I always thought of myself as James Bond." 
• "This world belongs to all of us, and all sexes should be able to live in respect and harmony." 
• "Beauty shouldn't be superficial and should come from within, and your eyes will tell the story."
• "When you love someone, you don't try to change them." 
• "Before you get into the mind, you have to inhabit the physicality. Body language is a great way of speaking."