The term beauty with brains isn’t an easy tag to live up to but Hollywood star Angelina Jolie is a perfect example of someone who embodies that phrase. Over the years, Jolie has risen past her alluring good looks to become one of the most versatile actors of her generation. Apart from intense dramas and thrillers, the star also became hugely popular for her action roles in Mr. and Mrs. Smith and Lara Croft: Tomb Raider. But it was her performance in Salt which led her to be crowned the first female action movie star in Hollywood.
But years before Jolie’s rise and prominence in action, a popular Asian star Michelle Yeoh was already doing swashbuckling roles. With the recently concluded Academy Awards which saw Yeoh winning a historic Oscar for her film Everything Everywhere All at Once, it might just be that Jolie’s coveted position is under threat.
How Angelina Jolie Became Hollywood’s Female Action Superstar
Angelina Jolie once refused to be a Bond girl stating that she would rather be James Bond. Her thirst and penchant for action started with this revelation that culminated with her being named by Forbes as the “First Blockbuster Female Action Movie Star.” Interestingly, Salt which was the film that made Jolie an action queen, was originally written with Tom Cruise in mind. But changing the character into a female protagonist proved to be a masterstroke.
Salt became one of Jolie’s biggest blockbusters mainly owing to the Maleficent star’s commitment to the role and the felicity with which she approached the action sequences. In 2010, Salt producer, Lorenzo di Bonaventura possibly gave Jolie her biggest compliment by correcting her title.
“It’s definitely unusual that a female has become an action star. But it’s a funny thing. She’s not a female action star; she’s an action star. She’s really the first female to transcend gender. I don’t think it’s occurred before.”
According to Hollywood historian David Thomson, Jolie’s tough and gritty off-screen persona along with her no-nonsense attitude played a big part in the actor landing aggressive roles on-screen. The Girl, Interrupted actor has also confessed that she enjoyed her “bad girl” image.
Michelle Yeoh Challenges Angelina Jolie’s Action Star Title
Michelle Yeoh is a pioneer in every sense of the word. The star who started her career doing action films in Hong Kong and Malaysia, made the big jump to mainstream Hollywood with one of her first roles as a Bond girl in Tomorrow Never Dies. But it was her stellar performance in the critically acclaimed Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon that got her recognized on a global level. Following the huge success of the film, Yeoh went on to make a name for herself as a bankable action star in films like Master Z and Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings while also switching genres with ease in Crazy Rich Asians and King Fu Panda 2.
Yeoh’s crowning glory came in 2023 with Everything Everywhere All at Once, an action multiverse thriller that saw the celebrity creating history by becoming the first Asian woman to win the Oscar for Best Actress in a Leading Role. The film which included elements of science fiction and fantasy, showcased Yeoh’s intense emotions as well as her well-known action skills which put her in line as one of the top actors who could dethrone Angelina Jolie as the most popular female action star in Hollywood.
Source: The Things
