Gwendoline Yeo
{{short description|Singaporean actress (born 1977)}}
{{Use Singapore English|date=July 2022}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2022}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Gwendoline Yeo
| image = Gwendoline Yeo - SOVAS 2018.jpg
| alt =
| caption = Yeo in 2018
| native_name = {{nobold|杨时贤}}
| birth_name = Gwendoline See-Hian Yeo
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1977|07|10|df=yes}}
| birth_place = Singapore
| education = University of California, Los Angeles (BA)
San Francisco Conservatory of Music
| occupation = Actress
| years_active = 2001–present
| relatives = George Yeo (uncle)
| website = {{url|http://www.gwendolineyeo.com}}
}}
Gwendoline See-Hian Yeo ({{zh|c=杨时贤|p=Yáng Shíxián}}; born 10 July 1977){{Cite web|last=Rose|first=Mike|date=2018-07-10|title=Today's top celebrity birthdays list (July 10, 2018)|url=https://www.cleveland.com/life_and_culture/erry-2018/07/5a12a6f9473892/todays_top_celebrity_birthdays.html|access-date=2021-07-09|website=cleveland|language=en}} is a Singaporean actress, best known for her roles as Dr. Kelly Lee on General Hospital, Xiao-Mei on Desperate Housewives, and Sun Fu in Broken Trail.{{cite web |url=https://variety.com/2007/film/awards/namic-announces-nominees-1117958004/ |title=NAMIC announces nominees |last=Sneider |first=Jeff |date=2007-01-24 |access-date=2018-12-26}}{{cite web |url=https://bleedingcool.com/tv/kung-fu-cw-pilot-sets-gavin-stenhouse-gwendoline-yeo-as-series-regulars/ |title=Kung Fu: CW Pilot Sets Gavin Stenhouse, Gwendoline Yeo as Series Regulars |last=Flook |first=Ray |date=2020-03-10 |access-date=2020-08-22}}{{cite web |url=https://variety.com/2020/tv/news/the-cw-kung-fu-reboot-republic-of-sarah-2020-2021-season-1234604708/ |title=The CW Orders Kung Fu Reboot, Republic of Sarah for 2020–2021 Season |last=Otterson |first=Joe |date=2020-05-12 |access-date=2020-08-22}} She is also known for voicing different roles in voiceover projects.
Early life
Born in Singapore, Yeo moved to California, United States when she was eleven,{{website|title=ABOUT GWENDOLINE|url=https://www.gwendolineyeo.com/bio#about|quote=Gwendoline Yeo immigrated from Singapore to San Francisco at eleven. She won Miss Teen Chinatown SF, Miss Asian America & Miss Chinatown USA. She graduated from UCLA Summa Cum Laude, Phi Beta Kappa and has a diploma in piano from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music.|access-date=28 January 2025}} where she attended St. Ignatius College Preparatory before graduating with honors in 1994. Yeo graduated summa cum laude from the University of California, Los Angeles, in 1997. She also completed a diploma in classical piano at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music.{{cite news|title=DIP INTERVIEW: Interview with Gwendoline Yeo|url=http://international.ucla.edu/asia/article/5889|publisher=UCLA|date=November 7, 2003}}
Yeo was crowned Miss Asian America in 1995 and was also named Miss Chinatown USA in 1998–99.
She is the niece of George Yeo, a Singaporean former politician who served as Minister for Foreign Affairs between 2004 and 2011.
Career
=Film=
Yeo starred opposite Robert Duvall and Thomas Haden Church in the Emmy Award-winning Western Broken Trail as Sun Fu (also known as "Number Three"), a Chinese woman sold into prostitution in the 1800s. After a worldwide search, Duvall personally selected her to star opposite him in the role.{{cite web |url=https://www.gwendolineyeo.com/bio |title=About Gwendoline – Gwendoline Yeo |access-date=2018-12-26}} Her performance in the film earned her critical acclaim and a NAMIC Vision Award nomination for Best Actress in 2007.
In the independent film Heathens and Thieves, Yeo played Kun Hua, a role which garnered her Best Actress Awards at both the WorldFest Houston International Film Festival and the Iowa Film Festival.{{cite web |url=http://www.houstontheatre.com/worldfest/film2013.html |title=46TH Annual Worldfest Houston |access-date=2018-12-26}}
Yeo also starred in the Emmy Award-nominated Amazon original special American Girl: Ivy & Julie.
Other notable film roles include Dr. Samantha Yep in The Jane Austen Book Club with Emily Blunt and Hugh Dancy, June in Night Skies, and The Magic of Ordinary Days with Keri Russell.
=Television=
Yeo is perhaps best known for her recurring guest star role as Xiao-Mei, the Chinese maid of Gabrielle Solis (Eva Longoria) and Carlos Solis (Ricardo Antonio Chavira) in Desperate Housewives. The character's popularity in the series led to an offer for a series regular contract the next season.{{cite web |url=https://www.thestar.com.my/lifestyle/entertainment/tv/news/2006/06/18/singapore-girl-in-hollywood/ |title=Singapore girl in Hollywood |date=2006-06-18 |access-date=2018-12-26 |archive-date=2018-12-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181227133150/https://www.thestar.com.my/lifestyle/entertainment/tv/news/2006/06/18/singapore-girl-in-hollywood/ |url-status=dead }}
Set to debut in the 2020–21 television season, Yeo was cast as a series regular on The CW's Kung Fu as Zhilan, a dangerous nemesis with criminal ties and a connection to the Shaolin monastery.{{cite web |url=https://bleedingcool.com/tv/kung-fu-cw-pilot-sets-gavin-stenhouse-gwendoline-yeo-as-series-regulars/ |title=Kung Fu: CW Pilot Sets Gavin Stenhouse, Gwendoline Yeo as Series Regulars |last=Flook |first=Ray |date=2020-03-10 |access-date=2020-08-22}}{{cite web |url=https://variety.com/2020/tv/news/the-cw-kung-fu-reboot-republic-of-sarah-2020-2021-season-1234604708/ |title=The CW Orders Kung Fu Reboot, Republic of Sarah for 2020–2021 Season |last=Otterson |first=Joe |date=2020-05-12 |access-date=2020-08-22}} Before the series aired, Yeo was replaced by Yvonne Chapman.{{cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2020/11/antonio-jaramillo-snowfall-kung-fu-yvonne-chapman-1234613931/|title=Antonio Jaramillo Joins 'Snowfall'; 'Kung Fu' Casts Yvonne Chapman|first=Denise|last=Petski|website=Deadline Hollywood|date=2020-11-18|access-date=2021-04-17}}
She also had a recurring role as the Oklahoma-born Sargent Richelle (opposite Felicity Huffman) in the critically acclaimed series American Crime, played Kelly Lee on General Hospital, and has also guested on other popular shows such as NCIS, Grey's Anatomy, Castle, The Mentalist, and Chuck.
=Voice acting=
Yeo is a prominent voice artist in several animated series, films, video games, and commercials, and has multiple action figures based on her characters. She started her career in voice-over in 2003 with guest role on What's New, Scooby-Doo?. More recently, she voiced Lady Shiva in the 2019 animated series Young Justice, and Tsiao Jung in the 2019 Emmy Award-winning series Love, Death & Robots.{{cite web |url=https://www.emmys.com/shows/love-death-robots |title=Love Death and Robots – Emmy Awards, Nominations and Wins – Television Academy |access-date=2018-12-26}}
Her character Shinigami, from Nickelodeon's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, was officially launched during San Diego Comic-Con to a huge crowd of fans.{{cite web |url=https://www.comicmix.com/2016/07/30/emily-s-whitten-nickelodeon-and-nostalgia-sdcc-2016/ |title=Nickelodeon and Nostalgia @ SDCC 2016 |last=Whitten |first=Emily S. |date=2016-06-30 |access-date=2018-12-26}} In 2020, she voiced another iconic role from the TMNT universe, Karai, in Nickelodeon's Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
She has voiced several other popular animated characters including Nala Se, Jedi Kalifa, and Cato Parassiti in Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Domino and Master Mold in Wolverine and the X-Men, Mariko Yashida in Marvel Anime: Wolverine, Dr. Yui Sasaki in Marvel Anime: X-Men, Li Mei in The Invincible Iron Man, Lola Chang in Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Gramma on Stitch!, Mercy Graves in The Batman, Kitsune in Hellboy: Sword of Storms, and Li-en in Zatch Bell!. She has also guest starred on Phineas and Ferb, Kim Possible, Curious George, Yasuke, and Ben 10: Omniverse.
In video games, Yeo is best known as Paine in Final Fantasy X-2 and Kingdom Hearts II. She was also the female lead in SOCOM 4 U.S. Navy SEALs as the character Forty-Five.{{cite news|title=Alumna Gwendoline Yeo emphasizes family dynamics in her one-woman show 'Laughing With My Mouth Wide Open'|url=http://dailybruin.com/2010/11/17/graduate_to_perform_in_onewoman_show_/|work=Daily Bruin|publisher=UCLA|first=Laurie|last=Allred|date=November 17, 2010}} Other notable video game credits include Lady Deathstrike in X-Men: Next Dimension, Yuma in Far Cry 4, and Four-Eyes in Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City.
Other projects
Yeo's love of music led her to specialize in playing the Chinese long zither, also known as the guzheng, which culminated into a one-woman radio show on NPR-KCRW about her immigrant and ugly duckling story. It also included the debut of her first two zither/vocal tracks "Kiss My Grits" and "Lovers."
Her radio show evolved into a theater piece which Yeo wrote, scored, and starred in called Laughing With My Mouth Wide Open, which received rave reviews during its run at the El Centro Theatre.{{cite web |url=https://www.laweekly.com/arts/theater-reviews-cinderella-schmutzigen-deutsche-kabarett-2168081 |title=Theater Reviews: Cinderella, Schmutzigen Deutsche Kabarett |date=2010-12-02 |access-date=2018-12-26}}
Yeo also designed her own limited-edition clothing line, which quickly sold out, and donated the proceeds to Kentucky's Christian Appalachian Project.{{cite web |url=https://www.kentucky.com/entertainment/movies-news-reviews/article103010522.html |title=Actress Gwendoline Yeo's heart-to-heart with Christian Appalachian Project |last=Copley |first=Rich |date=2016-09-20 |access-date=2018-12-26}}
Filmography
=Live-action=
==Film==
| class="wikitable sortable"
! Year !! Title !! Role !! Notes | |||
| 2004 | A Day Without a Mexican | Newscaster | |
| rowspan="3" | 2007 | Night Skies | June | |
| Dead Tone | Detective Anne Hastings | ||
| The Jane Austen Book Club | Dr. Samantha Yep | ||
| 2008
|Bride | | |||
| 2012 | Freeloaders | Yue Jie |
==Television==
| class="wikitable sortable"
! Year !! Title !! Role !! Notes | |||
| 2001 | Grounded for Life | Linda | 2 episodes |
| 2002 | The Random Years | Happy Dragon Hot Waitress | Episode: "Don't Make Me Have Sex in the Hamptons" |
| 2003 | Watching Ellie | Andrea Barlow | Episode: "Shrink" |
| rowspan="2" | 2004 | The O.C. | Sara / Amy | Episode: "The Strip" |
| Judging Amy | Lisa Bart | Episode: "Consent" | |
| rowspan="4" | 2005 | The Magic of Ordinary Days | Rose | Television film |
| NYPD Blue | Ai Watanabe | Episode: "Moving Day" | |
| JAG | Lt. Chang | Episode: "Unknown Soldier" | |
| 24 | Melissa Rabb | 2 episodes | |
| rowspan="4" | 2006 | General Hospital | Dr. Kelly Lee | 7 episodes |
| Desperate Housewives | Xiao-Mei | 9 episodes | |
| Broken Trail | Sun Fu | Television film | |
| Hannah Montana | Bree Samuels | Episode: "New Kid in School" | |
| rowspan="3" | 2007 | Standoff | Ratana Sadka | Episode: "No Strings" |
| The 1/2 Hour News Hour | Yujira Shinato | 1 episode | |
| Chuck | Mei-Ling Cho | Episode: "Chuck Versus the Sizzling Shrimp" | |
| rowspan="2" | 2008 | Eli Stone | Joanna Kim | Episode: "Unwritten" |
| The Mentalist | Alexandra | Episode: "Red-Handed" | |
| 2009 | The Beast | Jennifer Ling | Episode: "The Walk In" |
| 2011 | Gigantic | Val | 2 episodes |
| rowspan="2" | 2015 | Castle | Elise Kim | Episode: "The Wrong Stuff" |
| American Crime | Richelle | 4 episodes | |
| 2016 | Grey's Anatomy | Michelle Carpio | Episode: "Mama Tried" |
| rowspan="3" | 2017 | Switched at Birth | Ling | Episode: "The Call" |
| Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders | Lin Huang | Episode: "Cinderella and the Dragon" | |
| Wisdom of the Crowd | Deputy Chief Elaine Wu | Episode: "User Bias" | |
| 2018 | NCIS | NCIS Special Agent Joanna Wright | Episode: "Death From Above"{{cite web|last1=Smail|first1=Gretchen|title=the-kung-fu-reboot-cast-asian-american-talent|url=https://www.bustle.com/entertainment/the-kung-fu-reboot-cast-asian-american-talent|date= 7 April 2021|access-date= 1 May 2021}} |
| 2023 | Truth Be Told | Social Worker | 3 episodes |
=Voice acting=
==Film==
| class="wikitable sortable"
! Year !! Title !! Role !! Notes | |||
| 2007 | The Invincible Iron Man | Li Mei | rowspan="4" | Direct-to-video |
| rowspan="3" | 2011 | Dead Space: Aftermath | Isabel Cho | |
| Green Lantern: Emerald Knights | Blu | ||
| Scooby-Doo! Legend of the Phantosaur | Ms. Deitch | ||
| rowspan="2" | 2012 | Back to the Sea | Waitress | |
| Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Part One | rowspan="2" | Lola Chang | Direct-to-video | |
| 2013 | Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Part Two | Direct-to-video | |
| 2018 | Charming | Maiden | Netflix film |
| 2022 | Animal Attraction | Marcy | Direct-to-video |
==Television==
| class="wikitable sortable"
! Year !! Title !! Role !! Notes | |||
| 2003 | What's New, Scooby Doo? | Lt. Keiko Tanaka | Episode: "Big Appetite in Little Tokyo" |
| 2005 | Higglytown Heroes | Dentist Hero | Episode: "Kip's Sweet Tooth/Wayne's Lollipop" |
| 2005–06 | Zatch Bell! | Li-en | English dub 3 episodes |
| rowspan="2" | 2006 | The Life and Times of Juniper Lee | Cousin Lisa, Aunt Lily | Episode: "Party Monsters" |
| Hellboy: Sword of Storms | Kitsune | Television film | |
| rowspan="2" | 2007 | Kim Possible | Hoodie | 2 episodes |
| The Batman | Mercy Graves | 2 episodes | |
| 2008–09 | Wolverine and the X-Men | Domino, Master Mold, Madeline Drake, Mariko Yashida | 11 episodes |
| 2008 | Phineas and Ferb | Fifi | Episode: "Greece Lightning/Leave the Busting to Us!" |
| 2008–20 | Star Wars: The Clone Wars | Nala Se, Bettie-Bot VJ, Peppi Bow, Cato Parasitti, Kalifa | 9 episodes |
| 2009 | Special Agent Oso | Jack's Mother | Episode: "Octo-Puzzle/One Suitcase Is Not Enough" |
| 2009–13 | Stitch! | Gramma (Obaa), Adult Lilo Pelekai | English dub 11 episodes |
| rowspan="2" | 2011 | Marvel Anime: Wolverine | Mariko Yashida | English dub 4 episodes |
| Marvel Anime: X-Men | Dr. Yui Sasaki | English dub 7 episodes | |
| 2012 | Days of Our Lives | Female Movie Voice | 3 episodes |
| 2013–14 | Ben 10: Omniverse | Nyancy Chan, Sheelane | 3 episodes |
| 2014 | Two and a Half Men | Computer | Episode: "Alan Shot a Little Girl" |
| rowspan="3" | 2015 | Star vs. the Forces of Evil | Mrs. Liao | Episode: "Blood Moon Ball/Fortune Cookies" |
| Be Cool, Scooby-Doo! | Dr. Lang | Episode: "Be Quiet Scooby-Doo!" | |
| Regular Show | Mary, Girl #2, Waitress #2 | Episode: "Hello China" | |
| 2016–17 | Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles | Shinigami | 6 episodes |
| 2019–21 | Young Justice | Lady Shiva, Rictus | 5 episodes |
| rowspan="2" | 2019 | Love, Death & Robots | Tsiao Jung | Episode: "Good Hunting" |
| Star Wars Resistance | Stormtrooper #2 | Episode: "Break Out" | |
| rowspan="3" | 2020 | American Dad! | Chinese Scientist | Episode: "Brave Noob World" |
| Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles | Hamato Karai | 2 episodes | |
| Curious George | Dr. Chu | 1 episode | |
| 2020–present | Lego Monkie Kid | Princess Iron Fan | 7 episodes |
| 2021 | Yasuke | Ichika, Additional Voices | English dub 5 episodes |
| 2021–2024 | Star Wars: The Bad Batch | Nala Se, Fighter #2, Villager #3 | 12 episodes |
| 2022 | Big City Greens | Masseuse | Episode: "Little Buddy/Zen Garden" |
==Video games==
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
{{commons category}}
- {{Official website|http://gwendolineyeo.com}}
- {{IMDb name|id=1290102}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Yeo, Gwendoline}}
Category:Actresses from California
Category:American actresses of Chinese descent
Category:American musicians of Chinese descent
Category:American soap opera actresses
Category:American video game actresses
Category:Miss Asian America winners
Category:Musicians from California
Category:San Francisco Conservatory of Music alumni
Category:Singaporean emigrants to the United States
Category:Singaporean film actresses
Category:Singaporean people of Chinese descent
Category:Singaporean television actresses
Category:Singaporean voice actresses
Category:St. Ignatius College Preparatory alumni