Gwendoline Yeo

Gwendoline Yeo
杨时贤
Yeo in 2018
Born
Gwendoline See-Hian Yeo

(1977-07-10) 10 July 1977 (age 47)
Singapore
EducationUniversity of California, Los Angeles (BA)
San Francisco Conservatory of Music
OccupationActress
Years active2001–present
RelativesGeorge Yeo (uncle)
Websitewww.gwendolineyeo.com

Gwendoline See-Hian Yeo (Chinese: 杨时贤; pinyin: Yáng Shíxián; born 10 July 1977)[1] 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.[2][3][4] She is also known for voicing different roles in voiceover projects.

Early life

Born in Singapore, Yeo moved to California, United States as a teenager, 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.[5]

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.[6] Her performance in the film earned her critical acclaim and a NAMIC Vision Award nomination for Best Actress in 2007.[2]

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.[7]

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.[8]

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.[3][4] Before the series aired, Yeo was replaced by Yvonne Chapman.[9]

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.[10]

Her character Shinigami, from Nickelodeon's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, was officially launched during San Diego Comic-Con to a huge crowd of fans.[11] 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.[12] 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.[12][13]

Yeo also designed her own limited-edition clothing line, which quickly sold out, and donated the proceeds to Kentucky's Christian Appalachian Project.[14]

Filmography

Live-action

Film

Year Title Role Notes
2004 A Day Without a Mexican Newscaster
2007 Night Skies June
Dead Tone Detective Anne Hastings
The Jane Austen Book Club Dr. Samantha Yep
2008 Vacancy 2: The First Cut Bride
2012 Freeloaders Yue Jie

Television

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"
2004 The O.C. Sara / Amy Episode: "The Strip"
Judging Amy Lisa Bart Episode: "Consent"
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
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"
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"
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
2015 Castle Elise Kim Episode: "The Wrong Stuff"
American Crime Richelle 4 episodes
2016 Grey's Anatomy Michelle Carpio Episode: "Mama Tried"
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"[15]
2023 Truth Be Told Social Worker 3 episodes

Voice acting

Film

Year Title Role Notes
2007 The Invincible Iron Man Li Mei Direct-to-video
2011 Dead Space: Aftermath Isabel Cho
Green Lantern: Emerald Knights Blu
Scooby-Doo! Legend of the Phantosaur Ms. Deitch
2012 Back to the Sea Waitress
Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Part One 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

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
2006 The Life and Times of Juniper Lee Cousin Lisa, Aunt Lily Episode: "Party Monsters"
Hellboy: Sword of Storms Kitsune Television film
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
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"
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
2019 Love, Death & Robots Tsiao Jung Episode: "Good Hunting"
Star Wars Resistance Stormtrooper #2 Episode: "Break Out"
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

Year Title Role Ref
2002 X-Men: Next Dimension Lady Deathstrike [16]
2003 X2: Wolverine's Revenge [16]
Final Fantasy X-2 Paine [16]
2004 Seven Samurai 20XX Cue [17]
Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance II Luvia Bloodmire
Shellshock: Nam '67 Hooker #1
2005 God of War Lysandra, Civilians
Brave: The Search for Spirit Dancer Maiden Rock, Villager
Zatch Bell! Mamodo Battles Li-en
Kingdom of Paradise Li Yin, Suzuka Disciple
Neopets: The Darkest Faerie Spite [16]
2006 Kingdom Hearts II Paine [16]
Avatar: The Last Airbender The Maker, Additional Voices [16]
Titan Quest Additional Voices
Zatch Bell! Mamodo Fury Li-en
2007 Brave: The Search for Spirit Dancer Maiden Rock, Villagers [16]
Syphon Filter: Logan's Shadow Trinidad
Mass Effect Sha'ira, Shiala
2009 Uncharted 2: Among Thieves Rika Raja [16]
2010 Mass Effect 2 Shiala, Captain Wasea, Kian Louros, Quarian Patron
God of War III Lysandra [16]
2011 SOCOM 4: U.S. Navy SEALs Lieutenant "Forty-Five" Park
Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception Rika Raja
Saints Row: The Third Pedestrians
2012 Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City Four-Eyes [16]
2013 BioShock Infinite Additional Voices
Fuse Meilin Mao [16]
The Last of Us Additional Voices
Deadpool Domino [16]
Infinity Blade III Lelindre
2014 Far Cry 4 Yuma [16]
2015 Call of Duty: Black Ops III Additional Voices
2016 Lego Marvel's Avengers Crystal
Lego Star Wars: The Force Awakens Additional Voices
2020 Disintegration Alex (Female)
Iron Man VR S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent C, Terrified Businesswoman
Ghost of Tsushima Additional Voices
2021 Lost Judgment Yui Mamiya [16]
2022 Ghostwire: Tokyo Woman E [18]
Saints Row Santo Ileso Pedestrians
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II Tse "Luna" Mingzhu [19]
2023 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Splintered Fate Kurai
Diablo IV Additional Voices
2024 Final Fantasy VII Rebirth Additional Voices

References

  1. ^ Rose, Mike (10 July 2018). "Today's top celebrity birthdays list (July 10, 2018)". cleveland. Retrieved 9 July 2021.
  2. ^ a b Sneider, Jeff (24 January 2007). "NAMIC announces nominees". Retrieved 26 December 2018.
  3. ^ a b Flook, Ray (10 March 2020). "Kung Fu: CW Pilot Sets Gavin Stenhouse, Gwendoline Yeo as Series Regulars". Retrieved 22 August 2020.
  4. ^ a b Otterson, Joe (12 May 2020). "The CW Orders Kung Fu Reboot, Republic of Sarah for 2020–2021 Season". Retrieved 22 August 2020.
  5. ^ "DIP INTERVIEW: Interview with Gwendoline Yeo". UCLA. 7 November 2003.
  6. ^ "About Gwendoline – Gwendoline Yeo". Retrieved 26 December 2018.
  7. ^ "46TH Annual Worldfest Houston". Retrieved 26 December 2018.
  8. ^ "Singapore girl in Hollywood". 18 June 2006. Archived from the original on 27 December 2018. Retrieved 26 December 2018.
  9. ^ Petski, Denise (18 November 2020). "Antonio Jaramillo Joins 'Snowfall'; 'Kung Fu' Casts Yvonne Chapman". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 17 April 2021.
  10. ^ "Love Death and Robots – Emmy Awards, Nominations and Wins – Television Academy". Retrieved 26 December 2018.
  11. ^ Whitten, Emily S. (30 June 2016). "Nickelodeon and Nostalgia @ SDCC 2016". Retrieved 26 December 2018.
  12. ^ a b Allred, Laurie (17 November 2010). "Alumna Gwendoline Yeo emphasizes family dynamics in her one-woman show 'Laughing With My Mouth Wide Open'". Daily Bruin. UCLA.
  13. ^ "Theater Reviews: Cinderella, Schmutzigen Deutsche Kabarett". 2 December 2010. Retrieved 26 December 2018.
  14. ^ Copley, Rich (20 September 2016). "Actress Gwendoline Yeo's heart-to-heart with Christian Appalachian Project". Retrieved 26 December 2018.
  15. ^ Smail, Gretchen (7 April 2021). "the-kung-fu-reboot-cast-asian-american-talent". Retrieved 1 May 2021.
  16. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n "Gwendoline Yeo (visual voices guide)". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved 20 May 2022. A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: postscript (link)
  17. ^ Dimps; Polygon Magic. Seven Samurai 20XX. Sammy Studios. Scene: Ending credits, 5:09:48 in, CAST.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  18. ^ Tango Gameworks. Ghostwire: Tokyo. Bethesda Softworks. Scene: Ending credits, 7:40 in, ENGLISH CAST.
  19. ^ Yeo, Gwendoline (28 October 2022). "Really proud to be part of a massive team effort @InfinityWard @CallofDuty #ModernWarfare2 #MWII the largest franchise in gaming history! I'm Luna, Private Military Contractor MP character. See you out there – over & out". Twitter. Retrieved 28 October 2022.
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