The gorgeous and talented Michelle Yeoh had an amazing year in a lifetime of incredible success. Her performance in Everything Everywhere All at Once won her an Academy Awards in the Best Actress category. On her big night, she was accompanied by her longtime partner, Jean Todt.
He even tweeted during her win, writing exuberantly, “Moment of pure grace and immense happiness! What a journey! So proud of Michelle who received the Oscar Academy Award of the best actress.”
The couple have been engaged since 2005, so getting married clearly isn’t at the top of their priority list. But they remain devoted to one another. Here’s everything to know about Jean Todt.
Who is Jean Todt?
Todt, 77, is from south-central France, born in Pierrefort in February 1946, the son of a doctor. He eventually went to study at the École des Cadres School of Economics and Business in Paris. Todt works in racing as an executive now, but he was once a world championship rally co-driver. His career behind the wheel began in 1966, and he has won races in the Tour de France Automobile Rally, World Rally Championship, and the Rally de Portugal.
He has served as the director of Peugoet Talbot Sport, and was the CEO of Ferrari from 2004 to 2009. From 2009 to 2021, Todt was the president of the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile. The organization oversees the Formula One World Championship.
On the charitable side, he serves on the United Nations’ Special Envoy for Road Safety and is a member of the Board of Trustees of the FIA Foundation for the Automobile and Society.
He has one son, Nicolas Todt, who is a driver himself and an award winner on the track.
How did Todt and Yeoh meet?
In 2004, a year before their engagement, Todt and Yeoh met at in Shanghai while the actress was doing publicity for Ferrari.
Who else has Yeoh been romantically linked to?
Yeoh was once married to studio head Dickson Poon, tying the knot in 1988. She stopped acting to try to start a family with him. She told Bustle, “When I got married, it was a conscious decision to leave acting. It wasn’t because of pressure from Dickson and his family or anything like that—because in Asia, it does happen where the women are [expected to be] a married housewife or a mother as soon as possible and not work. But at that time, it was my choice to leave because I’m not a good multitasker. I looked in awe at some of the actresses who were able to juggle being a mother, take the kids to school, and act or produce. It blew my mind. I felt if I continued acting, I’d be constantly away from home. I couldn’t understand how I could have a full [career while] being married.”
She added they divorced because “as it turned out, I was unable [to have children]. And if I’m being honest with myself, I didn’t want for us to be bitter 10 years down the road. Because in Asian families, people want to have sons and daughters [because] they are an extension and a legacy. And when you have the realization [that you can’t have kids], you have to deal with it. You deal with the curveballs that are thrown at you.”
Following the divorce, she returned to film with her movie Supercop, acting alongside Jackie Chan.
Before meeting Todt, she dated a cardiologist named Alan Heldman, and they were engaged in 1998, breaking up in 2000.
Are Yeoh and Todt going to get married?
In an interview with the Guardian in 2021, Yeoh said, “We’ve been threatening to get married for such a long time. Sometimes we say, ‘Wait, didn’t we already do it?’”
When asked if the couple have commitment issues, she exclaimed, “Oh stop!”
It does seem like marriage isn’t the biggest thing on their minds, but in Town & Country‘s September 2022 issue, Yeoh made it clear where her heart lies. While discussing how much the pair travel for work and fun, she was asked where home really was, and answered, “Wherever the people that I love are. Wherever Jean is.”
Aimée Lutkin is the weekend editor at ELLE.com. Her writing has appeared in Jezebel, Glamour, Marie Claire and more. Her first book, The Lonely Hunter, will be released by Dial Press in February 2022.