KUALA LUMPUR:

Malaysian-born action star and former Bond girl Michelle Yeoh beamed with delight when she received France’s top civilian honour in a ceremony on October 3.

The French ambassador to Malaysia, Alain du Boispean, presented Yeoh with the chevalier (knight) of the Legion of Honour at his embassy residence in Kuala Lumpur. Yeoh, 45, a former Miss Malaysia, shot to international fame when she co-starred with Pierce Brosnan in the 1997 James Bond film Tomorrow Never Dies as a tough but beautiful Chinese spy. “Deep down I am a small town girl ...who has been living a magical dream,” said Yeoh.