Bond girl Michelle Yeoh banned from Burma

Former James Bond Girl, Michelle Yeoh, has been blacklisted from entering Burma after playing the role of Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi in upcoming film

Former Bond girl, Michelle Yeoh, has been barred from entering Burma after playing the part of pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi in a forthcoming film.

Yeoh, 48, who shot to fame when she starred as a Chinese spy in the 1997 film Tomorrow Never Dies alongside Pierce Brosnan, was stopped at the airport in Burma's main city, Rangoon, and sent back on the first available flight.

The former Miss Malaysia, who also starred in Memoirs of a Geisha and lent her voice to the animation Kung Fu Panda, travelled to Burma last December to spend time with Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi to prepare for her role in the upcoming film 'The Lady'.

When she tried to return to Burma last Wednesday, however, she was held and immediately turned away.

'She did not have the chance to enter [Burma] again,' reported a Burmese official. 'She was deported straight away on the first flight after arriving at [Rangoon] International Airport.'

The 48-year-old Malaysian actress who filmed 'The Lady' with French director Luc Besson in neighbouring Thailand, said she hoped the film would raise awareness about the plight of Ms Suu Kyi, 66.

After spending most of the past 20 years under house arrest, the leader of opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) was freed just days after Burma's first elections in two decades, widely criticised as a sham.

Miss Suu Kyi's NLD boycotted the poll, and though Burma's military regime handed control to the civilian government this March, few believe it means anything substantial.

Speaking about the role, Yeoh said it was an 'incredible love story that has political turmoil within.' Yeoh hopes that the film will raise awareness of Miss Suu Kyi's story.

'The Lady' is due for release in late August or early September.

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