Yeo cites her acting mentor, the late theatre doyen
Kuo Pao Kun, as a significant influence in her career. In 1997, Yeo made her theatre debut with
Comedy of Mistakes by
Toy Factory Production. and was the first Singaporean film to receive an IFFPA-recognised international feature film award. Yeo has also been featured in the Singapore Speak Chinese campaign (华语cool!), in-character from her role in the Royston Tan's 2007 film
881. Yeo had also starred in various television productions, including ''Food Goin' Bananas
(2008) and The A-Go-Go Princess
(2009). In 2009 also, she played the leading role in The Iron Lady'', produced by
ntv7. In 2013, Yeo played as the mother of the protagonist in
Anthony Chen's first feature film,
Ilo Ilo. The film debuted at the 2013
Cannes Film Festival where it received a 15-minute long "standing ovation" and earned Chen the
Camera d'Or. Singapore Prime Minister
Lee Hsien Loong noted Chen's achievement, and congratulated him and the film's cast on Facebook. The film continued to win success at various film festivals with Yeo picking up awards such as
Best Supporting Actress at the
50th Golden Horse Awards, Best Actress at the
Vladivostok Film Festival,
Best Supporting Actress at the
8th Asian Film Awards among others. In spring 2018, Yeo reunites with Chen for his second feature film,
Wet Season. The film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival and went on to be nominated for six Golden Horse Awards, with Yeo winning her second Golden Horse, for
Best Leading Actress. In 2020, Yeo was cast as Lian in
HBO Asia’s ''Invisible Stories. The film was released on
Netflix in 2025. In 2022, Yeo acted as the mother of the main character in
American Born Chinese, a television series adaption of a 2006 graphic novel
American Born Chinese by
Gene Luen Yang, an American
fantasy action comedy television sitcom created by
Kelvin Yu for
Disney+. The series consists of eight episodes and premiered on
Disney+ on 24 May 2023. ==Personal life==