At the age of 12, a talent agent scouted Michelle Krusiec in her hometown of Virginia Beach. She began formal training at the Virginia Governor's Magnet School for the Arts and graduated with a Theatre and English Degree from Virginia Tech University. She completed additional studies on scholarship at Oxford and then found herself globetrotting as the host of Travelers for the Discovery channel, visiting over 50 destinations around the world. Krusiec has graced films such as Sweet Home Alabama, Cursed, Daddy Day Care, and Duplex, but her uncanny performance in Alice Wu's feature Saving Face (Sony Classics) caught the attention of critics from numerous publications, including the Hollywood Reporter, Variety, Slate Magazine, NY Post, and Washington Post. Michelle's performance opposite Joan Chen garnered Krusiec a coveted Golden Horse nomination for Best Actress. Inarguably recognized as the "Chinese" Academy Award, the Golden Horse awards have recognized and established talents such as Joan Chen, Maggie Cheung and Gong Li. She is one of the first Asian American actors to be recognized by these prestigious awards. In television, Michelle has made over 30 guest appearances (not including her own NBC series) on primetime hits such as Grey's Anatomy, Weeds, Cold Case, Without a Trace, NCIS, Monk, E.R. and HBO's dark comedy The Mind of the Married Man. Krusiec's independent forays have premiered in festivals such as Sundance and the Toronto International film festival. In 2002, Michelle was invited to premiere her one-woman solo show, "Made in Taiwan," at the HBO Aspen Comedy festival. Hollywood Reporter named her one of the Top Ten Rising Stars. Recently, the Hollywood Reporter once again highlighted Michelle as part of their "Faces of Sundance" feature 2005.
Speaks English and Mandarin Chinese as second language grew up in Virginia Beach, VA Has two brothers Although her surname is foreign, she is ethnic Chinese who was raised in the United States by adopted parents - her Taiwanese aunt and American uncle (hence the Krusiec surname). Her Taiwanese parents sent her to live with her aunt when she was five, so that her mother could better cope with Krusiec's two other siblings. In Taiwan, she is better known by her Chinese name, Yang Ya-Huei, with Yang being her biological father's surname. BG: Got her undergraduate degree in Theatre Arts from Virginia Tech in BG: 1995. "Saving Face" is her first leading role in a film. while attending Virginia tech, she went to a workshop featuring director Oliver Stone and actually fell asleep during the workshop but eventually landed a small role in his film Nixon. Interests include Asian cultures, African dance and world music, all a result of having traveled around the world. Enjoys taking dance classes in everything from ballet to hip-hop. Michelle is an "extreme sports" enthusiast who enjoys hang-gliding and snowboarding. Received her undergraduate degree in Theatre Arts and English from Virginia Tech in 1995. Won the "Audience Choice" award for her film Saving Faceat Taiwan's 42nd Golden Horse film awards on 13 November 2005 (Golden Horse film awards are the Chinese-speaking equivalent to the Oscars).