Summary

• Élodie Yung is a French actress who got her start in her native country before transitioning to Hollywood, where she has starred in movies and TV shows of all genres.
• On the small screen, Yung is known as playing the titular anti-heroine in The Cleaning Lady
• The actress' biggest role to date is Elektra in the Marvel Comics' shows Daredevil and The Defenders.

French actress Élodie Yung started her career in her home country, quickly gaining prominent roles in TV and movies before making the jump to Hollywood, where her star has continued to rise. Born to a Cambodian father and a French mother, Yung began her career in the highly influential French movie and TV industry. Her first appearance came in the TV show La vie devant nous, where she had a recurring role as Jade Perrin. From there, she went on to bigger and bigger parts, even landing a lead role in Les Bleus for four seasons.

When Hollywood came calling, Yung kicked off her current impressive run with a small role in David Fincher's The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo as Miriam Wu. From there, Yung began appearing in notable blockbusters, dramatic indie films, and Marvel TV shows. Her ability to imbue even the most two-dimensional characters with emotion combined with her real skills in martial arts have turned her into one of the few consistent female action stars working today. Whatever her role on TV or film, Yung is always worth tuning in for.

10 Narcopolis (2015)

Élodie Yung Plays Eva Gray

In Narcopolis, set in the year 2024, Officer Frank Grieves (Elliot Cowan) is concerned with finding out who is behind the influx of a new, experimental drug and what they have to gain from it. Élodie Yung plays Eva Gray, a woman whom Frank encounters, claiming she's a time traveler sent from 2044 to help him. At first, Frank doesn't believe her, but he comes to realize this new drug is itself a time-traveling aid.

When Eva first appears, it isn't clear if she is hallucinating from the drugs or from the efforts of time-traveling as she so claims.

When Eva first appears, it isn't clear if she is hallucinating from the drugs or from the efforts of time-traveling as she so claims, and Yung balances on the edge between being strung out on pharmaceuticals and exhausted from travel very well. It's hard to tell which side she's on until the truth is revealed later in the story. The air of mystery she provides papers over some of the movie's convoluted plot failings.

9 G.I. Joe: Retaliation (2013)

Élodie Yung Plays Kim Arashikage/Jinx

The second installment of the unexpectedly successful G.I. Joe film franchise, G.I. Joe; Retaliation released to poor critical scores but a huge box office, making almost $376 million worldwide (via Box Office Mojo). In the film, Élodie Yung plays Kim Arashikage, or "Jinx", Snake Eyes' (Ray Park) apprentice and a formidable ninja enemy to the Joes. However, by the end of the film, she and the other honorable of Cobra have sided with their enemies and are celebrated by the world.

G.I. Joe is also part of the Marvel comic universe with the G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero series, meaning Yung is one of the notable few actors to have played two Marvel characters on-screen.

Though her face is hidden by a mask most of the time she is on-screen, Yung showcases her impressive physical acting and martial arts prowess whenever she appears. It's a demanding and somewhat thankless role, but thanks to Yung's comfort with stunts, every one of her fight scenes feels real and brutal. With Transformers and G.I. Joe set to crossover, it could be the perfect time to bring Jinx back.

8 Gods Of Egypt (2016)

Élodie Yung Plays Hathor

Gods of Egypt is an odd movie filled with clumsy writing and dialogue, video game-like visual effects, and strange decisions like making the god characters substantially larger than the humans, creating awkward camera shots and interactions. However, a lot of creativity and fantastical storytelling also went into this fantasy epic about the Egyptian pantheon, and it can be a ton of fun for those same cheesy reasons it doesn't always work.

Élodie Yung co-stars as Hathor, goddess of love and Horus' (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) lover. Yung is one of the best parts of Gods of Egypt, and it's almost disorienting how much better her scenes are than the rest of the film. Hathor's story is tragic and Yung manages to squeeze a lot of emotionality and sadness out of the character, creating some moving moments in between the CGI fights.

7 Secret Society Of Second-Born Royals (2020)

Élodie Yung Plays Queen Catherine

Élodie Yung appears in the cast of Secret Society Of Second-Born Royals as Queen Catherine, the monarch of the kingdom of Illyria. She has two daughters: Crown Princess Eleanor (Ashley Liao), the eldest, and Princess Sam (Peyton Elizabeth Lee), the titular second-born royal. In this society, second-born royals enter a top-secret training program to learn to protect the world from threats.

Queen Catherine is a ing character, but as one of the adults in the cast, Yung's elegance and confidence brings a maturity to her character that elevates the movie.

It's a little bit Sky High, a little bit Descendants, and a little bit High School Musical. Clearly intended for younger viewers, older fans will still appreciate the film even if it can occasionally feel like a Disney Channel Original movie. Queen Catherine is a ing character, but as one of the adults in the cast, Yung's elegance and confidence brings a maturity to her character that elevates the movie. It never feels like she thinks she's too good for the role and there's an appreciable earnestness to her performance.

6 Love, Death + Robots (2019-Present)

Élodie Yung Plays Alice & Chantra (2 Episodes, 2021-2022))

Love, Death & Robots is Netflix's daring anthology series that, over three seasons, has produced 35 engrossing episodes made by completely different cast and crew . The only hitch is that each story must in some way deal with "love", "death", or "robots". Élodie Yung voices characters in two of Love, Death & Robots best episodes: "Bad Traveling" (Volume 3, Episode 2) as Chantre and "Pop Squad" (Volume 2, Episode 3) as Alice, roles she also provides motion capture for.

"Bad Traveling" by David Fincher features a shipping crew from the 18th century who must contend with a hungry, giant crab on board their ship, while "Pop Squad" by Jennifer Yuh Nelson is set in a dystopian future where newborn children are executed to stem overpopulation. They're very different films, but each is harrowing and deeply philosophical, asking, "Who should get to live?" Yung has the vocal range and the intensity to make Alice and Chantre pop off the screen even though she's not actually there.

5 District 13: Ultimatum (2009)

Élodie Yung Plays Tao

District 13: Ultimatum is the 2009 sequel to the 2004 French film District 13, in which Élodie Yung did not appear. The plots are ancillary in these films, as the real draw is the action, particularly the scenes of parkour, which was extremely popular in at the time. The first movie was directed by Luc Besson and he wrote and produced the sequel. Yung plays Tao, a tattooed leader of an unspecified Asian gang in the alternative version of Paris where street gangs and crime are rampant.

Not only does Yung simply look cool with tattoos up and down her arms that snake up to encircle her face, but she's also an exceptionally fierce fighter, which makes great use of Yung's proficiency in martial arts. She doesn't speak much, but she has a few incredible fight scenes, including one where she takes on four soldiers. She whips her long ponytail around, stabbing the soldiers with the knife tied to the end. It's a scene that might have been goofy if Yung didn't look so cool pulling it off.

4 Still (2014)

Élodie Yung Plays Christina

Élodie Yung plays a much different sort of character in the British drama, Still. In the film, Tom Carver (Aidan Gillen) loses his son in a tragic hit-and-run, which causes him to self-destruct and his marriage to fall apart. As he's trying to get his life back together with his new girlfriend Christina (Yung), Tom runs afoul of a youth gang that terrorizes him and his friends, and they end up sexually assaulting Christina. With nowhere to turn, Tom sets off on a vengeful quest to take back control of his life.

Her breakdown after being attacked is sudden and shocking and some of Yung's most impressive acting to date.

Still is a grim film and there's little in the way of a heroic Tom finally standing up for himself and those he loves. Instead, Still calls into question if vigilantism is ever the right answer. Yung's portrayal of Christina is subtle. She's smitten with Tom but also becomes increasingly worried about his self-destructive behavior. Her breakdown after being attacked is sudden and shocking and some of Yung's most impressive acting to date.

3 The Hitman's Bodyguard (2017)

Élodie Yung Plays Amelia Roussel

The Hitman's Bodyguard stars Ryan Reynolds as Michael Bryce, a disgraced executive bodyguard, who is hired to protect imprisoned hitman Darius Kincaid (Samuel L. Jackson) when the latter is set to testify against a vicious Belarussian dictator (Gary Oldman). Élodie Yung co-stars as Amelia Roussel, an Interpol agent, and Michael's ex-girlfriend. It's filled with clichés and expected twists, but the action is top-notch and the chemistry between the characters is excellent.

This was one of the first chances Yung had to showcase her larger range of acting talent. She has the dramatic chops for the serious moments, is more at home with the action than anyone on-screen bar the professional stuntman, and even showcases a little humor that slots her in well to the tone of the movie. It's the role that introduced Yung to a wider audience of viewers.

2 The Cleaning Lady (2022-Present)

Élodie Yung Plays Thony De La Rosa

The Cleaning Lady is an original Fox series and Élodie Yung's first starring performance that isn't in an ensemble. In the show, Yung plays Thony De La Rosa, a Cambodian-Filipino surgeon who loses her medical license when her American visa expires. In order to take care of her five-year-old son, Thony works as a hotel cleaner in Las Vegas. When she meets a member of an Armenian crime family, she's offered the job of "professional cleaner", tasked with cleaning up the family's dirty work.

It constantly feels like Thony is on the verge of falling apart, but Yung keeps her tightly wound.

Yung's performance is excellent as the exhausted and in-over-her-head Thony. She has to live two lives, one as a hotel cleaner, and another as a crime family's go-to. It's an interesting conceit for a show and Yung is credibly able to play a hyper-intelligent former surgeon, a demure cleaning woman, and a ruthless and pragmatic crime scene fixer. It constantly feels like Thony is on the verge of falling apart, but Yung keeps her tightly wound. The Cleaning Lady season 4 has been confirmed, so there's more Thony to come.

Sadly, Élodie Yung's co-star in The Cleaning Lady, Adan Canto, who plays Arman Morales, ed away on January 8, 2024, from appendiceal cancer at the age of 42.

1 Darevedevil/The Defenders (2016-2017)

Élodie Yung Plays Elektra Natchios

Appearing in a Marvel production is as good a way as any for an actor to know they've made it in Hollywood. Élodie Yung's performance as Elektra in The Defenders and Daredevil is an indication that her career has turned out spectacularly. As the Marvel Comics character Elektra, Yung only appeared in season 2 of Daredevil, but she was a central figure that season as well as in The Defenders miniseries.

Elektra Natchios is a highly trained, sai-wielding assassin, who often plays the part of anti-hero. She's a bit like the Catwoman to Daredevil's Batman. The character has gone wrong in other hands, but Yung turns what could have been a one-note character into someone with many layers and a deep emotional core. It's the perfect blend of Élodie Yung's dramatic acting talent and her physical acting abilities, turning Elektra into one of the better MCU heroes in the studio's canon.