Nancy Kwan (born May 19, 1939) is an
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
actressAn actor or actress is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
, who played a pivotal role in the acceptance of actors of Asian descent in major Hollywood film roles. Widely praised for her beauty, Kwan was considered a major
sex symbolA sex symbol is a famous person of either gender, typically an actor, musician, model, teen idol, or sports star. The celebrity "star system"—the tabloid papers, paparazzi, and gossip talk shows—play an important role in creating and sustaining the public perception of which stars are viewed as...
in the 1960s.
Biography
Nancy Kwan was born in
Hong KongHong Kong , officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, is a highly autonomous territory of the People's Republic of China, facing Guangdong to the north and the South China Sea to the east, west and south...
to a
CantoneseThe Cantonese people are Han people whose ancestral homes are in Guangdong, China. The term "Cantonese people" would then be synonymous with the Bun Dei subethnic group, and is sometimes known as Gwong Fu Jan for this narrower definition...
father, architect Kwan Wing Hong, and
ScottishScotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
mother,
modelthumb|200px|Alesya Nazarova modeling a dress by [[bebe stores|bebe]]A model , sometimes called a mannequin, is a person who is employed for the purpose of displaying and promoting fashion clothing or other products and for advertising or promotional purposes or who poses for works of art.Modeling...
Marquita Scott. Her parents divorced when she was two years old.
During the Japanese invasion in December 1941, Kwan's father, who worked for British intelligence, fled the city on foot along with Nancy and her brother, Ka Keung, and hid out in western China. The family returned to Hong Kong at the end of
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. Kwan later studied at the
Royal Ballet SchoolThe Royal Ballet School is one of the most famous classical ballet schools in the world and is the associate school of The Royal Ballet, a leading international ballet company based at the Royal Opera House in London...
in England, performing in
Swan LakeSwan Lake is a ballet, op. 20, by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, composed 1875–1876. The scenario, initially in four acts, by Vladimir Begichev and Vasiliy Geltser was fashioned from Russian folk tales as well as an ancient German legend, which tells the story of Odette, a princess turned into a swan...
and
Sleeping BeautySleeping Beauty is a fairy tale classic, the first in the set published in 1697 by Charles Perrault, Contes de ma Mère l'Oye ....
at
Covent GardenCovent Garden is a district in London, England, located in the easternmost parts of the City of Westminster and the southwestern corner of the London Borough of Camden...
. She completed her studies with a certificate to teach ballet.
While she was in England, producer
Ray StarkRay Stark was an Academy Award-nominated American film producer and powerbroker known for his Machiavellian ways...
discovered her. At the time, Asian film characters, particularly those in major film roles, were often played by white actors and actresses, using makeup to simulate Asian facial features. However, at the age of 18, Kwan received the starring role of a beautiful and free-spirited Hong Kong prostitute who captivates artist Robert Lomax (
William HoldenWilliam Holden was an American film actor.Holden won the Academy Award for Best Actor in 1954, and the Emmy Award for Best Actor in 1974....
) in the film adaptation of
The World of Suzie WongThe World of Suzie Wong is a 1957 novel written by Richard Mason, which has been adapted into a play, a hit film, and a ballet.-Plot introduction:...
(1960). She followed it up the next year with the hit musical film
Flower Drum SongFlower Drum Song is a 1961 Academy Award-nominated film adaptation of the 1958 Broadway musical play Flower Drum Song, written by the composer Richard Rodgers and the lyricist/librettist Oscar Hammerstein II. The film and stage play were based on the 1957 novel of the same name by the Chinese...
(1961) and became one of Hollywood's most visible Eurasian actresses. She became a style icon for the signature
Vidal SassoonVidal Sassoon, CBE is a British-born Israeli hairdresser and businessman.-Early life:Sassoon was born to Jewish parents in London. His father was from Salonica , and his mother, whose family was originally from Kiev, was born in London...
bob cutA "bob cut" is a women's short haircut in which the hair is typically cut straight around the head at about jaw-length, often with a fringe at the front...
she wore in the 1963 film,
The Wild AffairThe Wild Affair is a 1963 British comedy film directed by John Krish and starring Nancy Kwan, Gladys Morgan and Betty Marsden.-Cast:* Nancy Kwan as Marjorie Lee* Gladys Morgan as Mrs...
. The asymmetrical hairstyle became a 1960s staple, and variations of the cut are still being modeled today. She spent the 1960s starring in several films, such as
The Wrecking CrewThe Wrecking Crew, released in 1969 and starring Dean Martin, Elke Sommer and Sharon Tate is the fourth and final film in a series of American comedy-spy-fi theatrical releases featuring Martin as secret agent Matt Helm...
and appearing on such television series as
Hawaii Five-OHawaii Five-O is an American television series that starred Jack Lord in the lead role for a fictional Hawaii state police department. The show ran for 12 seasons, from 1968 to 1980. The twelfth season was repackaged into syndication under the title McGarrett.-Overview:The CBS television network...
. During this time, she commuted between the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and
EuropeEurope is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian Sea, the Caucasus Mountains , and the Black Sea to the southeast...
.
Kwan married
AustriaAustria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.3 million people in Central Europe. It borders both Germany and the Czech Republic to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the west...
n ski instructor Peter Pock and gave birth to a son,
Bernhard PockBernie Pock , son of actress Nancy Kwan, had many film credits, primarily as a stunt actor . Bernie died of AIDS at the age of just 33. Bernie's mother Nancy published a book in 1997 entitled Celebration of a Life - Memories of My Son .Bernie's father was an Austrian ski instructor named Peter...
(Bernie), who died at age 33 in 1996 of
AIDSAcquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus ....
. Kwan returned to her native Hong Kong in 1972 to be with her critically ill father. After his death, she married director-producer Norbert Meisel and returned to the United States.
Since returning to the USA in 1979, she has made guest appearances and co-starred on numerous television productions, such as
Kung FuKung Fu is an American television series which starred David Carradine. It was created by Ed Spielman, directed and produced by Jerry Thorpe, and developed by Herman Miller, who was also a writer for, and co-producer of, the series...
,
The A-TeamThe A-Team is an American action adventure television series about a fictional group of ex-United States Army Special Forces who work as soldiers of fortune while being on the run from the military for a "crime they didn't commit". The A-Team was created by writers and producers Frank Lupo and...
and
ERER is an American medical drama series created by novelist Michael Crichton that aired on NBC from September 1994 to April 2009. It is set primarily in the emergency room of fictional County General Hospital in Chicago, Illinois. It was produced by Constant c Productions and Amblin Entertainment in...
. She has also appeared on television commercials even into the 1990s. Today, she is politically active as the spokeswoman for the Asian American Voters Coalition.
Selected filmography
- The World of Suzie Wong
The World of Suzie Wong is a 1960 American romantic drama film directed by Richard Quine. The screenplay by Paul Osborn was adapted from the stage play by John Patrick, which was based on the novel of the same title by Richard Mason.-Plot:...
(1960), with William HoldenWilliam Holden was an American film actor.Holden won the Academy Award for Best Actor in 1954, and the Emmy Award for Best Actor in 1974....
- Flower Drum Song
Flower Drum Song is a 1961 Academy Award-nominated film adaptation of the 1958 Broadway musical play Flower Drum Song, written by the composer Richard Rodgers and the lyricist/librettist Oscar Hammerstein II. The film and stage play were based on the 1957 novel of the same name by the Chinese...
(1961)
- The Main Attraction
The Main Attraction is a 1962 British drama film directed by Daniel Petrie and starring Pat Boone, Nancy Kwan and John Le Mesurier....
(1962)
- Tamahine (1963)
- The Wild Affair
The Wild Affair is a 1963 British comedy film directed by John Krish and starring Nancy Kwan, Gladys Morgan and Betty Marsden.-Cast:* Nancy Kwan as Marjorie Lee* Gladys Morgan as Mrs...
(1963)
- Fate Is the Hunter
Fate Is the Hunter is a 1964 film about the crash of an airliner and the subsequent investigation. It was nominally based on the bestselling 1961 novel of the same name by Ernest K. Gann, but the author was so disappointed with the result, he asked to have his name removed from the credits...
(1964)
- Lt. Robin Crusoe, U.S.N.
Lt. Robin Crusoe USN is a 1966 comedy film released and scripted by Walt Disney. The film stars Dick Van Dyke as a U.S. Navy pilot who becomes a castaway on a tropical island....
(1966)
- The Girl Who Knew Too Much (1969)
- The Wrecking Crew
The Wrecking Crew, released in 1969 and starring Dean Martin, Elke Sommer and Sharon Tate is the fourth and final film in a series of American comedy-spy-fi theatrical releases featuring Martin as secret agent Matt Helm...
(1969), with Dean MartinDean Martin was an American singer, film actor and comedian. He was one of the best known musical artists of the 1950s and 1960s. Martin's hit singles included "Memories Are Made of This", "That's Amore", "Everybody Loves Somebody", "Mambo Italiano", "Sway", "Volare" and "Ain't That A Kick In The...
and Elke SommerElke Sommer , born Elke Schletz, is a German-born actress, entertainer, and artist.Sommer was born in Berlin to a Lutheran Minister and his wife. After the war, the family was evacuated to Erlangen, a small university town in the south of Germany, where, despite their lack of money, she attended...
- The McMasters (1970)
- Night Creature (1977)
- Angkor: Cambodia Express (1982)
- Walking The Edge
Walking the Edge is a 1983 crime film , Action Film written by Curt Allen and directed by Norbert Meisel. The film stars Robert Forster, Nancy Kwan, Joe Spinell, A Martinez, James McIntire, Wayne Woodson, Luis Contreras....
(1983)
- Noble House
Noble House is a novel by James Clavell, published in 1981 and set in Hong Kong in 1963. It is part of Clavell's Asian Saga.It is a massive book, well over 1000 pages, with dozens of characters and numerous intermingling plot lines. In 1988, it was adapted as a television miniseries for NBC...
(1988)
- Miracle Landing
Miracle Landing is an Emmy-winning 1990 made-for-TV movie based on an in-flight accident aboard Flight 243 that occurred in April 1988. The Boeing 737-200 was flying from Hilo, Hawaii to Honolulu, Hawaii, when it experienced rapid decompression when a section of the fuselage was torn away...
(1990) (TV)
- Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story
Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story, is a 1993 semi-fictionalized biographical film telling the story of actor Bruce Lee, starring Jason Scott Lee as Bruce Lee, Lauren Holly and Robert Wagner...
(1993)
- The Golden Girls
The Golden Girls is a 1995 Hong Kong film directed by Joe Ma. It is not related to the US TV sitcom of the same name.-Cast:* Cheung Chi-Sing* Cheung Tat-Ming - Cousin J.P.* Perry Chiu* Ada Choi - Lulu Shum* Allen Fong* Vincent Kok - Kent* Nancy Kwan...
(1995)
- Hollywood Chinese
Hollywood Chinese: The Chinese in American Featured Films is a 2007 American documentary film directed by Academy Award-nominated director Arthur Dong....
(2007)
Awards
- 1961 Golden Globe Award
The Golden Globe Awards are presented annually by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association to recognize outstanding achievements in the entertainment industry, both domestic and foreign, and to focus wide public attention upon the best in motion pictures and television...
for Most Promising Newcomer - Female, shared with Ina BalinIna Balin was an American actress on Broadway and in film.Born Ina Rosenberg to a Jewish family in Brooklyn, New York City, Balin first appeared on television in the 1950s' Perry Como Show...
and Hayley MillsHayley Mills is an English actress. The daughter of John Mills and Mary Hayley Bell, and sister of actress Juliet Mills, Mills began her acting career as a child and was hailed as a promising newcomer, winning the BAFTA Award for Most Promising Newcomer for Tiger Bay , the Academy Juvenile Award...
- Golden Ring Award
- Historymaker for Excellence in the Performing Arts - Chinese American Museum of Los Angeles
Los Angeles is the largest city in the state of California and the second largest in the United States. Often abbreviated as L.A. and nicknamed The City of Angels, Los Angeles has an estimated population of 3.8 million and spans over in Southern California...
, CaliforniaCalifornia is the most populous state in the United States, and the third largest by area. California is the second most populous sub-national entity in the Americas, behind only São Paulo, Brazil...
- Lifetime achievement award, Los Angeles Chinatown, June 2009
External links