Nancy Kwan

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Nancy Kwan on the cover of Life Magazine 1960

Nancy Kwan (born May 19, 1939) (Traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: ; Cantonese: Kwan Ka Shin) is a American actress.

Contents

1 Biography
2 Selected filmography
3 Awards
4 Bibliography
5 See also
6 External links

Biography

Nancy Kwan was born in Hong Kong to a Chinese father, architect Kwan Wing Hong, and Scottish mother, model Marquita Scott. Kwan's parents marriage ended in divorce when she was only two. Kwan was considered a sex symbol in the 1960s.

During the Japanese invasion in December 1941, Kwan's father 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 II. Kwan later studied at the Royal Ballet School in England, performing in Swan Lake and Sleeping Beauty at Covent Garden. She completed her studies with a certificate to teach ballet.

While she was in England, producer Ray Stark noticed her. At the age of 18, she received the starring role of a free-spirited Hong Kong prostitute who captivates artist Robert Lomax (William Holden) in the film adaptation of The World of Suzie Wong (1960). She followed it up the next year with the hit musical Flower Drum Song (1961) and became one of Hollywood's most visible Eurasian actresses. She spent the 1960s commuting between the United States and Europe for film roles.

Kwan married Austrian ski instructor Peter Pock and gave birth to a son, Bernhard "Bernie" Pock, who died at age 33 in 1996 of AIDS. She 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 had guest appearances and co-starring roles on numerous television productions, such as ER. Today she is politically active as the spokeswoman for the Asian American Voters Coalition.

Selected filmography

The World of Suzie Wong (1960, with William Holden)
Flower Drum Song (1961)
The Main Attraction (1962)
Tamahine (1963)
Lt. Robin Crusoe, U.S.N. (1966)
The Girl Who Knew Too Much (1969)
The Wrecking Crew (1969, with Dean Martin and Elke Sommer)
Night Creature (1977)
[[Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story]] (1993)

Awards

Golden Ring Award
Historymaker for Excellence in the Performing Arts - Chinese American Museum of Los Angeles, California

Bibliography

Pock, Bernie & Nancy Kwan. A Celebration of Life, Memories of My Son. ISBN 0966439503

External links