Nancy Kwan Ka-shen (; born May 19, 1939)
is a Chinese-American actress, philanthropist, and former dancer. In addition to her personality and looks, her career was benefited by Hollywood's casting of more Asian roles in the 1960s, especially in comedies.
Biography
Early life
Born in
Hong Kong
Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta i ...
on May 19, 1939,
and growing up in
Kowloon Tong
Kowloon Tong () is an area of Hong Kong located in Kowloon. The majority of the area is in the Kowloon City District. Its exaclocationis south of the Lion Rock, north of Boundary Street, east of the East Rail line and west of Grampian Road. I ...
,
Kwan is the Eurasian daughter of Kwan Wing-hong,
a
Cantonese
Cantonese ( zh, t=廣東話, s=广东话, first=t, cy=Gwóngdūng wá) is a language within the Chinese (Sinitic) branch of the Sino-Tibetan languages originating from the city of Guangzhou (historically known as Canton) and its surrounding ar ...
architect
and Marquita Scott, a European model of English and Scottish ancestry.
Kwan Wing-hong was the son of lawyer Kwan King-sun and Juliann Loke Yuen-ying, daughter of
Loke Yew. He attended
Cambridge University
, mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts.
Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge.
, established =
, other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...
and met Scott in London. The two married and moved to Hong Kong, where Wing-hong became an eminent architect.
In that era, society held a dim view of
interracial marriage
Interracial marriage is a marriage involving spouses who belong to different races or racialized ethnicities.
In the past, such marriages were outlawed in the United States, Nazi Germany and apartheid-era South Africa as miscegenation. In ...
.
Nancy has an older brother, Ka-keung.
In fear of the Japanese invasion of Hong Kong during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
, Wing Hong, in the guise of a
coolie
A coolie (also spelled koelie, kuli, khuli, khulie, cooli, cooly, or quli) is a term for a low-wage labourer, typically of South Asian or East Asian descent.
The word ''coolie'' was first popularized in the 16th century by European traders acros ...
, escaped from Hong Kong to
North China
North China, or Huabei () is a geographical region of China, consisting of the provinces of Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei, Shanxi and Inner Mongolia. Part of the larger region of Northern China (''Beifang''), it lies north of the Qinling–Huai ...
in Christmas 1941 with his two children, whom he hid in
wicker baskets.
Kwan and her brother were transported by servants, evading Japanese sentries.
They remained in exile in western China for five years until the war ended, after which they returned to Hong Kong and lived in a spacious, contemporary home her father designed.
Scott escaped to England and never rejoined the family.
Kwan's parents divorced when she was two years old.
Her mother later moved to New York and married an American.
Remaining in Hong Kong with the children, her father married a Chinese woman, whom Kwan called "Mother".
Her father and her stepmother raised her, in addition to her brother and five half-brothers and half-sisters.
Five of Kwan's siblings became lawyers.
Except during World War II, Kwan had a comfortable early life. Cared for by an ''
amah'' (阿嬤), a woman who looks after children, Kwan owned a pony and passed her summers in resorts in
Borneo
Borneo (; id, Kalimantan) is the List of islands by area, third-largest island in the world and the largest in Asia. At the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, in relation to major Indonesian islands, it is located north of Java Isl ...
,
Macao
Macau or Macao (; ; ; ), officially the Macao Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (MSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China in the western Pearl River Delta by the South China Sea. With a po ...
, and Japan.
An affluent man, her father owned a several-acre hilltop property in Kowloon.
In her youth, she was called "Ka-shen".
She wrote in 1960 that as an eight-year-old, her
fortune-teller "predicted travel, fame, and fortune for me".
Kwan attended the Catholic
Maryknoll Convent School until she was 13 years old,
after which she travelled to Kingsmoor School in
Glossop
Glossop is a market town in the Borough of High Peak, Derbyshire, England. It is located east of Manchester, north-west of Sheffield and north of the county town, Matlock. Glossop lies near Derbyshire's borders with Cheshire, Greater Manche ...
, England
a boarding school that her brother, Ka-keung, was then attending.
Her brother studied to become an architect and she studied to become a dancer.
Kwan's introduction to ''
tai chi'' sparked a desire to learn ballet.
When Kwan was 18, she pursued her dream of becoming a
ballet dancer
A ballet dancer ( it, ballerina fem.; ''ballerino'' masc.) is a person who practices the art of classical ballet. Both females and males can practice ballet; however, dancers have a strict hierarchy and strict gender roles. They rely on ye ...
by attending the
Royal Ballet School
The Royal Ballet School is a British school of classical ballet training founded in 1926 by the Anglo-Irish ballerina and choreographer Ninette de Valois. The school's aim is to train and educate outstanding classical ballet dancers, especial ...
in London. She studied performing arts subjects such as stage make-up, and danced every day for four hours. Her studies at the Royal Ballet School ran concurrently with her high-school studies. Because Kwan's high school had deep connections with nearby theatre companies, Kwan was able to perform small parts in several of their productions. Upon graduating from high school, she sojourned in France, Italy, and Switzerland on a luxury trip. Afterwards, she travelled back to Hong Kong,
where she started a ballet school.
Early career
Stage producer Ray Stark posted an advertisement in the ''Hong Kong Tiger Standard'' (later renamed ''
The Standard
The Standard may refer to:
Entertainment
* The Standard (band), an indie rock band from Portland, Oregon
* ''The Standard'' (novel), a 1934 novel by the Austrian writer Alexander Lernet-Holenia
* ''The Standard'' (Tommy Flanagan album), 1980
* ...
'') regarding auditions for the character Suzie Wong for a play. The ad asked applicants to present their pictures, résumés, and proportions.
Kwan submitted the application
and was discovered by Stark in a film studio constructed by her architect father.
After auditioning for Stark, she was asked to screen test to play a character in the prospective film ''
The World of Suzie Wong
''The World of Suzie Wong'' is a 1957 novel by British writer Richard Mason. The main characters are Robert Lomax, a young British artist living in Hong Kong, and Suzie Wong, the title character, a Chinese woman who works as a prostitute. ...
''.
Stark preferred Kwan over the other women because she "would have more universal acceptance". Another auditionee, French actress
France Nuyen
France Nuyen (born France Nguyễn Vân Nga on 31 July 1939) is a French actress, model, and psychological counsellor.
Early life
Nguyen was born in Marseille. Her mother was French, and her father was widely reported to be Vietnamese, althoug ...
, played the stage version of the role and had been called a "businessman's delight" by a number of reviewers. Stark disliked this characterization, as well as "happy harlot" characters such as
Melina Mercouri
Maria Amalia "Melina" Mercouri (, 18 October 1920 – 6 March 1994) was a Greek actress, singer, activist, and politician. She came from a political family that was prominent over multiple generations. She received an Academy Award nomination a ...
in ''
Never on Sunday
''Never on Sunday'' ( el, Ποτέ την Κυριακή, ) is a 1960 Greek romantic comedy film starring, written by and directed by Jules Dassin.
The film tells the story of Ilya, a Greek prostitute ( Melina Mercouri), and Homer (Dassin), an ...
''. Stark wanted an Asian actress because slanting the eyes of a white actress would merely look artificial. He also praised Kwan's features: an "acceptable face" and "being alluringly leggy
ndperfectly formed".
For each screen test, Kwan, accompanied by her younger sister, was chauffeured to the studio by her father's driver. Stark characterized Kwan's first screen test as "pretty dreadful", but one that hinted at her potential. After four weeks of training with drama teachers, including hours of lessons with
Pulitzer Prize–winning playwright–screenwriter
John Patrick, Kwan's second screen test was a significant improvement. Although she had not yet become an actress, Stark said, there was a "development of her authority". Once, upon viewing her screen test, Kwan said, "I'm a terrible girl" and "squealed with embarrassment"; acting as a prostitute was a vastly different experience from her comfortable life with her affluent father. The reaction prompted Stark to refrain from letting her view the
dailies
In filmmaking, dailies are the raw, unedited footage shot during the making of a motion picture. The term comes from when movies were all shot on film because usually at the end of each day, the footage was developed, synced to sound, and print ...
. Kwan did a third screen test after four months had passed, and a deadlock existed between whether to choose Kwan or Nuyen.
Owing to Kwan's lack of acting experience, at Stark's request,
she travelled to the United States, where she attended acting school in Hollywood
and resided in the
Hollywood Studio Club,
a
chaperoned
dormitory
A dormitory (originated from the Latin word ''dormitorium'', often abbreviated to dorm) is a building primarily providing sleeping and residential quarters for large numbers of people such as boarding school, high school, college or university ...
, with other junior actresses.
She later moved to New York.
Kwan signed a seven-year contract
with Stark's
Seven Arts Productions at a beginning salary of $300 a week
though she was not given a distinct role.
In 2005,
Edward S. Feldman and Tom Barton characterized Kwan's wages and her employment as "indentured servitude".
In a retrospective interview, Kwan told
Goldsea that she had no prior acting experience and that the $300 a week salary was "a lot of money to me then".
When ''The World of Suzie Wong'' began to tour, Kwan was assigned the part of a
bargirl. In addition to her small
supporting character
A supporting character is a character in a narrative that is not the focus of the primary storyline, but is important to the plot/protagonist, and appears or is mentioned in the story enough to be more than just a minor character or a cameo ap ...
role, Kwan became an understudy for the production's female lead, France Nuyen.
Though Stark and the male lead
William Holden
William Holden (born William Franklin Beedle Jr.; April 17, 1918 – November 12, 1981) was an American actor, and one of the biggest box-office draws of the 1950s. Holden won the Academy Award for Best Actor for the film ''Stalag 17'' (1953) ...
preferred Kwan, despite her somewhat apprehensive demeanor during the screen test,
she did not get the role. Paramount favored the eminent France Nuyen, who had been widely praised for her performance in the film ''
South Pacific
The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...
'' (1958).
Stark acquiesced to Paramount's wishes.
Nuyen received the role and Kwan later took the place of Nuyen on Broadway. In a September 1960 interview with
Associated Press
The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. n ...
journalist
Bob Thomas, she said, "I was bitterly disappointed, and I almost quit and went home when I didn't get the picture."
Kwan did not receive the lead role because Stark believed she was too inexperienced at the time.
Nuyen won the
title role
The title character in a narrative work is one who is named or referred to in the title of the work. In a performed work such as a play or film, the performer who plays the title character is said to have the title role of the piece. The title of ...
in the upcoming movie because of her powerful portrayal of Suzie Wong during the tour. She moved to England to film the movie, leaving an opening for Kwan to ascend to the lead female role in the touring production. In 1959,
one month after Nuyen was selected for the film role
and while Kwan was touring in
Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most pop ...
, Stark told her to screen test again for the film.
Kwan responded to his phone call from London, asking, "How can I come? I'm in this show." To provide a pretext for Kwan's sudden hiatus from the touring production, Stark sent a
cablegram
Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages where the sender uses symbolic codes, known to the recipient, rather than a physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus flag semaphore is a method of telegraphy, whereas p ...
to her superiors saying her father had become ill and had been hospitalized. Kwan later recalled in an interview about three years later, "So I went to the manager and told him a lie. It was not very nice, but what could I do?"
After Kwan accepted the role, the Broadway play producer sued her for leaving with little notice.
Nuyen, who was in an unstable relationship with
Marlon Brando, had a
nervous breakdown
A mental disorder, also referred to as a mental illness or psychiatric disorder, is a behavioral or mental pattern that causes significant distress or impairment of personal functioning. Such features may be persistent, relapsing and remitt ...
and was fired from the role because of her erratic actions.
The film's director,
Jean Negulesco
Jean Negulesco (born Ioan Negulescu; – 18 July 1993) was a Romanian-American film director and screenwriter.Oliver, Myrna"Jean Negulesco 1900–1993 ''The Los Angeles Times'', 22 July 1993. He first gained notice for his film noirs and later m ...
, was fired and replaced by
Richard Quine
Richard Quine (November 12, 1920June 10, 1989) was an American director, actor, and singer.
He began acting as a child in radio, vaudeville, and stage productions before being signed to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in his early twenties. When his acting ...
.
Kwan, who previously had never been in a film, defeated 30 competitors from Hollywood, France, Japan, Korea, and the Philippines.
On February 15, 1960, she began filming the movie in London with co-star
William Holden
William Holden (born William Franklin Beedle Jr.; April 17, 1918 – November 12, 1981) was an American actor, and one of the biggest box-office draws of the 1950s. Holden won the Academy Award for Best Actor for the film ''Stalag 17'' (1953) ...
.
During the filming, Kwan's only trouble was a
lingerie
Lingerie (, , ) is a category of primarily women's clothing including undergarments (mainly brassieres), sleepwear, and lightweight robes. The choice of the word is often motivated by an intention to imply that the garments are alluring, fash ...
scene. Robert Lomax, as played by Holden, tears off her Western dress and says, "Wear your own kind of clothing! Don't try to copy some European girl!" Director Richard Quine was displeased with Kwan's underclothes: She wore a full-slip rather than a half-slip and bra. Finding the attire too modest and unrealistic, he asked Stark to talk to Kwan. Stark discovered Kwan taking refuge in her dressing room, sobbing grievously. He warned her, "Nancy, wear the half-slip and bra or you're off the picture. France Nuyen is no longer in it, remember? If you're difficult you'll be off it too. All we want to do is make you the best actress possible." Kwan returned to the set after lunch, aloofly wearing a bra and half-slip, acting as if what had happened earlier had not transpired.
Owing to Kwan's perceptible
Eurasian
Eurasia (, ) is the largest continental area on Earth, comprising all of Europe and Asia. Primarily in the Northern and Eastern Hemispheres, it spans from the British Isles and the Iberian Peninsula in the west to the Japanese archipelago a ...
appearance, the film's make-up artists endeavored to make her look more Chinese.
They plucked her eyebrows and sketched a line across her forehead.
In movies where Kwan plays Asian roles, the makeup artists slant her brown eyes. Gossip columnist
Hedda Hopper wrote that Kwan, as a Eurasian, does not look fully Asian or European. Hopper wrote that the "scattering of freckles across her tip-tilted nose give her an Occidental flavor".
The production spanned five months, an unusually lengthy period for the era.
Stardom
''The World of Suzie Wong'' was a "box-office sensation". Critics lavished praise on Kwan for her performance.
She was given the nickname "Chinese Bardot" for her unforgettable dance performance.
Kwan and two other actresses,
Ina Balin and
Hayley Mills
Hayley Catherine Rose Vivien Mills (born 18 April 1946) is an English actress. The daughter of Sir John Mills and Mary Hayley Bell, and younger sister of actress Juliet Mills, she began her acting career as a child and was hailed as a promisi ...
, were awarded the
Golden Globe for the "Most Promising Newcomer–Female" in 1960. The following year, she was voted a "Star of Tomorrow".
Scholar Jennifer Leah Chan of
New York University
New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin.
In 1832, ...
wrote that ''Suzie'' provided an Asian actress—Kwan—with the most significant Hollywood role since actress
Anna May Wong's success in the 1920s.
Following ''The World of Suzie Wong'', Kwan was unprepared for fame. While she was purchasing fabric in a store on
Nathan Road
Nathan Road is the main thoroughfare in Kowloon, Hong Kong, aligned south–north from Tsim Sha Tsui to Sham Shui Po. It is lined with shops and restaurants and throngs with visitors, and was known in the post–World War II years as the Gold ...
, she found people staring at her from the window. Wondering what they were staring at, it suddenly struck her that she was the point of attraction.
Kwan remarked that in
Beverly Hills
Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California. A notable and historic suburb of Greater Los Angeles, it is in a wealthy area immediately southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. ...
, she can walk without attracting notice. She rationalized, "
tis better in America because America is much bigger, I guess".
When people addressed her father after watching the film, they frequently called him "Mr. Wong", a name that severely displeased him.
Kwan said in a 1994 interview with the ''
South China Morning Post'' that even decades after her film debut and despite her having done over 50 films thence, viewers continued to send numerous letters to her about the film.
The scene of Kwan, reposed on a
davenport
Davenport may refer to:
Places Australia
*Davenport, Northern Territory, a locality
* Hundred of Davenport, cadastral unit in South Australia
**Davenport, South Australia, suburb of Port Augusta
**District Council of Davenport, former local govern ...
and adorned in a dazzling ''
cheongsam'', while showing a "deliciously decadent flash of thigh", became an iconic image.
Clad in a cheongsam—"a Chinese dress with a high collar and slits, one on each side of the skirt"
—Kwan was on the October 1960 cover of ''
Life
Life is a quality that distinguishes matter that has biological processes, such as Cell signaling, signaling and self-sustaining processes, from that which does not, and is defined by the capacity for Cell growth, growth, reaction to Stimu ...
'', cementing her status as an eminent
sex symbol
A sex symbol or icon is a person or character widely considered sexually attractive.Pam Cook, "The trouble with sex: Diana Dors and the Blonde bombshell phenomenon", In: Bruce Babinigton (ed.), ''British Stars and Stardom: From Alma Taylor to ...
in the 1960s.
Nicknamed the "Suzie Wong dress",
the cheongsam in the portrait spawned thousands of copycat promotional projects.
In a 1962 interview, Kwan said she "loved" the ''cheongsam'', calling it a "national costume". She explained that it "has slits because Chinese girls have pretty legs" and "the slits show their legs".
Chinese and Chinese-Americans became aggrieved after seeing how Chinese women were depicted as promiscuous. Tom Lisanti and
Louis Paul speculated that the wave of unfavorable media attention drove filmmakers to escalate the production of Kwan's next film. In 1961, she starred in ''
Flower Drum Song'' in a related role. The film was distinguished for being the "first big-budget American film" with an all-Asian cast.
Kwan did not sing the songs in the musical film; the vocals for Linda Low were performed by
B. J. Baker.
Comparing ''Suzie Wong'' and ''Flower Drum Song'', she found the latter much harder because the girl she played was "more go-getter". Her prior ballet education provided a strong foundation for her role in ''Flower Drum Song'', where she had much space to dance.
After starring in ''The World of Suzie Wong'' and ''Flower Drum Song'', Kwan experienced a meteoric rise to celebrity. Scholar Jennifer Leah Chan of
New York University
New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin.
In 1832, ...
chronicled the media attention Kwan received after starring in two Hollywood films, writing that Kwan's fame peaked in 1962. In addition to being featured on the cover of ''
Life
Life is a quality that distinguishes matter that has biological processes, such as Cell signaling, signaling and self-sustaining processes, from that which does not, and is defined by the capacity for Cell growth, growth, reaction to Stimu ...
'' magazine, Kwan was the subject of a 1962 article in a popular women's magazine, ''
McCall's'', entitled "The China Doll that Men Like".
As a Hollywood icon, Kwan lived in a house atop
Laurel Canyon
Laurel Canyon is a mountainous neighborhood in the Hollywood Hills region of the Santa Monica Mountains, within the Hollywood Hills West district of Los Angeles, California. The main thoroughfare of Laurel Canyon Boulevard connects the neighb ...
in Los Angeles. She commuted in a white British sports car and danced to Latin verses. She enjoyed listening to
Johnny Mathis
John Royce Mathis (born September 30, 1935) is an American singer of popular music. Starting his career with singles of standard music, he became highly popular as an album artist, with several dozen of his albums achieving gold or platinum s ...
records and reading
Chinese history
The earliest known written records of the history of China date from as early as 1250 BC, from the Shang dynasty (c. 1600–1046 BC), during the reign of king Wu Ding. Ancient historical texts such as the '' Book of Documents'' (early chapte ...
texts.
In 1962 (when she was 22), Kwan was dating Swiss actor
Maximilian Schell. In an interview that year, she said she did not intend to get married until she was older, perhaps 24 or 25. She said a number of Americans married just to leave home or to "make love". Kwan said this was problematic because she found dialogue and an ability to appreciate and express humor important in a marriage: "You can't just sit around and stare at walls between love-making."
In 1961, Kwan offered to work as a teacher for
King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry
The King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry (KOYLI) was a light infantry regiment of the British Army. It officially existed from 1881 to 1968, but its predecessors go back to 1755. In 1968, the regiment was amalgamated with the Somerset and Cornwall ...
. The infantry was training for military involvement in Malaya (now part of
Malaysia
Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...
), and the regiment's commanders believed that the infantrymen should be taught the
Chinese language
Chinese (, especially when referring to written Chinese) is a group of languages spoken natively by the ethnic Han Chinese majority and many minority ethnic groups in Greater China. About 1.3 billion people (or approximately 16% of the ...
and how to handle chopsticks. Captain Anthony Hare announced to the public that the infantry needed a teacher – an attractive one. He later acknowledged that he appended the teacher "must be attractive" so that more soldiers would attend the sessions. Kwan, in Hollywood at the time, replied via cable: "Please consider me a candidate as Chinese teacher for Yorkshire Light Infantry. I am fluent in Chinese, fabulous with chopsticks, and fond of uniforms." Captain Hare commented, "Miss Kwan is too beautiful. I think she would be too much of a distraction." Her tardy request was not evaluated, as the infantry had already accepted the application of another Chinese woman.
The Nancy Kwan Cut
In 1963, Nancy Kwan's long hair, famous from ''The World of Suzie Wong'', was chopped into a sharp modernist bob by Vidal Sassoon for the film ''
The Wild Affair'', at the request of director John Krish.
Designed by London
hairdresser
A hairdresser is a person whose occupation is to cut or style hair in order to change or maintain a person's image. This is achieved using a combination of hair coloring, haircutting, and hair texturing techniques. A Hairdresser may also be r ...
Vidal Sassoon, Kwan's
bob cut in the film drew widespread media attention for the "severe geometry of her new hairstyle".
Sassoon's signature cut of Kwan's hair was nicknamed "the Kwan cut", "the Kwan bob", or was plainly known as "the Kwan"; photographs of Kwan's new hairstyle appeared in both the
American and
British editions of ''Vogue''.
Later films
Kwan's success in her early career was not mirrored in later years,
due to the cultural nature of 1960s America. Ann Lloyd and Graham Fuller wrote in their book ''The Illustrated Who's Who of the Cinema'': "Her Eurasian beauty and impish sense of humor could not sustain her stardom".
Her later films were marked by multifarious parts,
comprising movie and television roles for American and European productions.
Kwan discovered that she had to journey to Europe and Hong Kong to escape the ethnic
typecasting
In film, television, and theatre, typecasting is the process by which a particular actor becomes strongly identified with a specific character, one or more particular roles, or characters having the same traits or coming from the same social or ...
in Hollywood that confined her largely to Asian roles in spite of her Eurasian appearance.
Her third movie was the British
drama film
In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super ...
''
The Main Attraction'' (1962) with Pat Boone. She played an Italian circus performer who was the love interest of Boone's character. While she was filming the movie in the
Austrian Alps, she met Peter Pock, a
hotelier and ski teacher, with whom she immediately fell in love. She reflected, "The first time I saw that marvelous-looking man I said, 'That's for me.'" After several weeks, the two married and resided in
Innsbruck,
Tyrol
Tyrol (; historically the Tyrole; de-AT, Tirol ; it, Tirolo) is a historical region in the Alps - in Northern Italy and western Austria. The area was historically the core of the County of Tyrol, part of the Holy Roman Empire, Austrian Emp ...
, Austria. Kwan later gave birth to Bernhard "Bernie" Pock.
In December 1963, Pock was constructing a
luxury hotel
A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a ref ...
in the Tyrolean
Alps
The Alps () ; german: Alpen ; it, Alpi ; rm, Alps ; sl, Alpe . are the highest and most extensive mountain range system that lies entirely in Europe, stretching approximately across seven Alpine countries (from west to east): France, ...
. During Christmas of that year, Nancy Kwan visited the location and was able to participate in several pre-
1964 Winter Olympics events despite having been very occupied with movies. Her contract with film production company Seven Arts led her to travel around the world to film movies. She found the separation from her son, Bernie, who was not yet a year old, difficult. She said, "He's coming into a time when he's beginning to assert his personality." Fair-skinned and blue-eyed, Bernie had his father's appearance.
In 1963, Kwan starred as the title character of ''
Tamahine
''Tamahine'' is a 1963 British comedy film directed by Philip Leacock and starring Nancy Kwan, Dennis Price and John Fraser. It is a film about a Polynesian woman who believes she can change the culture of Hallow School, a British boys' bo ...
''. Because of her role, she went to the
optician
An optician, or ''dispensing optician'', is a technical practitioner who designs, fits and dispenses lenses for the correction of a person's vision. Opticians determine the specifications of various ophthalmic appliances that will give the nec ...
to get
contact lenses
Contact lenses, or simply contacts, are thin lenses placed directly on the surface of the eyes. Contact lenses are ocular prosthetic devices used by over 150 million people worldwide, and they can be worn to correct vision or for cosmetic ...
so she would look blue-eyed.
Playing an English-Tahitian ward of the head master at an old English public school, she was praised by the ''
Boston Globe
''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...
'' for her "charming depict
on of the character.
In ''
Fate Is the Hunter'' (1964), her seventh film, Kwan played an
ichthyologist
Ichthyology is the branch of zoology devoted to the study of fish, including bony fish (Osteichthyes), cartilaginous fish (Chondrichthyes), and jawless fish (Agnatha). According to FishBase, 33,400 species of fish had been described as of October ...
. It was her first role as a Eurasian character.
Kwan's roles were predominantly comic characters, which she said were more difficult roles than "straight dramatic work" owing to the necessity of more vigor and precise timing.
Kwan met
Bruce Lee
Bruce Lee (; born Lee Jun-fan, ; November 27, 1940 – July 20, 1973) was a Hong Kong and American martial artist and actor. He was the founder of Jeet Kune Do, a hybrid martial arts philosophy drawing from different combat disciplines th ...
when he choreographed the martial arts moves in the film ''
The Wrecking Crew'' (1969).
In Kwan's role in the film, she fought the character played by
Sharon Tate
Sharon Marie Tate Polanski (January 24, 1943 – August 9, 1969) was an American actress and model. During the 1960s, she played small television roles before appearing in films and was regularly featured in fashion magazines as a model and cover ...
by throwing a
flying kick. Her martial arts move was based not on karate training, but on her dance foundation. Author Darrell Y. Hamamoto noted that this "ironically" twisted Kwan's "dragon-lady role" through its underscoring the replacement of
Kung Fu
Chinese martial arts, often called by the umbrella terms kung fu (; ), kuoshu () or wushu (), are multiple fighting styles that have developed over the centuries in Greater China. These fighting styles are often classified according to commo ...
with Western dance moves.
She became close friends with Lee and met his wife and two children. In the 1970s, both Kwan and Lee returned to Hong Kong, where they carried on their companionship.
Kwan divorced Peter Pock in June 1968.
She married Hollywood screenwriter
David Giler in July 1970 in a
civil ceremony A civil, or registrar, ceremony is a non-religious legal marriage ceremony performed by a government official or functionary. In the United Kingdom, this person is typically called a registrar. In the United States, civil ceremonies may be perform ...
in
Carson City, Nevada
Carson City is an independent city and the capital of the U.S. state of Nevada. As of the 2020 census, the population was 58,639, making it the sixth largest city in Nevada. The majority of the city's population lives in Eagle Valley, on th ...
. The marriage was Kwan's second and Giler's first.
They divorced in 1971.
That year, Kwan returned to Hong Kong with her son because her father was sick. She initially intended to remain for one year to assist him, but ultimately remained for about seven years.
She did not stop her work, starring as Dr. Sue in the film ''
Wonder Women'' (1973). While in Hong Kong, Kwan founded a production company,
Nancy Kwan Films,
which made ads mostly for people in Southeast Asia. In the 1980s, she returned to the United States,
where she played characters in the television series ''
Fantasy Island
''Fantasy Island'' is an American fantasy drama television series created by Gene Levitt. It aired on ABC from 1977 to 1984. The series starred Ricardo Montalbán as the mysterious Mr. Roarke and Hervé Villechaize as his assistant, Tattoo ...
'', ''
Knots Landing
''Knots Landing'' is an American prime time television soap opera that aired on CBS from December 27, 1979, to May 13, 1993. A spin-off of ''Dallas'', it was set in a fictitious coastal suburb of Los Angeles and initially centered on the lives of ...
'' and ''
Trapper John, M.D.''.
In 1976 Kwan married Norbert Meisel, an actor, director, screenwriter, and producer. Like her first husband Peter Pock, as well as her former fiancé Maximilian Schell, Meisel was Austrian. “I have my Austrian karma,” she said in a 2021 interview. “I think it’s lifetime."
In a 1993 interview with the ''
St. Petersburg Times'', Kwan remarked that her son Bernie was frequently called a "blond, blue-eyed Chinese" because he could speak the language fluently. In 1979, the two returned to the United States because Kwan wanted him to finish his schooling there. Bernie was an actor, a martial artist, and a
stunt performer.
For the 1991 action comedy film ''
Fast Getaway'', fellow stunt performer Kenny Bates and he gripped hands and leaped off the
Royal Gorge Bridge. They fell 900 ft before being restrained by
wire rope 200 ft over the
Arkansas River
The Arkansas River is a major tributary of the Mississippi River. It generally flows to the east and southeast as it traverses the U.S. states of Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas. The river's source basin lies in the western United S ...
.
Bates said their stunt was the "highest 'double drop' ever attempted".
Kwan and Bernie recorded a tape about ''
t'ai chi ch'uan
Tai chi (), short for Tai chi ch'üan ( zh, s=太极拳, t=太極拳, first=t, p=Tàijíquán, labels=no), sometimes called " shadowboxing", is an internal Chinese martial art practiced for defense training, health benefits and meditation. ...
''.
Later years
In 1987, Nancy Kwan co-owned the ''
dim sum
Dim sum () is a large range of small Chinese dishes that are traditionally enjoyed in restaurants for brunch. Most modern dim sum dishes are commonly associated with Cantonese cuisine, although dim sum dishes also exist in other Chinese cuisi ...
'' restaurant Joss. Kwan, producer Ray Stark, and restaurateur and Hong Kong film director
Cecile Tang financed the restaurant, located on Sunset Strip in
West Hollywood
West Hollywood is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Incorporated in 1984, it is home to the Sunset Strip. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, its population was 35,757. It is considered one of the most prominent gay villages ...
.
Kwan sporadically records
audiobook
An audiobook (or a talking book) is a recording of a book or other work being read out loud. A reading of the complete text is described as "unabridged", while readings of shorter versions are abridgements.
Spoken audio has been available in sch ...
s.
In 1995, Kwan recorded an audiobook for
Anchee Min's memoir ''
Red Azalea'' in what ''
Publishers Weekly
''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of ...
'' called a "coolly understated performance that allows the story's subtleties and unexpected turns to work by themselves".
In 2011, she recorded an audiobook for the 1989 memoir ''
When Heaven and Earth Changed Places'' by
Le Ly Hayslip with Jay Wurts. ''
San Francisco Chronicle
The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and Michael H. de Young. The pap ...
''s Patricia Holt praised Kwan's intonation in her delivery, writing that "Kwan's faint Asian accent and careful pronunciation of Vietnamese words make Hayslip's weaving of her past and present lives a riveting experience".
In 1993, Kwan played Gussie Yang, a "tough-talking, soft-hearted Hong Kong restaurateur", in the fictional ''
Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story''.
She played a pivotal role in the film,
a character based on Seattle restaurateur and political leader
Ruby Chow who hires Bruce Lee as a
dishwasher
A dishwasher is a machine that is used to clean dishware, cookware, and cutlery automatically. Unlike manual dishwashing, which relies heavily on physical scrubbing to remove soiling, the mechanical dishwasher cleans by spraying hot water, ...
and gives him the funds to open a
martial arts school.
In May 1993, she completed the production of a film about Eurasians, ''Loose Woman With No Face'', which she wrote, directed, and starred.
She called the film "a slice of life about Euro-Asians in Los Angeles, and it's something I know about".
In 1993, Kwan was asked about whether she was confronted with racism as a leading Asian Hollywood actress in the 1960s. Kwan replied, "That was 30 years ago and (prejudice) wasn't such a heavy issue then. I was just in great Broadway productions that were turned into films. I personally never felt any racial problems in Hollywood."
In the 1990s, she faced a severe shortage of strong roles. She attributed this to both her age and the movie enterprise's aversion to selecting Asians for non-Asian roles. In earlier years, she was able to play an Italian and a Tahitian.
In the 1990s, there were more Hollywood films about Asians. Kwan could have capitalized on the trend through a role in the 1993 film ''
The Joy Luck Club''. Because the filmmakers refused to excise a line calling ''The World of Suzie Wong'' a "...horrible racist film," she passed on the role.
In November 1993, Kwan co-starred in the two-character play ''Arthur and Leila'' about two siblings who struggle with their Chinese identities. It debuted in the Bay Front Theater in
Fort Mason,
San Francisco
San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...
, and moved to Los Angeles two weeks later.
''
Variety'' reviewer Julio Martinez praised Kwan for her ability to "flo
easily between haughty sophistication and girlish insecurity".
In 1994, an article in the ''
South China Morning Post'' said that she preserved her "dancer's figure" through the Chinese martial art
tai chi and frequent dance sessions.
That year, she assumed the role of 52-year-old Martha in
Singapore Repertory Theatre
Singapore Repertory Theatre (SRT) is a non-profit professional theatre company founded in 1993. It is located at the KC Arts Centre – Home of SRT at 20 Merbau Road, Singapore. The current artistic director is Gaurav Kripalani while its managi ...
's showing of ''
Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?'', an "intense psychological play" by Edward Albee.
In 1995, she produced and acted in the
feature film
A feature film or feature-length film is a narrative film (motion picture or "movie") with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole presentation in a commercial entertainment program. The term ''feature film'' originall ...
''Rebellious''. Bernie was the director, writer, and star of the film, which was co-produced by Norbert Meisel.
In 1996, when he was 33,
Kwan's son, Bernie, died after contracting
AIDS from his girlfriend whom Kwan had cautioned him to avoid.
Four years after his death, poet and actress
Amber Tamblyn
Amber Rose Tamblyn (born May 14, 1983) is an American actress and writer. She first came to national attention in her role on the soap opera '' General Hospital'' as Emily Quartermaine at the age of 11. She followed with a starring role on the ...
compiled her debut poetry book ''Of the Dawn'' and dedicated it to Pock. Tamblyn had acted in ''Rebellious'' when she was nine, alongside her father
Russ Tamblyn
Russell Irving Tamblyn, also known as Rusty Tamblyn (born December 30, 1934) is an American film and television actor and dancer.
Born and raised in Los Angeles, Tamblyn trained as a gymnast in his youth. He began his career as a child actor f ...
.
Calling Pock a "big brother", she said he was the "first guy" to convince her to share her poems.
Nancy Kwan has appeared on television commercials even into the 1990s and appeared in "late night infomercials" as the spokesperson for the cosmetic "Oriental Pearl Cream".
Kwan has been involved in philanthropy for AIDS awareness. In 1997, she published ''A Celebration of Life – Memories of My Son'', a book about her son who died after being infected by HIV. She gave profits from both the book and a movie she created about him to supporting the study of AIDS and the promotion of AIDS awareness.
On March 17, 2006, ''cheongsam''-wearing Kwan and her husband, Norbert Meisel, attended the debut performance of
Hong Kong Ballet's depiction of ''Suzie Wong'' at
Sha Tin Town Hall.
Kwan told ''
The Kansas City Star
''The Kansas City Star'' is a newspaper based in Kansas City, Missouri. Published since 1880, the paper is the recipient of eight Pulitzer Prizes. ''The Star'' is most notable for its influence on the career of President Harry S. Truman and as ...
'' in 2007 that she did not consider retiring, leads to trouble. Retirees, she professed, frequently find themselves with nothing to do because they have not readied themselves for it. Kwan said, "I hope I'm working until the day I die. If work is a pleasure, why not?"
In 2006, Kwan reunited with ''Flower Drum Song'' co-star James Shigeta to perform
A. R. Gurney
Albert Ramsdell Gurney Jr. (November 1, 1930 – June 13, 2017) (sometimes credited as Pete Gurney) was an American playwright, novelist and academic. He is known for works including ''The Dining Room'' (1982), '' Sweet Sue'' (1986/7), and ''The ...
's two-person play ''
Love Letters''. They performed the play at Los Angeles'
East West Players and San Francisco's
Herbst Theatre.
Kwan appeared in
Arthur Dong's 2007 documentary ''
Hollywood Chinese'', where other Chinese dignitaries and she discussed the past accomplishments and the impending plight of Chinese people in the film industry.
Kwan and her husband Norbert Meisel write and direct films about Asian-Americans. Kwan believes that Asians are not cast in enough films and TV shows. Meisel and she resolved to create their own scripts and films about Asian characters.
In 2007, they wrote, directed, and produced ''Star of Sunshine'', a ''
Bildungsroman
In literary criticism, a ''Bildungsroman'' (, plural ''Bildungsromane'', ) is a literary genre that focuses on the psychological and moral growth of the protagonist from childhood to adulthood ( coming of age), in which character change is imp ...
'' film starring ''
Boys Don't Cry'' actress Cheyenne Rushing, who plays Rachel. An ardent pianist in an conflicted household, Rachel journeys to find her restless father, a musician who deserted her when she was a mere child.
In ''Sunshine'', Rachel is supported by Kwan, the manager of a jazz club, who knows a mystery about her.
In the film's final scene, Kwan dances, an activity she has enjoyed since her youth.
Kwan wrote an introduction for the 2008 book ''For Goodness Sake: A Novel of the Afterlife of Suzie Wong'' written by American author James Clapp using the
pen name
A pen name, also called a ''nom de plume'' or a literary double, is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name.
A pen na ...
Sebastian Gerard. Clapp became acquainted with Kwan through director
Brian Jamieson, who was filming a documentary about Kwan's life.
Kwan serves as a spokeswoman for the Asian American Voters Coalition,
a
pan-Asian
Satellite photograph of Asia in orthographic projection.
Pan-Asianism (''also known as Asianism or Greater Asianism'') is an ideology aimed at creating a political and economic unity among Asian peoples. Various theories and movements of Pan-Asia ...
political organization established in 1986
to aid Asian actors.
In her performing arts career, Kwan has appeared in two television series and over 50 films. ''
The Straits Times
''The Straits Times'' is an English-language daily broadsheet newspaper based in Singapore and currently owned by SPH Media Trust (previously Singapore Press Holdings). ''The Sunday Times'' is its Sunday edition. The newspaper was establish ...
'' reported in March 2011 that Kwan continues to serve as a film screenwriter and executive.
Kwan currently resides in Los Angeles and has family members in Hong Kong.
Once every few years, she travels to the former colony.
Filmography
Film
Television
Awards
* 1961
Golden Globe Award
The Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association beginning in January 1944, recognizing excellence in both American and international film and television. Beginning in 2022, there are 105 members of t ...
for Best Actress - Drama (Nominated) for The World of Suzie Wong
* 1961
Golden Globe Award
The Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association beginning in January 1944, recognizing excellence in both American and international film and television. Beginning in 2022, there are 105 members of t ...
for Most Promising Newcomer – Female, shared with
Ina Balin and
Hayley Mills
Hayley Catherine Rose Vivien Mills (born 18 April 1946) is an English actress. The daughter of Sir John Mills and Mary Hayley Bell, and younger sister of actress Juliet Mills, she began her acting career as a child and was hailed as a promisi ...
* Golden Ring Award
* Historymaker for Excellence in the Performing Arts – Chinese American Museum of Los Angeles, California
* Visionary Award –
East West Players, April 28, 2003
* Lifetime Achievement Award –
Chinatown, Los Angeles
Chinatown is a neighborhood in Downtown Los Angeles, California, that became a commercial center for Chinese American, Chinese and other Asian American, Asian businesses in Central Los Angeles in 1938. The area includes restaurants, shops, and art ...
, June 2009
* Maverick Award –
Hawaii International Film Festival
The Hawai'i International Film Festival (HIFF) is an annual film festival held in the United States state of Hawaii.
HIFF has a focus on Asian-Pacific cinema, education, and the work of new and emerging filmmakers. HIFF’s primary festival is h ...
, October 2010
* Lifetime Achievement Award –
San Diego Asian Film Festival, October 2011
* Lifetime Achievement Award –
Museum of Chinese in America, November 2015
Bibliography
*
See also
*
Anna May Wong, a Chinese-American Hollywood actress, active in the early 20th century
*
Kevin Kwan
Kevin Kwan (born ) is a Singapore-born American novelist and writer of satirical novels ''Crazy Rich Asians'', '' China Rich Girlfriend'', and '' Rich People Problems''. His latest book, ''Sex and Vanity'', was released in June 2020.
In 2014, ...
, Singapore-American author, distant cousin to Nancy Kwan
References
Notes
Footnotes
Bibliography
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External links
*
*
Nancy Kwan interview cnn.com April 14, 2010
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kwan, Nancy
1939 births
American actresses of Chinese descent
American film actresses
American people of Chinese descent
American people of English descent
American people of Scottish descent
American restaurateurs
American television actresses
Hong Kong emigrants to the United States
Hong Kong people of English descent
Hong Kong people of Scottish descent
Living people
New Star of the Year (Actress) Golden Globe winners
People educated at the Royal Ballet School
Women restaurateurs