Nancy Kwan facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Nancy Kwan
關家蒨
Kwan in 1964
Born	(1939-05-19) May 19, 1939 (age 86) British Hong Kong
Education	Maryknoll Convent School Royal Ballet School
Occupation	Actress Restaurateur
Years active	1960–present
Known for	Flower Drum Song The World of Suzie Wong Fate Is the Hunter The Wild Affair
Spouse(s)	Peter Pock ​ ​ (m. 1962; div. 1968)​ David Giler ​ ​ (m. 1970; div. 1972)​ Norbert Meisel ​ (m. 1976)​
Relatives	Loke Yew (great-grandfather)
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese	關家蒨
Simplified Chinese	关家蒨
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Guān Jiāqiàn Wade–Giles Kuan Chia-ch'ien Yue: Cantonese Jyutping Gwaan1 Gaa1sin6 Southern Min Hokkien POJ Kwan Ka Shen

Nancy Kwan Ka-shen (Chinese: 關家蒨; Jyutping: Gwaan1 Gaa1sin6) was born on May 19, 1939. She is a famous Chinese-American actress. Nancy Kwan became well-known in the 1960s when Hollywood started to feature more Asian characters in movies, especially in comedies. Her talent and unique looks helped her become a star.

About Nancy Kwan

Her Early Life

Nancy Kwan and her father, Kwan Wing-hong, in 1956

Nancy Kwan was born in Hong Kong on May 19, 1939. She grew up in Kowloon Tong. Her father, Kwan Wing-hong, was a Cantonese architect. Her mother, Marquita Scott, was a European model with English and Scottish family. Nancy is of mixed heritage, sometimes called Eurasian. Her parents divorced when she was two years old. Her father later married a Chinese woman, whom Nancy called "Mother." Nancy was raised by her father and stepmother, along with her older brother and five half-siblings.

During World War II, when Japan invaded Hong Kong, Nancy's father took her and her brother to safety in China. They hid in wicker baskets to avoid Japanese soldiers. They stayed in western China for five years until the war ended. After the war, they returned to Hong Kong. Nancy's mother moved to England and later to New York.

Nancy had a comfortable childhood. She had a pony and spent summers in places like Borneo, Macao, and Japan. She went to the Catholic Maryknoll Convent School until she was 13. Then, she went to Kingsmoor School in England, a boarding school where her brother also studied.

Becoming a Dancer

Nancy loved ballet and wanted to be a ballet dancer. When she was 18, she went to the Royal Ballet School in London. She learned about stage make-up and danced for four hours every day. She also took small parts in theater shows. After finishing high school, she traveled through France, Italy, and Switzerland. Then, she went back to Hong Kong and opened her own ballet school.

Starting Her Acting Career

As Suzie Wong in The World of Suzie Wong (1960)

A movie producer named Ray Stark was looking for an actress to play a character named Suzie Wong. He placed an ad in a newspaper. Nancy applied and was chosen to screen test for the movie The World of Suzie Wong. Ray Stark liked Nancy because he thought she would be popular with many people.

Nancy had no acting experience, so she trained with drama teachers for many weeks. Her first screen test was not great, but she improved a lot. Ray Stark saw her potential. She signed a seven-year contract with Seven Arts Productions.

At first, Nancy was an understudy for the main role in the play version of The World of Suzie Wong. Another actress, France Nuyen, got the main movie role. Nancy was very disappointed. However, France Nuyen later had to leave the movie. So, Nancy Kwan was asked to take over the lead role. She started filming the movie in London in 1960 with actor William Holden.

Because Nancy had a mixed background, make-up artists tried to make her look more Chinese for her Asian roles. They would shape her eyebrows and adjust her eye make-up.

Becoming a Star

The World of Suzie Wong was a huge hit! Critics loved Nancy's acting. She was even called "Chinese Bardot" because of her dancing. In 1960, Nancy won a Golden Globe for "Most Promising Newcomer–Female". She became a big star.

After the movie, Nancy found it strange to be famous. People would stare at her in Hong Kong, but in Beverly Hills, she could walk around without being noticed. Even many years later, fans still wrote to her about The World of Suzie Wong.

Nancy Kwan became famous for wearing the cheongsam, a traditional Chinese dress with a high collar and slits on the sides. She appeared on the cover of Life magazine in October 1960 wearing a cheongsam. This dress became known as the "Suzie Wong dress" and many people wanted one like it. Nancy said she "loved" the cheongsam and that the slits showed off the "pretty legs" of Chinese girls.

Jack Soo and Nancy Kwan in Flower Drum Song (1961)

In 1961, Nancy starred in another movie called Flower Drum Song. This film was special because it was one of the first big American movies with an all-Asian cast. Nancy did not sing in this musical; another singer provided the vocals for her character. She found this role harder than Suzie Wong because her character was more active. Her ballet training helped her a lot with the dancing in the film.

Nancy Kwan became a Hollywood icon. She lived in a house in Laurel Canyon and drove a white sports car. She enjoyed listening to music and reading about Chinese history.

In 1961, Nancy even offered to teach Chinese and how to use chopsticks to soldiers training for military work in Malaysia. She joked that she was "fluent in Chinese, fabulous with chopsticks, and fond of uniforms."

The Nancy Kwan Haircut

In 1963, Nancy Kwan's long hair, which was famous from The World of Suzie Wong, was cut into a short, modern bob style. This was done by famous London hairdresser Vidal Sassoon for her film The Wild Affair. This new haircut became very popular and was called "the Kwan cut" or "the Kwan bob." Pictures of her new hairstyle appeared in Vogue magazine.

Later Films and Life

Kwan around 1966

Nancy Kwan continued to act in many movies and TV shows in America and Europe. She found that she had to travel to Europe and Hong Kong to find different kinds of roles, as Hollywood often cast her only in Asian parts.

Her third movie was a British drama called The Main Attraction (1962). While filming in Austria, she met Peter Pock, a hotel manager and ski teacher. They fell in love and got married. They had a son named Bernhard, who they called "Bernie." Nancy found it hard to be away from her son when she traveled for movies. She and Peter Pock divorced in 1968.

In 1964, Nancy played an ichthyologist (a scientist who studies fish) in her seventh film, Fate Is the Hunter. This was her first time playing a character of mixed heritage.

Nancy Kwan met the famous martial artist Bruce Lee when he choreographed (planned the dance moves for) the martial arts scenes in her 1969 film The Wrecking Crew. Her fighting moves in the movie were based on her dance training. They became good friends.

In 1970, Nancy married Hollywood writer David Giler, but they divorced in 1971.

Nancy returned to Hong Kong in 1971 to help her sick father. She stayed for about seven years and even started her own production company, Nancy Kwan Films, which made commercials. In the 1980s, she came back to the United States and acted in TV shows like Fantasy Island and Knots Landing.

In 1976, Nancy married Norbert Meisel, who is an actor, director, and producer. He is from Austria, like her first husband.

Nancy's son, Bernie, was an actor, martial artist, and stunt performer. He could speak Chinese very well. In 1991, he performed a very high stunt, falling 900 feet from the Royal Gorge Bridge while attached to a wire.

Later Years and Philanthropy

Nancy Kwan and Jackie Chan at the Hong Kong Ballet's premiere gala of Suzie Wong, 2006

In 1987, Nancy Kwan co-owned a dim sum restaurant called Joss in West Hollywood.

She also records audiobooks. In 1995, she narrated a memoir called Red Azalea, and in 2011, she recorded When Heaven and Earth Changed Places. People praised her clear voice and slight Asian accent.

In 1993, Nancy played Gussie Yang in the film Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story. Her character was a tough but kind restaurant owner who helped Bruce Lee.

Nancy Kwan has also written, directed, and starred in her own films. In 1993, she made a film called Loose Woman With No Face about people of mixed European and Asian heritage in Los Angeles.

She stays in shape with tai chi and dancing. In 1994, she acted in a play called Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? in Singapore.

Sadly, Nancy's son, Bernie, passed away in 1996 at age 33. After his death, Nancy became involved in helping raise awareness about AIDS. In 1997, she wrote a book about her son called A Celebration of Life – Memories of My Son. She gave the money from the book and a movie she made about him to support AIDS research and awareness.

Roger Ebert and his wife Chaz Hammel-Smith gave the thumbs up to Nancy Kwan at the Hawaii International Film Festival on October 20, 2010.

Nancy Kwan has appeared in TV commercials and infomercials. She says she does not plan to retire because she loves to work. In 2006, she performed in a play called Love Letters with her Flower Drum Song co-star James Shigeta.

Nancy Kwan and her husband Norbert Meisel write and direct films about Asian-Americans. They believe that Asian actors are not cast enough in movies and TV shows, so they create their own stories. In 2007, they made a film called Star of Sunshine.

Nancy Kwan is a spokeswoman for the Asian American Voters Coalition, a group that helps Asian actors. She has appeared in over 50 films and two TV series. As of 2011, she continues to work as a film writer and executive.

Nancy Kwan lives in Los Angeles and still visits her family in Hong Kong every few years.

Filmography

Poster of To Whom It May Concern: Ka Shen's Journey, a 2009 docudrama about the actress.

Film Roles

Television Roles

Awards and Recognition

Nancy Kwan has received many awards for her acting and contributions:

• 1961 Golden Globe Award for Most Promising Newcomer – Female (shared with Ina Balin and Hayley Mills)
• 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, June 2009
• Maverick Award – Hawaii International Film Festival, October 2010
• Lifetime Achievement Award – San Diego Asian Film Festival, October 2011
• Lifetime Achievement Award – Museum of Chinese in America, November 2015
• AHF Inductee & Lifetime Achievement Award - Asian Hall of Fame, 2021

See also

In Spanish: Nancy Kwan para niños