Biography for
Nancy Kwan More at IMDbPro »

Date of Birth

19 May 1939, Hong Kong

Birth Name

Ka Shin Kwan

Height

5' 3" (1.60 m)

Mini Biography

At just 18, Nancy Kwan was studying dance with England's Royal Ballet School when she was spotted by producer Ray Stark, who tested her and gave her the starring role of a free-spirited Hong Kong prostitute who captivates artist William Holden in The World of Suzie Wong (1960). She followed it the next year with the hit musical Flower Drum Song (1961) and became one of Hollywood's most visible Asian actresses. Born in China to a Chinese father and British mother, Kwan spent the 1960s commuting between film roles in America and Europe, but faded from view in the West when she returned to her native Hong Kong in 1972 to be with her critically ill father. Divorced from her second husband, Austrian hotelier David Giler, and with a young son from her first marriage, Kwan intended to stay a year, but wound up staying a decade.

As managing director of her own production company, she produced and directed dozens of commercials for the Southeast Asia market. She also acted in a spate of films made for Southeast Asian audiences, including "Fear" (1977) (aka, Night Creature (1978)), which introduced her to filmmaker Norbert Meisel, who became her third husband. They returned to the US in 1979 so that her teenage son, Bernie Pock, could complete his education. He was a martial-arts master, fluent in Chinese, and became a stunt coordinator and actor before his untimely death.

After returning to the US, Kwan appeared in numerous TV series (including the pilot for "Hawaii Five-O" (1968)), the NBC miniseries "Noble House" (1988) and the CBS made-for-TV movie Miracle Landing (1990) (TV). She's politically active as the spokeswoman for the Asian-American Voters Coalition, and touts a beauty product, Oriental Pearl Cream, in TV spots. Kwan was at the ceremonies in Los Angeles at Hollywood Park where the Asian community gathered to watch the handover of Hong Kong to the government of China.

IMDb Mini Biography By: A. Nonymous

Spouse

Norbert Meisel	(1976 - present)
David Giler	(1970 - ?) (divorced)
Peter Pock	(7 June 1962 - ?) (divorced) 1 son

Trivia

Classically trained ballet dancer, educated in Great Britian.

Her father, Kwan Wing Hong, was an architect of Chinese origin, and her mother, Marquita Scott, was a model of Scottish descent. Her parents divorced when she was two years old. Her father worked for British intelligence during World War II.

Kwan's son passed away, and she has written a book, "A Celebration of Life, Memories of My Son."

Mother of Bernie Pock

In a 1993 interview, she revealed she turned down a role in The Joy Luck Club (1993) due to a disagreement over the script.

Chosen by Goldsea Asian American Daily as one of the "100 Most Inspiring Asian Americans of All Time".

Has a brother named Ka Keung.

Politically active as the spokeswoman for the Asian American Voters Coalition.

Won the 1961 Golden Globe Award for Most Promising Newcomer - Female, which she shared with Ina Balin and Hayley Mills.

Personal Quotes

"It's not that I don't like reading about myself. But I get unhappy with the kind of things that are written about me. For instance, after Suzie Wong..., I was being written up as a kind of sex kitten. I'm not really at all like that." Press interview, 1962.

"I don't have that [need] to prove myself. I have a passion to do good roles but luckily I don't have to do it for economic reasons. I'm not a big spender and I don't need a lot of frills." Interview, 1990

Where Are They Now

(2004) Lives in Los Angeles when she's not on location.

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