Nancy Kwan
As a young girl growing up in postwar Hong Kong, Nancy Kwan was physically active. She was a bit of a tomboy and excelled at sports and Tai Chi. At age 12, she was sent to England to study ballet; she went on to dance in productions of "Swan Lake" and "Sleeping Beauty" and eventually to earn her teaching certificate. One day, at the age of 18, when she was visiting her home country for summer holidays, she had a big break. Director Ray Stark was searching for a Chinese actress to play the title character in his upcoming film, an adaptation of the Richard Mason novel "The World of Suzie Wong," the story of a romance between a struggling American artist and the daughter of a wealthy Chinese businessman, set in Hong Kong. Kwan was chosen out of 500 applicants, despite her lack of acting experience. Her success in that part immediately opened the door to further opportunities, and the next year she was putting her dancing skills to work in the lead role of the film adaptation of the Rodgers and Hammerstein Broadway hit "Flower Drum Song," another interracial romance, set in San Francisco. In the 1980s, Kwan made a push into television where she appeared on many of the staples of the day such as "The A-Team" and "Fantasy Island." She eventually started her own commercial production company and is now mostly widely recognized for her role in infomercials for the beauty product Pearl Cream.
Photos
Nancy Kwan
Filmography
Movies
Credit | |||||
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92% |
|
Window Horses | Gloria (Voice) | $2.1K | 2016 |
88% |
|
Paint It Black | Margaret (Character) | - | 2016 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Anna May Wong, Frosted Yellow Willows: Her Life, Times and Legend | Narrator | - | 2007 |
100% | No Score Yet | Hollywood Chinese | Unknown (Character) | - | 2007 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Murder on the Yellow Brick Road | Natalie Chung (Character) | - | 2005 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Soul of the Avenger | Ling Li (Character) | - | 1997 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Glass Mountain | Joni Mitchell (Character) | - | 1995 |
74% |
|
Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story | Gussie Yang (Character) | $34.9M | 1993 |
No Score Yet |
|
Cold Dog Soup | Madame Chang (Character) | - | 1990 |
No Score Yet |
|
Babies | Dr. Liu (Character) | - | 1990 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Miracle Landing | C.B. Lansing (Character) | - | 1990 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Night Children | Deborah (Character) | - | 1989 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Keys to Freedom | Dr. Lao (Character) | - | 1988 |
No Score Yet |
|
Walking the Edge | Christine Holloway (Character) | - | 1985 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Blade in Hong Kong | Lily (Character) | - | 1985 |
No Score Yet |
|
The Last Ninja | Noriko Sakura (Character) | - | 1983 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Streets of Hong Kong | Unknown (Character) | - | 1979 |
No Score Yet |
|
Night Creature | Leslie (Character) | - | 1978 |
No Score Yet |
|
Project: Kill | Lee Su (Character) | - | 1977 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Assassins of Revenge | Unknown (Character) | - | 1976 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Fortress in the Sun | Maria (Character) | - | 1975 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Supercock | Yuki Chan (Character) | - | 1975 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | The Deadly and the Beautiful | Dr. Tsu (Character) | - | 1973 |
No Score Yet |
|
Wonder Women | Dr. Tsu (Character) | - | 1973 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | That Woman From Peking | Sue Ten Chan (Character) | - | 1971 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | The McMasters | Robin (Character) | - | 1970 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | That Lady From Peking | Sue Ten Chan (Character) | - | 1970 |
No Score Yet |
|
The Girl Who Knew Too Much | Revel Drue (Character) | - | 1969 |
No Score Yet |
|
The Wrecking Crew | Yu-Rang (Character) | - | 1968 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Hawaii Five-0 | Rosemary Quong (Character) | - | 1968 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Nobody's Perfect | Nurse Tomiko Momoyama (Character) | - | 1968 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | The Corrupt Ones | Tina (Character) | - | 1967 |
60% |
|
Arrivederci, Baby! | Baby (Character) | - | 1966 |
No Score Yet |
|
Lt. Robin Crusoe, U.S.N. | Wednesday (Character) | - | 1966 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Honeymoon Hotel | Lynn Hope Jenley (Character) | - | 1964 |
40% |
|
Fate Is the Hunter | Sally Fraser (Character) | - | 1964 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | The Wild Affair | Marjorie Lee (Character) | - | 1963 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | The Main Attraction | Tessa (Character) | - | 1963 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Tamahine | Tamahine (Character) | - | 1963 |
79% |
|
Flower Drum Song | Linda Low (Character) | - | 1961 |
33% |
|
The World of Suzie Wong | Suzie Wong (Character) | - | 1960 |
TV
Credit | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | A Life in Ten Pictures | Self | 2024 |
No Score Yet | 85% | ER | Mrs. Chen (Guest Star) | 2000 |
No Score Yet | 71% | The A-Team | Lin Wu (Guest Star) | 1986 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Partners in Crime | Anna Chen (Guest Star) | 1984 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Trapper John, M.D. | Unknown (Guest Star) | 1984 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Fantasy Island | Unknown (Guest Star) | 1978 |
No Score Yet | 100% | Kung Fu | Unknown (Guest Star) | 1974 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | What's My Line? | Guest | 1960 |