Chinese American Heroine: Nancy Kwan
May 4, 2009
This is Week 7 of AsianWeek’s salute to Chinese American Heroes, and this week, we are going to lighten up - no engineers, no mathematicians, no lawyers, and no Nobel Prize winners!
We are going to about our thespian stars, of which there are actually very few. Hollywood has had its own concept of a “Hollywood star,” and Chinese (and Asian) faces have never quite fit into those expectations. Accordingly, when trying to come up with a list of leading Chinese American actors, you will come up with a short list.
Our list begins with the lovely Nancy Kwan of “Flower Drum Song” and “Suzie Wong” fame. Kwan’s dad was Chinese and her mom was Scottish, a nice combination. Following Nancy Kwan are John Lone, Bradley Darryl (B.D.) Wong, pioneer Anna May Wong, and Bruce Lee who was both an actor and martial arts leading man. Please check daily to meet the actors and see other Chinese American Heroes and Heroines at www.chineseamericanheroes.org
Chinese American Heroine: Nancy Ka Shen Kwan
Name is English: Nancy Ka Shen Kwan Name in Chinese: 关家蒨 [關家蒨]
Name in Pinyin: Guān Jiāqiàn
Gender: Female
Birth Year: May 19, 1939
Birth Place: Hong Kong
Current location: Los Angeles, California
Philanthropy: Yes
Profession (s): Actress, Dancer
Education: Diploma, Royal Ballet School
Awards: Honoree, Goldsea Asian American Daily “The 100 Most Inspiring Asian Americans of All Time”; 2008, OCA Pioneer Award; 2001, History maker for Excellence in the Performing Arts, Chinese American Museum of Los Angeles; 1997, Golden Ring Award, Asian American Arts Foundation; 1961 Golden Globe Award for Most Promising Newcomer - Female
Contribution (s): Nancy Kwan was born in Hong Kong to a Chinese father, architect Kwan Wing Hong, and Scottish mother, model Marquita Scott. After World War II she studied at the Royal Ballet School in London, England, performing in Swan Lake and Sleeping Beauty at Covent Garden.
She started acting in stage roles at the age of 18, notably understudying in the US road version of the “World of Suzie Wong.” She replaced the original actress slated for the title actress role in the 1960 movie and gained worldwide fame and infamy; an Asian American woman as a pioneering lead actress in a Hollywood movie in a role that reinforced biased Western perceptions of their sexuality. Her role as one of the most prominent sex symbols of the 1960s was sealed by her October 1960 cheongsam wearing Life Magazine cover.
In 1962 she won more acclaim with her leading role in the Rogers & Hammerstein production of “Flower Drum Song,” the first all-Asian American musical movie. Throughout the 1960s and onwards she has alternated between movie and TV roles in Europe and the US, appearing in such TV shows as “Hawaii Five-O,” “Fantasy Island,” “Knots Landing,” “The A-Team,” and “ER.” In 1993, Kwan took a role based upon Ruby Chow, the formidable restaurant boss and Seattle political leader in “Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story.”
Philanthropy: Nancy Kwan is active in philanthropy, donating her appearances and film screenings to such charities as the Chinese Women’s Club of Honolulu, and the Hawaii Rotary Youth Foundation scholarship fund. The proceeds of the book she wrote and a film she made about her son are donated to AIDS research and awareness organizations in honor of her son, Bernie Pock, who passed away from the disease. She is also active as the spokesperson for the Asian American Voter’s Coalition, the first major pan-Asian political organization founded in 1986.
Publications: Bernie Pock & Nancy Kwan. A Celebration of Life - Memories of My Son (1997) ISBN-13: 978-0966439502
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