Nancy Kwan was catapulted from her native Hong Kong at age 19 to become an international star in such famed American films as The World of Suzie Wong (1960) and Flower Drum Song (1961).

Kwan, the daughter of a prominent architect, was born in Hong Kong and educated in England, where she also studied dancing at the Royal Ballet School. By chance, while on vacation from school in Hong Kong, she was spotted by famed American producer Ray Stark, who was then searching for an Asian beauty to star in the film adaptation of The World of Suzie Wong. After a number of screen tests in Hong Kong, Los Angeles, and London, Kwan finally got the part starring opposite William Holden. For this role, she was nominated for Best Actress and won the International Star of Tomorrow award by the Hollywood Foreign Press.

Kwan’s second starring role, which allowed her to display her dancing talents, was in Flower Drum Song, based on the acclaimed Rodgers and Hammerstein Broadway musical. The film was nominated for five Academy Awards.

An authentic global player, Ms. Kwan has written and produced films and television commercials in Southeast Asia while continuing to perform in the United States, Asia, and Europe. In 2002, Ms. Kwan was appointed Hong Kong’s Film Ambassador. Kwan has starred in over 50 films, including Fate Is the Hunter (1964) with Glenn Ford, Walking the Edge (1985) with Robert Forster, Keys to Freedom (1988) with Jane Seymour and Omar Sharif, Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story (1993) with Jason Scott Lee, and Mr. P’s Dancing Sushi Bar (1998), a project that was developed at Sundance.

Kwan appeared on television in the pilot for Hawaii Five-O with Jack Lord, the two-part “Cenotaph” episode of Kung Fu with David Carradine, Chicago Story, The Last Ninja, James Clavell’s Noble House, Miracle Landing, and Babies. Her stage appearances include The Quartered Man, Love Letters, Arthur and Leila, and as Martha in Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

A woman devoted to spiritual growth, Ms. Kwan developed the concept for Tai Chi Chuan – Touching the Clouds, based on the ancient Chinese exercise. Ms. Kwan starred in the documentary film To Whom It May Concern: Ka Shen’s Journey (2009), based on her life. A 2021 Asian Hall of Fame inductee, Nancy Kwan was honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award. Recently, Ms. Kwan’s memoir, The World of Nancy Kwan, was released by Hachette Books