Nancy Kwan was just 18, 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. She followed it the next year with the hit musical Flower Drum Song 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)_ ), that introduced her to filmmaker Norbert Meisel, her latest romantic involvement. She returned to the US in 1979 so that her teenage son, Bernie Pock, could complete his education (a martial-arts master who speaks fluent Chinese, he's now a stunt coordinator and actor). After returning to the US, Kwan appeared on numerous TV series and co-starred in the NBC miniseries Noble House and the CBS made-for-TV movie Miracle Landing. She also guest-starred in various TV shows, including the pilot for Hawaii Five-O. 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.
Classically trained ballet dancer. Went to school in Great Britian. Her father was Chinese, but her mother is (non-Asian) English. 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, it was revealed that Kwan turned down a role in The Joy Luck Club due to a disagreement over the script.