Skip to content
balasaur
Nancy Kwan

Nancy Kwan

Actor · Born May 19, 1939 · Hong Kong, British Crown Colony [now China]

IMDb

Biography

Nancy Kwan Ka-shen (Cantonese: 關家蒨; born May 19, 1939) is a Hong Kong-born American actress, author, and philanthropist. She meteorically rose to fame by starring in the Hollywood films The World of Suzie Wong (1960) and Flower Drum Song (1961), which were among the first to cast Asian actors in major roles. Her dazzling 'oriental' style and signature bob cut became iconic and cemented her status as an exotic sex symbol. Later in life, Kwan became involved in philanthropy for AIDS awareness. In 1997, she published a book about her son who died from the disease and donated its profits to support the promotion of AIDS awareness.

Acted in 52

2000s

  1. 2006

    Ray of Sunshine

    Lilly

  2. 2005

    Murder on the Yellow Brick Road

    Natalie Chung

  3. 2001

    The Unbeatable Bruce Lee

    Movie · Documentary

1990s

  1. 1999

    Mr. P's Dancing Sushi Bar

    Mitsuko McFee

  2. 1996

    For Life or Death

    Ling Li

  3. 1994

    ER

    Mrs. Chen · 1 episode

    79
  4. 1993

    Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story

    Gussie Yang

    71
  5. 1990

    Babies

    Dr. Liu

  6. Cold Dog Soup

    Madame Chang

  7. Miracle Landing

    C.B. Lansing

    60

  8. Sally's Beauty Spot

    Suzie Wong (archive footage)

1980s

  1. 1989

    Night Children

    Diane Martin

  2. 1988

    Slaying the Dragon

    Movie

  3. Noble House

    Claudia Chen · 4 episodes

    75

  4. Keys to Freedom

    Dr. Lao

  5. 1985

    Reel Horror

    Leslie (archive footage)

  6. Blade in Hong Kong

    Lily

  7. Walking the Edge

    Christine Holloway

  8. 1984

    Partners in Crime

    TV

  9. 1983

    The Last Ninja

    Noriko Sakura

  10. The A-Team

    Lin Wu · 1 episode

    75
  11. 1981

    Angkor: Cambodia Express

    Sue

1970s

  1. 1979

    Knots Landing

    Beverly Mikuriya · 1 episode

    69
  2. 1978

    Night Creature

    Leslie

  3. Fantasy Island

    Adela · 1 episode

    66
  4. 1976

    Project: Kill

    Lee Su

    42
  5. 1975

    That Lady from Peking

    Sue Ten Chan

  6. Supercock

    Yuki Chan

  7. 1974

    The Pacific Connection

    Leni

  8. Spring Comes Not Again

    Movie

  9. 1973

    Wonder Women

    Dr. Tsu

    45
  10. 1972

    Kung Fu

    Mayli Ho · 2 episodes

  11. 1970

    The McMasters

    Robin

    56

1960s

  1. 1969

    The Girl Who Knew Too Much

    Revel Drue

  2. Hadleigh

    Kai Yin · 1 episode

  3. Hawaii Five-O

    Rosemary Quong · 2 episodes

    73
  4. 1968

    The Wrecking Crew

    Wen Yu-Rang

    56

  5. Cocoon

    Rosemary Quong

  6. Nobody's Perfect

    Nurse Tomiko Momyama

  7. 1967

    The Corrupt Ones

    Tina

  8. 1966

    Arrivederci, Baby!

    Baby

    57

  9. Lt. Robin Crusoe U.S.N.

    Wednesday

  10. The Magic Stone

    Mei Ching

  11. 1965

    The Wild Affair

    Marjorie Lee

  12. 1964

    Fate Is the Hunter

    Sally Fraser

  13. Honeymoon Hotel

    Lynn Hope

  14. 1963

    Tamahine

    Tamahine

  15. 1962

    The Main Attraction

    Tessa

  16. 1961

    Flower Drum Song

    Linda Low

    70
  17. 1960

    The World of Suzie Wong

    Suzie Wong

    59

Produced 1

1980s

  1. 1981

    Dreams of Desire

    Producer

Wrote 1

1980s

  1. 1981

    Dreams of Desire

    Story

Appearances9

2010s

  1. 2010

    To Whom It May Concern: Ka Shen's Journey

    Herself

2000s

  1. 2009

    You Don't Know Jack: The Jack Soo Story

    Self

  2. Mr. Yunioshi: An Asian Perspective

    Self (archive footage)

  3. 2007

    Hollywood Chinese

    Self