Release CalendarTop 250 MoviesMost Popular MoviesBrowse Movies by GenreTop Box OfficeShowtimes & TicketsMovie NewsIndia Movie Spotlight
    What's on TV & StreamingTop 250 TV ShowsMost Popular TV ShowsBrowse TV Shows by GenreTV News
    What to WatchLatest TrailersIMDb OriginalsIMDb PicksIMDb Podcasts
    OscarsABFFPride MonthOutfest OutfrontsSTARmeter AwardsAwards CentralFestival CentralAll Events
    Born TodayMost Popular CelebsMost Popular CelebsCelebrity News
    Help CenterContributor ZonePolls
For Industry Professionals
  • All
  • Titles
  • TV Episodes
  • Celebs
  • Companies
  • Keywords
  • Advanced Search
Watchlist
Sign In
Sign In
New Customer? Create account
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
  • Biography
  • Awards
  • Trivia
IMDbPro

Nancy Kwan

  • Actress
  • Make-Up Department
  • Producer
IMDbProStarmeterTop 5,0003883
Nancy Kwan circa 1967
Trailer for Paint It Black
Play trailer2:03
Paint It Black (2016)
9 Videos
71 Photos
At just 18, Nancy Kwan was 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 (1960). She followed it the next year with the hit musical, Flower Drum Song (1961), 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 (including the pilot for Hawaii Five-O (1968)), 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, screenwriter David Giler, and with a young son from her first marriage to Austrian hotelier Peter Pock, 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)), which introduced her to filmmaker Norbert Meisel, who became her third husband. They returned to the US in 1979 so that her teenage son, Bernie Pock, could complete his education. He was a martial-arts master, fluent in Chinese, and became a stunt coordinator and actor before his untimely death.

After returning to the US, Kwan appeared in numerous TV series, the NBC miniseries, Noble House (1988), and the CBS made-for-TV movie, Miracle Landing (1990). 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.
BornMay 19, 1939
  • More at IMDbPro
    • Contact info
    • Agent info
    • Resume
BornMay 19, 1939
IMDbProStarmeterTop 5,0003883
  • View contact info at IMDbPro
  • Awards
    • 4 wins & 2 nominations

Hollywood Icons, Then and Now

Hollywood Icons, Then and Now

Take a look back at these Hollywood icons in their early days to see how far they've come in their careers.
See the gallery
Production art
Photos

Photos71

Nancy Kwan in Walking the Edge (1985)
Nancy Kwan in Walking the Edge (1985)
Nancy Kwan in The World of Suzie Wong (1960)
Nancy Kwan in Supercock (1975)
Nancy Kwan in Tamahine (1963)
John Fraser and Nancy Kwan in Tamahine (1963)
Nancy Kwan
Nancy Kwan
Nancy Kwan
Nancy Kwan
Nancy Kwan
Nancy Kwan

Known for

William Holden and Nancy Kwan in The World of Suzie Wong (1960)
The World of Suzie Wong
6.9
  • Suzie Wong
  • 1960
Ross Hagen and Nancy Kwan in Wonder Women (1973)
Wonder Women
4.5
  • Dr. Tsu
  • 1973
Jason Scott Lee in Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story (1993)
Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story
7.0
  • Gussie Yang
  • 1993
Nancy Kwan and Miyoshi Umeki in Flower Drum Song (1961)
Flower Drum Song
6.9
  • Linda Low
  • 1961

Credits

Edit
IMDbPro

Actress

  • Window Horses (2016)
    Window Horses
    • Gloria (voice)
    • 2016
  • Janet McTeer, Alia Shawkat, and Rhys Wakefield in Paint It Black (2016)
    Paint It Black
    • Margaret
    • 2016
  • Ray of Sunshine (2006)
    Ray of Sunshine
    • Lilly
    • 2006
  • Murder on the Yellow Brick Road (2005)
    Murder on the Yellow Brick Road
    • Natalie Chung
    • 2005
  • George Clooney, Anthony Edwards, Julianna Margulies, Ming-Na Wen, Noah Wyle, Laura Innes, Alex Kingston, Eriq La Salle, Kellie Martin, Paul McCrane, Michael Michele, Erik Palladino, Maura Tierney, and Goran Visnjic in ER (1994)
    ER
    • Mrs. Chen
    • TV Series
    • 2000
  • Mr. P's Dancing Sushi Bar (1998)
    Mr. P's Dancing Sushi Bar
    • Mitsuko McFee
    • 1998
  • For Life or Death (1996)
    For Life or Death
    • Ling Li
    • 1996
  • Rebellious (1995)
    Rebellious
    • Joni
    • 1995
  • Jason Scott Lee in Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story (1993)
    Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story
    • Gussie Yang
    • 1993
  • Babies (1990)
    Babies
    • Dr. Liu
    • TV Movie
    • 1990
  • Randy Quaid in Cold Dog Soup (1990)
    Cold Dog Soup
    • Madame Chang
    • 1990
  • Miracle Landing (1990)
    Miracle Landing
    • C.B. Lansing
    • TV Movie
    • 1990
  • Night Children (1989)
    Night Children
    • Diane
    • 1989
  • Omar Sharif and Jane Seymour in Keys to Freedom (1988)
    Keys to Freedom
    • Dr. Lao
    • 1988
  • Noble House (1988)
    Noble House
    • Claudia Chen
    • TV Mini Series
    • 1988

Makeup Department

  • The Ho's on 7th Avenue
    • makeup artist
    • TV Series
    • 2012

Producer

  • Ray of Sunshine (2006)
    Ray of Sunshine
    • producer
    • 2006
  • Rebellious (1995)
    Rebellious
    • producer
    • 1995
  • Dreams of Desire (1981)
    Dreams of Desire
    • producer (as Kashen)
    • 1981

Videos9

Trailer
Trailer 1:36
Trailer
Trailer
Trailer 1:50
Trailer
Official Trailer
Trailer 3:13
Official Trailer
DVD Trailer
Trailer 1:32
DVD Trailer
Official Trailer
Trailer 2:40
Official Trailer
The World of Suzie Wong
Trailer 3:07
The World of Suzie Wong
Paint It Black
Trailer 2:03
Paint It Black
Cold Dog Soup
Trailer 1:34
Cold Dog Soup
You Don't Know Jack: The Jack Soo Story
Trailer 1:46
You Don't Know Jack: The Jack Soo Story

Personal details

Edit
  • Official site
    • Official Site
  • Alternative names
    • Kashen
  • Height
    • 5′ 3″ (1.60 m)
  • Born
    • May 19, 1939
    • Hong Kong
  • Spouses
      Norbert Meisel1976 - present
  • Children
    • Bernie Pock
  • Parents
      Kwan Wing Hong
  • Relatives
    • Ka Keung Kwan(Sibling)
  • Other works
    TV / print ads: Angel Care Products, including "Nancy Kwan Pearl Cream".
  • Publicity listings
    • 1 Print Biography
    • 1 Interview
    • 3 Articles
    • 4 Magazine Cover Photos

Did you know

Edit
  • Trivia
    Her only son, Bernie Pock, died June 5, 1996 after he contracted AIDS from a relationship with an older woman whom he later married. Nancy Kwan penned a book entitled, "Celebration of a Life: Memories of my Son".
  • Quotes
    [interview in 1962] It's not that I don't like reading about myself. But I get unhappy with the kind of things that are written about me. For instance, after "Suzie Wong" . . . I was being written up as a kind of sex kitten. I'm not really at all like that.

Related news

Contribute to this page

Suggest an edit or add missing content
  • Learn more about contributing
Edit page

More to explore

Production art
List
The Best Things to Watch in June
See the list
Production art
Photos
See These Trending Actors in Early Roles
Can you place the face?

Add demo reel with IMDbPro

Demo reel thumbnail
Make your IMDb page stand out by adding a demo reel
Upload your demo reel

Add demo reel with IMDbPro

Make your IMDb page stand out by adding a demo reel
Upload your demo reel
Demo reel thumbnail

How much have you seen?

Keep track of how much of Nancy Kwan’s work you have seen. Go to your list.
Production art
Photos
LGBTQIA+ Power Couples of Hollywood
See the photos

Recently viewed

Please enable browser cookies to use this feature. Learn more.
Get the IMDb App
Sign in for more accessSign in for more access
  • Get the IMDb App
  • Help
  • Site Index
  • IMDbPro
  • Box Office Mojo
  • IMDb Developer
  • Press Room
  • Advertising
  • Jobs
  • Conditions of Use
  • Privacy Policy
  • Your Ads Privacy Choices
IMDb, an Amazon company

© 1990-2023 by IMDb.com, Inc.