Nancy Ka Shen Kwan became the first Asian actress to succeed in Western cinema. She was promoted as the "Chinese Bardot", but she was also blessed with the gamine charm of a young Audrey Hepburn. In her success she opened doors for other Asian actors that were to follow. She truly is Hong Kong's gift to Hollywood.
Bathing Beauty at age 2
Bathing Beauty at age 2

Kwan Ka Shen () was born on 19 May 1939 in Hong Kong, the "Fragrant Harbor" that was a British crown colony on the coast of China. Like the wonderful British/Chinese city of her birth, she is of mixed heritage. Her Chinese father, Kwan Wing Hong, was a successful Cambridge-educated architect; her English/Scottish mother Marquita Scott was a Conover fashion model.
her mother Marquita Scott
Marquita Scott
They met in England, married and moved to Hong Kong. They had one son Ka Keung before Ka Shen was born. Nancy's parents marriage ended in divorce when she was only two.

Shortly afterwards war broke out in the Pacific, and Japanese troops invaded the city of Hong Kong on Christmas Day 1941. Nancy's father fled the city on foot, leaving behind his worldly possesions but bringing

ng a precious cargo: his house servants carried Ka Shen and Ka Keung hidden in a wicker basket. Together they slipped past the Japanese army and hid out the years in western China until the war was over, when they returned to Hong Kong.

Upon returning to Hong Kong, Nancy lived in a grand modern house on a hill in Kowloon, that was designed by her father and had a full staff of servants. Nancy was enrolled in the Maryknoll Convent School, a traditional Catholic missionary school founded by the Maryknoll Sisters in the 1920's. She quickly became the teachers' pet. Yet her childhood was not traditional; she was a bit of a tomboy, interested in sports, once breaking her arm while climbing a tree. Once she joined a protest against a British club that excluded Chinese members, until her father asked her to drop out, lest the protest alienate his important business clients. As a child she learned how to practice Tai Chi, a graceful form of martial arts exercise common in China. She learned horseback riding and had her own pony. Her family would take holidays in their summer homes in Borneo, Macau, and Japan. Nancy's father had remarried, and soon she had five new little brothers and sisters to help look after and to play with.

giving a dance lesson to her little sister
giving dance lesson to her little sister
Nancy had shown no early interest in acting. Instead, she aspired to the dance. At age twelve she went abroad to the Kingsmoor School in northern peaks district village of Glossop, England. The Kingsmoor School provided an unusual, liberal education to its students. It was also close to a ballet school in Manchester, where twice a week Nancy studied all forms of dance. She performed a solo ballet in Kingsmoor's graduation ceremony. Afterwards she was accepted into the Royal Ballet in London, where she studied and performed for four years. She danced in Swan Lake and Sleeping Beauty at Covent Garden, and earned her teaching certificate in ballet.
with her brother Ka Keung
with brother Ka Keung
Her brother Ka Keung was studying architecture in London and during her holidays they traveled together by motorbike throughout Europe.

It was on a summer holiday in Hong Kong that a chance event changed her life. Ray Stark, a Hollywood producer, was in town to do location scouting for the film adaption of The World of Suzie Wong, a

brothers and sisters to help look after and to play with.

giving a dance lesson to her little sister
giving dance lesson to her little sister
Nancy had shown no early interest in acting. Instead, she aspired to the dance. At age twelve she went abroad to the Kingsmoor School in northern peaks district village of Glossop, England. The Kingsmoor School provided an unusual, liberal education to its students. It was also close to a ballet school in Manchester, where twice a week Nancy studied all forms of dance. She performed a solo ballet in Kingsmoor's graduation ceremony. Afterwards she was accepted into the Royal Ballet in London, where she studied and performed for four years. She danced in Swan Lake and Sleeping Beauty at Covent Garden, and earned her teaching certificate in ballet.
with her brother Ka Keung
with brother Ka Keung
Her brother Ka Keung was studying architecture in London and during her holidays they traveled together by motorbike throughout Europe.

It was on a summer holiday in Hong Kong that a chance event changed her life. Ray Stark, a Hollywood producer, was in town to do location scouting for the film adaption of The World of Suzie Wong, a colorful interracial romance set in Hong Kong, which was based on a bestselling novel by Richard Mason and was made into a popular Broadway play. Mr. Stark was looking in Hong Kong for genuine Chinese actresses to star in the film, and received over 500 applicants. Nancy's architect father had built the studio where Mr. Stark was holding the auditions. Stark spotted Nancy, and despite the fact that she had no acting experience, summoned her for a screen test. Nancy was nervous and she thought her screen test was a failure. Nonetheless Ray Stark saw the spark of talent in her test and was completely taken by her Eurasian beauty. After getting her father's permission, Stark signed the twenty year old Nancy Kwan to a contract, and sent her to Hollywood for extensive coaching and more screen tests.

with producer Ray Stark
with Ray Stark
For the male lead in the film Ray Stark had signed legendary leading man William Holden, the star of dozens of popular films. A dispute ensued, as to whether the Suzie role should go to Nancy or to France Nuyen, star of the stage production of Suzie Wong and recognized for her supporting role in the musical South Pacific. Nancy was crushed to learn that Paramount awarded the role to the better known France, despite Holden's expressed preference that the part go to Nancy. France went to Hong Kong to begin location shooting, and Nancy was sent to New York to understudy the role for Broadway.

Nancy was in the road touring company of the show in Toronto, when she got a phone call from producer Stark in London. Would she come for yet one more screen test? It turned out that France had suffered some personal difficulties that rendered her unable to continue with the filming. Nancy rushed to the studio in London. Her acting lessons had paid off: at last the part was hers! Ironically, the director wanted to makeover the Eurasian actress to look "more Chinese". As an actress Nancy was very eager to please; upon seeing the dailies she would want to shoot scenes over and over to do them better and better. Only one scene in the film gave her difficulty: one that required her to appear wearing just her bra and slip. She locked herself in her dressing room, crying bitterly because she thought the scene was too immodest. Only when the producer told her that portraying Suzie in lingerie as an actress would not