The world of Nancy Kwan
Hong Kong-born Nancy Kwan was catapulted into the international spotlight as the eponymous lead in the movie classic The World of Suzie Wong. Sixty-one years on, Kwan remains just as charming and active, writing and producing films. Faye Bradley reports.
A product of two cultures
Born in 1939 in Hong Kong, Kwan spent the war years on the Chinese mainland, returning to her native city in 1945. "We lived in a beautiful, white, art deco house on a hill, designed by my father - he was an architect in Hong Kong," reminisces Kwan. "The Hong Kong I knew in my childhood is another time and another place."
As a young girl, Kwan was fascinated by the architecture of Maryknoll Convent School, across from her grandfather's house in Kowloon Tong. She persuaded her father to send her to the Catholic school.
"It must have struck a chord with my father," she muses. During the war, the Maryknoll priests looked out for her and her family when they were on the mainland. This is where Kwan would make lifelong friends, some of whom she is in touch with to this day. She also believes that being a product of two cultures - that of her Chinese father and British mother - gave her a better understanding of human nature.
"It is Nancy's authentic embodiment of Asianness and her determined dynamism that breathe air into these characters, making them convincing, relatable, and sympathetic," says Kiki Fung, program consultant for the Hong Kong International Film Festival.
"A Hollywood musical featuring an almost all-Asian/Asian American cast was something quite remarkable at the time," she says of Flower Drum Song (1961), Kwan's second movie. "The film also offers a more realistic portrayal of the struggles of Asian immigrants in the United States."
