Nancy Kwan

Nancy Kwan (關家蒨)
Publicity photo, 1971
Born	(1939-05-19) May 19, 1939 (age 77) Hong Kong
Years active	1960–2010
Spouse(s)	Peter Pock (m.1962) David Giler (m.1972) Norbert Meisel (1976–)
Children	Bernie Pock (1963-1996; deceased)
Parent(s)	Kwan Wing Hong and Marquita Scott
Relatives	Ka Keung Kwan - brother
Website	http://nancy-kwan.com/index.html

Nancy "Ka Shen" Kwan (traditional Chinese: 關家蒨; simplified Chinese: 关家蒨; pinyin: Guān Jiāqiàn; born May 19, 1939) is a Hong Kong-born American actress, who played a pivotal role in the acceptance of actors of Asian ancestry in major Hollywood film roles.

Born in Hong Kong on May 19, 1939, and growing up in Kowloon Tong, she is the daughter of Kwan Wing Hong, a Cantonese architect, and Marquita Scott, a Caucasian model of English and Scottish ancestry. The son of a Chinese lawyer, Kwan Wing Hong attended Cambridge University and became an eminent architect in Hong Kong. After he met Marquita Scott in London, the two married and moved to Hong Kong. In that era, society held a dim view of marriage between different races. Kwan has an older brother, Ka Keung.

In fear of the Japanese invasion of Hong Kong during World War II, Wing Hong, in the guise of a coolie, escaped from Hong Kong to North China in Christmas 1941 with his two children, whom he hid in wicker baskets. Kwan and her brother were transported by servants, evading Japanese sentries. They remained in exile in Western China for five years until the war ended, after which they returned to Hong Kong and lived in a spacious, contemporary home her father designed. Marquita Scott escaped to England and never rejoined the family. Kwan's parents divorced when she was two years old. Her mother later moved to New York and married an American. Remaining in Hong Kong with the children, her father married a Chinese woman, whom Kwan called "Mother". Her father and her step-mother gave her, in addition to her brother, five half-brothers and half-sisters. Five of Kwan's siblings became lawyers.