Nancy Kwan played a pivotal role in the acceptance of actors of Asian descent

Nancy Kwan (born May 19, 1939) is an American actress, who played a pivotal role in the acceptance of actors of Asian descent in major Hollywood film roles. Widely praised for her beauty, Kwan was considered a sex symbol in the 1960s. Nancy Kwan was born in Hong Kong to a Cantonese father, architect Kwan Wing Hong, and Scottish mother, model Marquita Scott. Her parents divorced when she was two years old. During the Japanese invasion of Hong Kong, in December 1941, Kwan's father, who worked for British intelligence, fled the city on foot along with Nancy and her brother, Ka Keung, and hid out in western China. The family returned to Hong Kong at the end of World War II. Kwan later studied at the Royal Ballet School in England, performing in Swan Lake and Sleeping Beauty at Covent Garden. She completed her studies with a certificate to teach ballet. While she was in England, producer Ray Stark discovered her. At the time, Asian film characters, particularly those in major film roles