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The World of Suzie Wong

Unidentified Artistc. 1960

Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery

Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery
Washington, D.C., United States

The 1960 film The World of Suzie Wong heralded the acting debut of Nancy Kwan, playing a Chinese prostitute in Hong Kong who falls in love with an American painter, played by William Holden. This poster for the Spanish version of the film showcases not only Kwan, a legendary beauty of Chinese-Scottish descent, but also the myriad ways that producers perpetuated stereotypes of Asian women, in this case by posing Kwan in traditional dress against a backdrop of Chinese characters. However, the Richard Quine–directed film was also one of the first major movies to depict interracial relationships and therefore acknowledge the different ways Asians are represented in American popular culture. Kwan, the first Asian American actress since Anna May Wong to become a veritable Hollywood star, went on to act in such films as Flower Drum Song (1961), establish her own production company, and, in her later years, become an activist in the fight against AIDS.
Nacida en Hong Kong

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  • Title: The World of Suzie Wong
  • Creator: Unidentified Artist
  • Date Created: c. 1960
  • Physical Dimensions: 99.9 × 70.8 cm (Sheet)
  • Type: Chromolithographic poster with halftone on paper
  • Rights: National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution
  • External Link: https://npg.si.edu/object/npg_NPG.2015.121
Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery

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