France Nuyen

France Nuyen
Nuyen in 2002
Born
France Nguyen Van Nga

(1939-07-31) 31 July 1939
Marseille, Bouches-du-Rhône, France
Occupations
  • Actress
  • model
  • psychological counsellor
Years active1958–2008
Spouses
Thomas Gaspar Morell
​
​
(m. 1963; div. 1966)​
​
​
(m. 1967; div. 1970)​
Children1

France Nuyen (born France Nguyễn Vân Nga on 31 July 1939) is a French-American actress, model, and psychological counselor. She is known to film audiences for playing romantic leads in South Pacific (1958), Satan Never Sleeps (1962), and A Girl Named Tamiko (also 1962), and for playing Ying-Ying St. Clair in The Joy Luck Club (1993). She also originated the title role in the Broadway play The World of Suzie Wong, based on the novel of the same name. She is a Theatre World Award winner and Golden Globe Award nominee.

Early life

Nuyen was born France Nguyễn Vân Nga in Marseille,[1] the daughter of a Romani French mother and a father from French Indochina. Her father is widely reported to be Viet; however, Nuyen identifies him and herself as Chinese or Hoa.[2] Nuyen’s father abandoned her and her mother when she was young, and she was raised in Marseille by a cousin she calls "an Orchidaceae raiser who was the only person who gave a damn about me." During World War II, her mother and grandfather were allegedly persecuted by the Nazis for being Romani.

After leaving school at the age of 11, she began studying art and became an artist's model.[3] She was later signed to Candy Jones’ agency, and moved to New York City at age 16.[2] In 1955, Nuyen was discovered while modeling at the Beaux Arts School by Life photographer Philippe Halsman.[4][5] She was featured on the cover of 6 October 1958 issue of Life.

Career

France Nuyen became a motion picture actress in 1958. In her first role, she appeared as Liat, daughter of Bloody Mary (played by Juanita Hall), in the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical South Pacific.[6]

In 1978 Nuyen guest-starred with Peter Falk and Louis Jourdan in the Columbo episode "Murder Under Glass". In 1986 she joined the cast of St. Elsewhere as Dr. Paulette Kiem, remaining until the series ended in 1988.

Nuyen appeared in several films including The Last Time I Saw Archie (1961) Satan Never Sleeps (1962), A Girl Named Tamiko (1962), Diamond Head (1963), Dimension 5 (1966), Battle for the Planet of the Apes (1973), The Joy Luck Club (1993), and The American Standards (2008).[7]

With William Shatner

France Nuyen worked several times with actor William Shatner. At age 19, she was cast in Shatner's 1958 Broadway play The World of Suzie Wong.[8] After a dubious initial opening,[9] the play ran for more than 500 performances and was quite financially successful. Both Nuyen and Shatner later collected notable accolades for their work on the show at the 1959 Theatre World Awards.[10]

Nuyen worked again with Shatner across three US television projects, starting with "Elaan of Troyius", a 1968 third season episode of the original Star Trek in which Nuyen was the title character.[11][12] She would later appear with Shatner in the 1973 made-for-TV movie The Horror at 37,000 Feet,[13] and afterward in a 1974 episode of the Kung Fu series entitled "A Small Beheading".[14]

Personal life

Nuyen had many on-and-off relationships, most notably an affair with Marlon Brando in 1960. From 1963 to 1966, Nuyen was married to Thomas Gaspar Morell,[1] a psychiatrist from New York, by whom she has a daughter, Fleur, who resides in Canada and works as a film make-up artist. She met her second husband, Robert Culp, while appearing in four episodes of his television series I Spy. They married in 1967, but divorced three years later. In 1986, Nuyen earned a master's degree in clinical psychology and began a second career as a counselor for abused women and children and women in prison. She received a Woman of the Year award in 1989 for her psychology work. In the Life cover story on Nuyen, she is quoted as saying a proverb she also repeated in character as a spy in the I Spy episode "Magic Mirror": "I am Chinese. I am a stone. I go where I am kicked."

As of 2019, she resides in Beverly Hills.[2]

Filmography

Film

Television

References

  1. ^ a b "France Nuyen Stars as Beautiful Bride". Daily News. New York, NY. 23 June 1963. p. 3. Retrieved 23 November 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ^ a b c Thomas, Nick (2 October 2019). "At 80, France Nuyen still counts her blessings". Mansfield News Journal. Archived from the original on 18 November 2021. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
  3. ^ Knutzen, Eirik (16 August 1987). "An Actress' Brutal Beginnings Once She Was A Battered Child Now She's Trained To Treat Them". Philadelphia Inquirer. Archived from the original on 6 October 2016. Retrieved 10 June 2020.
  4. ^ Stanley, Don (29 June 1958). "The South of France to 'South Pacific'". The San Francisco Examiner. San Francisco, CA. p. 133. Retrieved 23 November 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ Escritor, Don (12 July 1958). "Unknown Eurasian Plays Liat in 'South Pacific'". Columbia Daily Tribune. Columbia, MO. p. 11. Retrieved 23 November 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ "France Nuyen". Hollywood.com. Archived from the original on 13 April 2016. Retrieved 10 June 2020.
  7. ^ The American Standards, Film Affinity, retrieved 16 March 2022
  8. ^ Playbill: The World of Suzie Wong, Playbill, retrieved 16 March 2022
  9. ^ Culture: Actor William Shatner On Why The World of Suzie Wong Was a Tough Act, South China Morning Post, 11 July 2017, retrieved 16 March 2022
  10. ^ Theatre World Award Past Recipients, Theatre World Awards, archived from the original on 25 May 2023, retrieved 16 March 2022
  11. ^ Star Trek The Original Series Rewatch: Elaan of Troyius, TOR, 11 May 2016, retrieved 16 March 2022
  12. ^ Boldly Going Where No One Went Before, Santa Barbara News-Press, 7 December 2021, archived from the original on 28 January 2022, retrieved 16 March 2022
  13. ^ Sci Fi TV Obscurities: The Horror at 37,000 Feet (1973), Cancelled Sci Fi, 30 October 2021, archived from the original on 30 October 2021, retrieved 16 March 2022
  14. ^ A Small Beheading: Kung Fu Season 3, Rotten Tomatoes, retrieved 16 March 2022
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