( CNN ) -- Nancy Kwan is the actress who immortalized `` The World of Suzie Wong ' '' in the 1960 film . That fictionalized account of Hong Kong 's red-light district helped create the cultural stereotype of the prostitute with a heart of gold , but for Kwan it launched a career in Hollywood . `` I 'm kind of glad the film held up , and Hong Kong looks great ... And the film too , I think it 's very enduring for me . It was my first film , '' she told CNN . Born to a Chinese father and British mother , Kwan grew up in Hong Kong . Her parents separated while she was a young child , and it was her father who smuggled the young Nancy and her brother out of Hong Kong in a wicker basket when Japanese troops occupied the former-British territory in the Second World War . Moving back to Hong Kong after the war , she landed the role of Suzie Wong after being asked to screen test for the film by the movie 's director while she was watching auditions . The role propelled Kwan to international stardom and she had parts in musicals and was able to work alongside Hollywood great William Holden and crooner Dean Martin . She also formed a friendship with Bruce Lee . `` I did a film with Dean Martin , and Bruce was the stunt coordinator . We had some fight scenes and he taught us , '' she told CNN . Kwan 's own life was documented in `` To Whom it May Concern : Ka Shen 's Journey '' and it 's now been fifty years since she made the film that changed her life . `` I do n't know how my life would have turned out if I did n't do `` Suzie Wong . '' But I just know that that was my choice , that was what I wanted to do , and that was my journey , '' she said .
Actress Nancy Kwan played lead role in fifty years film `` The World of Suzie Wong ' It was her first role and launched a career in Hollywood . Was friends with Dean Martin and starred in film opposite Nancy Kwan .