{{Short description|French-American actress, model, and psychological counselor (born 1939)}} {{BLP sources|date=March 2020}} {{Use dmy dates|date=June 2018}} {{Infobox person | name = France Nuyen | image = France Nuyen in Towson.jpg | image_size = | caption = Nuyen in 2002 | birth_name = France Nguyen Van Nga | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|df=yes|1939|07|31}} | birth_place = Marseille, Bouches-du-Rhône, France | occupation = {{hlist|Actress|model|psychological counsellor}} | years_active = 1958–2008 | spouse = {{plainlist| * {{marriage|Thomas Gaspar Morell|1963|1966|end=divorced}} * {{marriage|Robert Culp|1967|1970|end=divorced}} }} | children = 1 }}
'''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,<ref name="Bride">{{cite news |title=France Nuyen Stars as Beautiful Bride |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-news-france-nuyen-born-1939/185508623/ |work=Daily News |date=June 23, 1963 |location=New York, NY |page=3 |access-date=November 23, 2025 |via=Newspapers.com}} {{Open access}}</ref> the daughter of a Romani French mother and a father from French Indochina. Her father is widely reported to be Vietnamese (Kinh); however, Nuyen identifies him and herself as Chinese (Hoa).<ref name="interview">{{cite news|last=Thomas|first=Nick|title=At 80, France Nuyen still counts her blessings|url=https://www.mansfieldnewsjournal.com/story/entertainment/2019/10/02/entertainment-france-nuyen-star-trek-actors/3818240002/|website=Mansfield News Journal|date=2 October 2019|access-date=5 March 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211118091901/https://www.mansfieldnewsjournal.com/story/entertainment/2019/10/02/entertainment-france-nuyen-star-trek-actors/3818240002/|archive-date=18 November 2021}}</ref>
After leaving school at the age of 11, she began studying art and became an artist's model.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://articles.philly.com/1987-08-16/living/26169411_1_france-nuyen-french-bakery-modeling-job| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161006104549/http://articles.philly.com/1987-08-16/living/26169411_1_france-nuyen-french-bakery-modeling-job| archive-date=6 October 2016| title=An Actress' Brutal Beginnings Once She Was A Battered Child Now She's Trained To Treat Them| date=16 August 1987| last=Knutzen| first=Eirik| newspaper=Philadelphia Inquirer| access-date=10 June 2020}}</ref> She was later signed to Candy Jones' agency, and moved to New York City at age 16.<ref name="interview"/> In 1955, Nuyen was discovered while modeling at the Beaux Arts School by ''Life'' photographer Philippe Halsman.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Stanley |first1=Don |title=The South of France to 'South Pacific' |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-san-francisco-examiner-france-nuyen/185512574/ |work=The San Francisco Examiner |date=June 29, 1958 |location=San Francisco, CA |page=133 |access-date=November 23, 2025 |via=Newspapers.com}} {{Open access}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Escritor |first1=Don |title=Unknown Eurasian Plays Liat in 'South Pacific' |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/columbia-daily-tribune-france-nuyen-bor/185512809/ |work=Columbia Daily Tribune |date=July 12, 1958 |location=Columbia, MO |page=11 |access-date=November 23, 2025 |via=Newspapers.com}} {{Open access}}</ref> She was featured on the cover of 6 October 1958 issue of ''Life''.
==Career== thumb|upright=1|Nuyen in 1958
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''.<ref name="hollywood1">{{cite journal| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160413170809/http://www.hollywood.com/celebrities/france-nuyen-57294215/| url=http://www.hollywood.com/celebrities/france-nuyen-57294215/| title=France Nuyen| archive-date=April 13, 2016| journal=Hollywood.com| access-date=June 10, 2020}}</ref>
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).<ref>{{citation|url=https://www.filmaffinity.com/us/film626836.html |title=The American Standards| publisher=Film Affinity |date= |access-date=16 March 2022}}</ref>
===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''.<ref>{{citation|url=https://www.playbill.com/production/the-world-of-suzie-wong-broadhurst-theatre-vault-0000002068 |title=Playbill: The World of Suzie Wong| publisher=Playbill |date= |access-date=16 March 2022}}</ref> After a dubious initial opening,<ref>{{citation|url=https://www.scmp.com/culture/arts-entertainment/article/2102113/actor-william-shatner-why-world-suzie-wong-was-tough-act |title=Culture: Actor William Shatner On Why The World of Suzie Wong Was a Tough Act | publisher=South China Morning Post |date=11 July 2017 |access-date=16 March 2022}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{citation|url=https://www.theatreworldawards.org/past-recipients.html|title=Theatre World Award Past Recipients|publisher=Theatre World Awards|date=|access-date=16 March 2022|archive-date=25 May 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230525163614/http://www.theatreworldawards.org/past-recipients.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>
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.<ref>{{citation|url=https://www.tor.com/2016/05/11/star-trek-the-original-series-rewatch-elaan-of-troyius/ |title=Star Trek The Original Series Rewatch: Elaan of Troyius| publisher=TOR |date=11 May 2016 |access-date=16 March 2022}}</ref><ref>{{citation |url=https://newspress.com/boldly-going-where-no-one-went-before/ |title=Boldly Going Where No One Went Before |publisher=Santa Barbara News-Press |date=7 December 2021 |access-date=16 March 2022 |archive-date=28 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220128160040/https://newspress.com/boldly-going-where-no-one-went-before/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> She would later appear with Shatner in the 1973 made-for-TV movie ''The Horror at 37,000 Feet'',<ref>{{citation |url=https://www.cancelledscifi.com/2021/10/30/sci-fi-tv-obscurities-the-horror-at-37000-feet-1973/ |title=Sci Fi TV Obscurities: The Horror at 37,000 Feet (1973) |publisher=Cancelled Sci Fi |date=30 October 2021 |access-date=16 March 2022 |archive-date=30 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211030142713/https://www.cancelledscifi.com/2021/10/30/sci-fi-tv-obscurities-the-horror-at-37000-feet-1973/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> and afterward in a 1974 episode of the ''Kung Fu'' series entitled "A Small Beheading".<ref>{{citation|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/kung_fu/s03/e03 |title=A Small Beheading: Kung Fu Season 3 |publisher=Rotten Tomatoes |date= |access-date=16 March 2022}}</ref>
==Personal life== {{BLP sources section|date=January 2022}} 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,<ref name="Bride"/> 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.<ref name="interview"/>
==Filmography== ===Film=== [[Image:France Nuyen-William Holden in Satan Never Sleeps trailer.jpg|right|thumb|upright=1.5|With William Holden, in the ''Satan Never Sleeps'' (1962) trailer]] * ''South Pacific'' (1958) - Liat * ''In Love and War'' (1958) - Kalai Ducanne * ''The Last Time I Saw Archie'' (1961) - Cindy Hamilton * ''Satan Never Sleeps'' (1962) - Siu Lan * ''A Girl Named Tamiko'' (1962) - Tamiko * ''Diamond Head'' (1962) - Mai Chen * ''Marco Polo'' (1962) * ''Man in the Middle'' (1964) - Kate Davray * ''Dimension 5'' (1966) - Kitty (Ki Ti Tsu) * ''Black Water Gold'' (1970, TV Movie) - Thais * ''One More Train to Rob'' (1971) - Ah Toy * ''Slingshot'' (1971) * ''The Horror at 37,000 Feet'' (1973, TV Movie) - Annalik * ''The Big Game'' (1973) - Atanga * ''Battle for the Planet of the Apes'' (1973) - Alma * ''Code Name: Diamond Head'' (1977, TV Movie) - Tso-Tsing * ''China Cry'' (1990) - Mrs. Sung * ''The Joy Luck Club'' (1993) - Ying-Ying - The Mother * ''A Passion to Kill'' (1994) - Lou Mazaud * ''Angry Cafe'' (1995) - Rosie * ''The Magic Pearl'' (1997) - (voice) * ''A Smile Like Yours'' (1997) - Dr. Chin * ''The Battle of Shaker Heights'' (2003) - Xiou-Xiou Ling * ''The American Standards'' (2008) - Dr. Pierce
===Television=== [[Image:France Nuyen-Rod Taylor in Hong Kong.jpg|right|thumb|200px|With Rod Taylor, in ''Hong Kong''<br />(1960)]] *''Hong Kong'' - episode "Clear for Action" (1960) *''The Man from U.N.C.L.E.'' - episode "The Cherry Blossom Affair" (1965) * ''Gunsmoke'' - episode "Gunfighter, R.I.P." (1966) - as Ching Lee (S12E6) * ''Gunsmoke'' - episode "Honor Before Justice" (1966) - as Sarah * ''I Spy'' - four episodes (1966-1967) * ''Star Trek'' (1968) – Elaan in S3:E13, "Elaan of Troyius" * ''Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In'' (1968) * ''Turn-On'' (1969) - Guested on unaired 2nd episode alongside then husband Robert Culp * ''Medical Center'' - episode "The Battle of Lili Wu" (1969) * ''Hawaii Five-O'' - episode "Highest Castle, Deepest Grave" (1971) * ''Chopper One'' - episode "Deadly Carrier" (1974) * ''Kung Fu'' - episode "A Small Beheading" (1974) * ''The Six Million Dollar Man'' - episode "The Coward" (1974) * ''Hawaii Five-O'' - episode "Small Witness, Large Crime" (S7 EP 17, 1975) * ''Code Name: Diamond Head'' (1977) * ''Charlie's Angels'' - episode "Angels in Paradise" (1977) * ''Columbo'' - episode "Murder Under Glass" (1978) * ''Fantasy Island'' - "Return to Fantasy Island" (1978) * ''Automan'' - episode "Ships in the Night" (1984) * ''Magnum, P.I.'' - episode "Torah, Torah, Torah" (1985) * ''Murder, She Wrote'' - episode "A Death in Hong Kong" (1993) * ''St. Elsewhere'' (1986-1988) as Dr. Paulette Kiem. * ''The Outer Limits'' - episode "Ripper" (1999) * ''Tom Clancy's Op-Center'' - Li Tang (1995) * ''Knots Landing'' (1990) as a doctor
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== {{commons category|France Nuyen}} * {{IMDb name}} * {{Tcmdb name}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nuyen, France}} Category:1939 births Category:Living people Category:Actresses of Vietnamese descent Category:French film actresses Category:French stage actresses Category:French television actresses Category:French people of Chinese descent Category:French people of Vietnamese descent Category:Actresses from Marseille Category:20th-century French actresses Category:21st-century French actresses Category:American television actresses Category:American clinical psychologists Category:American actresses of Chinese descent Category:American people of Vietnamese descent Category:French emigrants to the United States Category:21st-century American actresses Category:20th-century American actresses Category:American film actresses Category:20th-century American psychologists Category:21st-century American psychologists