# France Nuyen
**France Nuyen** (born France Nguyễn Vân Nga; July 31, 1939, [Marseille](https://www.edgepedia.org/marseille), France) is a French-American actress, model, and psychologist whose screen career began with the role of Liat in the 1958 film musical *South Pacific* and who originated the title role in the Broadway play *The World of Suzie Wong* (1958–1960).[1](https://www.imdb.com/fr/name/nm0638395/) • [2](https://www.allocine.fr/personne/fichepersonne-6454/filmographie/) • [3](https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/france-nuyen-54767) She is also known to television audiences for the *Star Trek* episode "Elaan of Troyius" (1968), for the recurring role of Dr. Paulette Kiem on *St. Elsewhere*, and for playing Ying-Ying St. Clair in *The Joy Luck Club* (1993).[4](https://www.seniorvoicealaska.com/story/2020/04/01/columns/france-nuyens-amazing-hollywood-journey/2290.html) Since 1986 she has worked in a second career as a counselor with a master's degree in clinical psychology.[1](https://www.imdb.com/fr/name/nm0638395/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | France Nguyễn Vân Nga, July 31, 1939, Marseille, France[1](https://www.imdb.com/fr/name/nm0638395/) |
| Film debut | Liat in *South Pacific* (1958)[2](https://www.allocine.fr/personne/fichepersonne-6454/filmographie/) |
| Broadway | Title role in *The World of Suzie Wong*, October 14, 1958 to January 2, 1960; 508 performances; Theatre World Award, 1959[3](https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/france-nuyen-54767) • [1](https://www.imdb.com/fr/name/nm0638395/) |
| Notable TV | Elaan in *Star Trek* "Elaan of Troyius" (1968); Dr. Paulette Kiem on *St. Elsewhere* (1986–1988)[4](https://www.seniorvoicealaska.com/story/2020/04/01/columns/france-nuyens-amazing-hollywood-journey/2290.html) |
| Later film | Ying-Ying St. Clair in *The Joy Luck Club* (1993)[2](https://www.allocine.fr/personne/fichepersonne-6454/filmographie/) |
| Second career | Master's in clinical psychology (1986); counseling work with abused children, battered women, and incarcerated women[1](https://www.imdb.com/fr/name/nm0638395/) |
| Marriages | Dr. Thomas Gaspar Morell (1963–1966) and actor Robert Culp (1967–1970), both divorced[3](https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/france-nuyen-54767) |
## Discovery and early career
As a teenager she moved to New York with her mother and was working for a modeling agency in the 1950s when she was discovered; in 1955, while posing at the [École des Beaux-Arts](https://www.edgepedia.org/ecole-des-beaux-arts), she was spotted by the *Life* magazine photographer [Philippe Halsman](https://www.edgepedia.org/philippe-halsman).[4](https://www.seniorvoicealaska.com/story/2020/04/01/columns/france-nuyens-amazing-hollywood-journey/2290.html)Her first screen role came in 1958 as Liat, the daughter of Bloody Mary (played by Juanita Hall), in the [Rodgers and Hammerstein](https://www.edgepedia.org/rodgers-and-hammerstein) musical *South Pacific*. The film's director, Joshua Logan, taught her what she later described as everything she knew about acting; she spoke no English at the time, and Logan's French made the first communication possible.[5](https://www.in70mm.com/news/2023/nuyen/index.htm)
## The World of Suzie Wong
Logan went directly from *South Pacific* to directing the Broadway production of *The World of Suzie Wong*, adapted from the Richard Mason novel, and wanted Nuyen for the title role of the Hong Kong prostitute Suzie Wong.[4](https://www.seniorvoicealaska.com/story/2020/04/01/columns/france-nuyens-amazing-hollywood-journey/2290.html) She was cast at 19 opposite the young Canadian actor [William Shatner](https://www.edgepedia.org/william-shatner) as Robert Lomax.[1](https://www.imdb.com/fr/name/nm0638395/) Because her English was still shaky, she learned her lines phonetically.[6](https://tv.apple.com/ch/person/france-nuyen/umc.cpc.44hnmsp2rdmtfu9umw1vfizyr?l=en) She and Shatner had little offstage communication, since his French was Canadian and unfamiliar to her.[4](https://www.seniorvoicealaska.com/story/2020/04/01/columns/france-nuyens-amazing-hollywood-journey/2290.html)
The play opened at the Broadhurst Theatre on October 14, 1958 and ran 508 performances through January 2, 1960, transferring to the 54th Street Theatre for the final weeks.[1](https://www.imdb.com/fr/name/nm0638395/) After mixed early notices, it became a financial success, and Nuyen and Shatner both received 1959 Theatre World Awards for their performances.[3](https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/france-nuyen-54767) Nuyen never appeared on Broadway again.[4](https://www.seniorvoicealaska.com/story/2020/04/01/columns/france-nuyens-amazing-hollywood-journey/2290.html)
She was to star in the screen version as well and took part in shooting the first half of the film before producer Ray Stark replaced the 19-year-old with the 18-year-old Eurasian actress [Nancy Kwan](https://www.edgepedia.org/nancy-kwan).[7](https://goldsea.com/Personalities/Nuyenfrance/nuyenfrance.html)
## Film and television career
Through the 1960s Nuyen appeared in films including *The Last Time I Saw Archie* (1961), *Satan Never Sleeps* (1962), *A Girl Named Tamiko* (1962), *Diamond Head* (1963), *Dimension 5* (1966), and *[Battle for the Planet of the Apes](https://www.edgepedia.org/battle-for-the-planet-of-the-apes)* (1973), in which she played Alma.[2](https://www.allocine.fr/personne/fichepersonne-6454/filmographie/) In the 1970s and 1980s she worked largely in television, with guest roles on *Columbo* (as Miss Choy), *Charlie's Angels* (as Leilani Sako, 1977), *The Six Million Dollar Man* (1974), *Magnum, P.I.* (as Miss Chou, 1984), and *Murder, She Wrote* (as Emma Soong Dunbar, 1993).[2](https://www.allocine.fr/personne/fichepersonne-6454/filmographie/)**William Shatner collaborations.** Nuyen worked with Shatner repeatedly after *Suzie Wong*. In 1968 she played the title role of Elaan, an unwilling royal bride, in the third-season *Star Trek* episode "Elaan of Troyius"; she later described the spoiled alien princess as a part with authority and rage, quite different from her earlier roles.[4](https://www.seniorvoicealaska.com/story/2020/04/01/columns/france-nuyens-amazing-hollywood-journey/2290.html)
**St. Elsewhere and later work.** Her return to feature films came in the early 1990s, most notably as Ying-Ying St. Clair, one of the four mothers in Wayne Wang's *The Joy Luck Club* (1993).[6](https://tv.apple.com/ch/person/france-nuyen/umc.cpc.44hnmsp2rdmtfu9umw1vfizyr?l=en) • [2](https://www.allocine.fr/personne/fichepersonne-6454/filmographie/) Her later screen credits include *The Battle of Shaker Heights* (2003) and *The American Standards* (2008).[2](https://www.allocine.fr/personne/fichepersonne-6454/filmographie/)
## Second career in psychology
Having herself been a victim of child abuse, Nuyen earned a master's degree in clinical psychology in 1986 and moved into a second career in family-medicine counseling, working mainly with abused children, battered women, and incarcerated women.[1](https://www.imdb.com/fr/name/nm0638395/) She completed graduate work in psychology and began practicing as a therapist in 1986, the same year she joined *St. Elsewhere*.[6](https://tv.apple.com/ch/person/france-nuyen/umc.cpc.44hnmsp2rdmtfu9umw1vfizyr?l=en)
## References
1. [France Nuyen, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/fr/name/nm0638395/)
2. [France Nuyen : Filmographie, AlloCiné](https://www.allocine.fr/personne/fichepersonne-6454/filmographie/)
3. [France Nuyen – Broadway Cast & Staff, IBDB](https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/france-nuyen-54767)
4. [France Nuyen's amazing Hollywood journey, Senior Voice (2020)](https://www.seniorvoicealaska.com/story/2020/04/01/columns/france-nuyens-amazing-hollywood-journey/2290.html)
5. [France Nuyen's introduction to "South Pacific", in70mm.com](https://www.in70mm.com/news/2023/nuyen/index.htm)
6. [France Nuyen Films and Shows, Apple TV](https://tv.apple.com/ch/person/france-nuyen/umc.cpc.44hnmsp2rdmtfu9umw1vfizyr?l=en)
7. [France Nuyen, Goldsea](https://goldsea.com/Personalities/Nuyenfrance/nuyenfrance.html)
---
*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Screen actors of the Anglosphere and Europe › French actors › Surnames N to Y*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license