Nancy Hsueh

Nancy Hsueh^[a] (February 25, 1941 – November 24, 1980)^[2][3][b] was an American actress. She was one of the first Asian American actresses to have a leading role in a U.S. television series, Love is a Many Splendored Thing (1967),^[6] regarded as the first American soap opera to portray an interracial relationship between an Asian woman and a white man.^[7][8] She also appeared in films such as War Hunt (1962), Cheyenne Autumn (1964), and Targets (1968).^[9][4][10]

Nancy Hsueh
Hsueh in 1967
Born	(1941-02-25)February 25, 1941 Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Died	November 24, 1980(1980-11-24) (aged 39) Portland, Maine, U.S.
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1945–1978
Notable work	Love is a Many Splendored Thing Targets

Career

Born in Los Angeles, California, Hsueh made two films as a child actress, China's Little Devils  (1945) and Intrigue (1947), on which her father served as a technical adviser.^[11][12]

In the early 1960s, she appeared in the Korean War drama War Hunt (1962)^[13] and the John Ford Western Cheyenne Autumn (1964).^[14] According to author Jon Abbott, "her exotic appearance kept her busy in the spy shows of the period, including The Man from U.N.C.L.E., I Spy, and The Wild, Wild West."^[15]

In 1967, she was cast as the female lead in the CBS soap opera Love is a Many Splendored Thing. The series was initially intended as a continuation of the 1955 film of the same name, which told the story of an interracial relationship between an American reporter and a Eurasian doctor. Hsueh portrayed Mia Elliott, the daughter of the couple in the original film.^[7] However, CBS censors became uncomfortable with the series' portrayal of an interracial romance between a Eurasian woman (Hsueh) and a white American doctor (Robert Milli), and Hsueh's character was written out of the series within one year.^[8][10]

Her most prominent film role was as Boris Karloff's personal assistant in Peter Bogdanovich's Targets (1968).^[16] She had only a few small parts in film and television in the 1970s; her final acting role was in House Calls (1978).^[17]

Personal life

Hsueh was the daughter of Wei Fan Hsueh, who was born in Nanking, China, and Evelyn Postal, who was of Native American and Scots-Irish descent.^[6][11][18] She majored in education at the University of California, Los Angeles.^[19]

On January 16, 1965, she married Daniel Carr, whom she had met during filming of Cheyenne Autumn.^[1]

She died of atherosclerosis in Portland, Maine on November 24, 1980, aged 39.^[b]

Filmography

• China's Little Devils (1945) as Baby
• Intrigue (1947) as Mia, orphan girl
• Flower Drum Song (1961) as Girl (uncredited)
• War Hunt (1962) as Mama San
• Cheyenne Autumn (1964) as Little Bird (uncredited)
• Lt. Robin Crusoe, U.S.N. (1966) as Native Girl
• Doctor, You've Got to Be Kidding! (1967) as Joan Mavis (uncredited)
• Targets (1968) as Jenny
• House Calls (1978) as Gretchen

Notes

1. Hsueh's preferred pronunciation of her surname was /ʃeɪ/, SHAY.^[1]
2. A few sources state she lived from 1939–1991,^[4][5] but those dates are contradicted by vital records.