Jennie Kwan
Jennie Trinidad Fernando Kwan (born September 9, 1973) is a American actress and singer.[1][2] She played "Kim" in the original American tour of the musical Miss Saigon, [1] and "Christmas Eve" in the original national tour of Avenue Q.[3] She has made a number of television shows, and is now known for being the voice of popular anime and video game characters.
Jennie Kwan | |
---|---|
Born | Jennifer Trinidad Fernando September 9, 1973 |
Occupation | Actress/Singer |
Years active | 1991 – present |
Known for | Kim in the original production of Miss Saigon. Playing Samantha Woo on California Dreams (TV) |
Early life
Kwan was born and raised in Los Angeles, California. Her birth name was Jennie Trinidad Fernando.[4] She identifies as American, and also Filipino, Spanish, German, Italian and Chinese.[2] She is the daughter of a medical lab technician.[1]
Career
Kwan started singing professionally when she was 11.[1] She was in a band called "Kids of the Century."[1]
Miss Saigon opened in London in 1989, where it played for ten years. Miss Saigon opened on Broadway in 1991. The play was a "megahit," meaning it was very popular. It made over $10 million dollars by the time it opened in Chicago, Illinois a year later.[1] After a worldwide search, Kwan was asked to play Kim.[1] She was still in high school.[1]
She acted in commercials and on television shows like Beverly Hills, 90210.[1] She also had modeling jobs.[1] She acted in a miniseries called Wild Palms.[1] In California Dreams, Kwan plays Samantha Woo, a foreign-exchange student that is very boy crazy.[2] Recent live-action appearances were on New Girl and Entourage.[4] Jennie Kwan has also appeared in many other movies, TV shows, and plays.[3][4]
She has become a well-known voice actor.[3][4] She played "Suki" in the Avatar: The Last Airbender television show and video game.[3][4] She voiced "Satoko Houjou" for the 2007 TV show When They Cry.[3][4] Kwan also voiced "Mayuko Nise" for the 2021 television show, High-Rise Invasion.[3][4] She was also in Raya and the last dragon, and Onward![3][4]
Accomplishments
Jennie Kwan has starred in multiple shows that helped her get fame, including Kwan has also been in plays including Miss Saigon, where she plays Kim, a bar girl from Vietnam. Kwan has also voiced many anime and cartoons! Kwan can sing too, and wants to sing more in her future.
Filmography
- Little Shop
- California Dreams
- Beverly Hills, 90210
- Family Matters
- The Nanny
- Trojan War
- Bare: A Pop Opera
- Faces of America
- Fear of a Punk Planet
- Avatar: The Last Airbender
- Avenue Q
- Random! Cartoons
- Late Night with Jimmy Fallon
Music
In 2001, Jennie left acting for a while to join the girl group Nobody's Angel.[5] However, with its popularity quickly declining, the group split up just one year later.
References
- "'MISS SAIGON' STARS GET VIETNAM WAR LESSON." THE ORLANDO SENTINEL, 3 STAR ed., sec. ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT, 27 Sept. 1992, p. F4. NewsBank: Access World News – Historical and Current. Accessed 10 Dec. 2021.
- Herrmann, Brenda (1994-02-01). "Sure, Laugh Now...... But Jennie Kwan's Career Is Way More Than Cutesy Comedy". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on 2017-04-14. Retrieved 2021-12-10.
- "Jennie Kwan (visual voices guide)". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved 2021-12-10.
- "Jennie Kwan". IMDb. Retrieved 2022-02-14.
- "Nobody's Angel". Archived 2022-02-14 at the Wayback Machine Google Arts & Culture. Retrieved 2021-12-10.