Jacqui Chan obit

Jacqueline Chan obituary

Actor who found fame with the stage and screen versions of The World of Suzie Wong and became a regular on TV

 She was not on the list.

The Chinese Trinidadian actor Jacqueline Chan, who has died aged 91, became a regular on British television after making an impression in the 1960 film The World of Suzie Wong. As Gwennie Lee, she played one of the “Wan Chai girls” alongside Nancy Kwan in the starring role.

Chan had already acted Lily, a similar but smaller part, for the first year of its London stage run at the Prince of Wales theatre (1959-61) in the West End. In December 1959, she took over as the lead character, a Chinese sex worker in Hong Kong having a relationship with an English artist, after Tsai Chin, playing Suzie, fell ill with laryngitis.

Two months later, Chan hit the headlines when Princess Margaret became engaged to the photographer Antony Armstrong-Jones (later Lord Snowdon). His pictures of Chan had been published around the world and, with news of the royal engagement, newspapers described her as his “good friend” and “favourite model”. In fact, she was an early girlfriend of the photographer.

In 2017, their relationship was depicted in a graphic scene for the TV series The Crown, with Chan played by Alice Hewkin.

One of Armstrong-Jones’s first pictures of Chan, who met him through a friend in 1955, showed her turning the heads of soldiers in Venice. “I did quite a few modelling jobs for him – I wasn’t just his girlfriend,” Chan told me in 2024. “He quite liked my look.”

She attended his wedding to Princess Margaret in 1960 – according to Chan, Armstrong-Jones arranged a car for her and she slipped through a side door into the abbey.

Chan’s career continued as she took over The World of Suzie Wong lead role in the West End and repeated it on an Australian tour in 1961, when one critic noted: “Jacqui Chan, an artist of extraordinary talent, gives the part of Suzie Wong a delicate and moving dignity which deepens the play’s effect greatly.”

Born in Port of Spain, Trinidad, she was the daughter of Emily (nee Woon-Sam) and Isaac Chan, a photographer who performed as an acrobat in his youth. After leaving Bishop Anstey high school aged 16, she left Trinidad for two years of classical training at Elmhurst ballet school in Camberley, Surrey. Planning to become a ballet teacher, she moved on to the Royal Academy of Dance in London, but left after the first year to take a job as a principal dancer in Goody Two Shoes at the Theatre Royal, Windsor (1953-54).

Chan had her first acting role in The Teahouse of the August Moon (Her Majesty’s theatre, 1954-56), playing a member of the Ladies’ League for Democratic Action, before dancing in Kismet (Stoll theatre, 1956), The King and I on tour (1956-57) and Simply Heavenly (Adelphi theatre, 1958).

Then came the role of Esther, the bright Trinidadian daughter in Errol John’s groundbreaking play Moon on a Rainbow Shawl (Royal Court, 1958). Wider recognition in The World of Suzie Wong enabled Chan to launch her own cabaret act.

Her first significant television role came in Giles Cooper’s play Without the Grail (1960) as the Communist supporter whose father, the owner of an Assam tea plantation, played by Michael Hordern, is being investigated by an agent (Sean Connery) for his feudal attitudes as an employer.

She was then cast alongside Hollywood royalty as Lotos, one of the Egyptian queen’s handmaidens, in the 1963 film Cleopatra, starring Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton.

Regular television work followed over the next 20 years with appearances in popular series such as The Saint (1964), Emergency – Ward 10 (1966), The Main Chance (1972) and Reilly: Ace of Spies (1983). She also played the Japanese pearl diver Toshi, a victim of the erupting volcano, in the film Krakatoa: East of Java (1968).

When work took her husband, the actor and director David Saire (born David Salamon), whom she married in 1962, to Amsterdam, she moved there with him. They separated in 1979 (divorcing 10 years later), and Chan returned to London. She continued to appear on TV and in films into her 90s.

“In my younger days, there weren’t interesting parts for Chinese women,” she said in 2024. “We were offered a lot of prostitutes and people who couldn’t speak English properly. I used to say to myself, ‘I’m not doing any parts where I have to say ‘flied lice’ instead of ‘fried rice’.’ If I felt they were demeaning to my race, I wouldn’t do it.” She held firm to that rule when she appeared in the film comedy Peggy Su! (1997), written by Kevin Wong and based on his own experiences as the son of Chinese immigrants to Britain.

Other film roles included Mamma Li, the adoptive mother of Jean-Claude Van Damme’s wife, in Wake of Death (2004), a shady Chinese restaurant owner in the human-trafficking drama Moving Parts (2017) and a jewellery shop assistant in Cruella (2021). On television, she played Shakana, Kaidu’s mother, in the second series of Marco Polo (2016).

Stage roles included Madame Aung in Plenty (Albery theatre, 1999), Mother Cai, a blind masseuse, in the Royal Shakespeare Company’s Stratford-upon-Avon production of Snow in Midsummer (2017) and Molly, a mute patient banging a tray in a geriatric ward threatened with closure, in the Alan Bennett play Allelujah! (Bridge theatre, London, 2018).

Chan co-founded the multicultural Pan Cultural Performance Project (now Pan Intercultural Arts) in 1986 and Chinese Arts Link in 1998, and through them toured her own one-woman shows, which she described as “storytelling with voice and movement”.

Her last screen role was a small part in the film Supergirl, due for release this summer.

Chan is survived by the daughters from her marriage, Abigail and Jaspa, her grandchildren, Jeffrey and Garance, and a brother, Ian.

 Jacqueline Chan, actor and dancer, born 15 July 1934; died 19 May 2026.

Actress

The Man from Shanghai (2023)

The Man from Shanghai

Short

Nai-Nai

2023

 

Everything Will Change (2021)

Everything Will Change

5.8

Narrator

2021

 

Emma Stone in Cruella (2021)

Cruella

7.3

Jewellery Shop Assistant (as Jaqueline Chan)

2021

 

Doctors (2000)

Doctors

4.5

TV Series

Nancy Jackman

2019

1 episode

 

National Theatre Live: Allelujah! (2018)

National Theatre Live: Allelujah!

7.5

Molly

2018

 

Mirette (2018)

Mirette

8.8

Short

Showgirl

2018

 

Moving Parts (2017)

Moving Parts

7.2

Mrs. Liu

2017

 

Comedy Playhouse (1961)

Comedy Playhouse

7.2

TV Series

Angry Lynn

2017

1 episode

 

Lorenzo Richelmy in Marco Polo (2014)

Marco Polo

7.9

TV Series

2016

7 episodes

 

Simon Pegg in A Fantastic Fear of Everything (2012)

A Fantastic Fear of Everything

5.8

Launderette Grande Dame (as Jacqui Chan)

2012

 

Martin Freeman and Benedict Cumberbatch in Sherlock (2010)

Sherlock

9.0

TV Series

Shopkeeper (as Jacqui Chan)

2010

1 episode

 

John Malkovich, Ron Perlman, Thomas Jane, and Devon Aoki in Mutant Chronicles (2008)

Mutant Chronicles

5.2

Mishima Ambassador (as Jacqui Chan)

2008

 

Avenger (2006)

Avenger

5.7

TV Movie

Madame Huong (as Jacqui Chan)

2006

 

Jean-Claude Van Damme in Wake of Death (2004)

Wake of Death

5.5

Mamma Li (as Jacqui Chan)

2004

 

Timeless (2004)

Timeless

Veronique

2004

 

Bai Ling, Thomas Gibson, and Russell Wong in The Lost Empire (2001)

The Lost Empire

5.5

TV Mini Series

Mother Superior (as Jacqui Chan)

2001

2 episodes

 

Peggy Su! (1997)

Peggy Su!

7.1

Ifec Mah (as Jacqui Chan)

1997

 

Reilly: Ace of Spies (1983)

Reilly: Ace of Spies

8.2

TV Mini Series

Minna (as Jacqui Chan)

1983

1 episode

 

David Morrissey in One Summer (1983)

One Summer

8.3

TV Mini Series

Chinese Lady (as Jacqui Chan)

1983

1 episode

 

David Yip in The Chinese Detective (1981)

The Chinese Detective

7.4

TV Series

Mei (as Jacqui Chan)

1982

1 episode

 

Thomas and Sarah (1979)

Thomas and Sarah

6.5

TV Series

Naomi (as Jacqui Chan)

1979

1 episode

 

Margaret Ashcroft, Glynn Edwards, Anna Palk, John Stride, and John Wentworth in The Main Chance (1969)

The Main Chance

7.7

TV Series

Gina Gordon (as Jacqui Chan)

1972

1 episode

 

Shirley MacLaine in Shirley's World (1971)

Shirley's World

5.8

TV Series

Lillian

1971

1 episode

 

Krakatoa: East of Java (1968)

Krakatoa: East of Java

5.5

Toshi (as Jacqui Chan)

1968

 

For Amusement Only

TV Series

Fanny (as Jacqui Chan)

1968

1 episode

 

Detective (1964)

Detective

6.9

TV Series

Miss. Rhee (as Jacqui Chan)

1968

1 episode

 

Armchair Theatre (1956)

Armchair Theatre

7.7

TV Series

Cherry Wilson (as Jacqui Chan)

1967

1 episode

 

Emergency-Ward 10 (1957)

Emergency-Ward 10

6.4

TV Series

Siritim O'Riordan (as Jacqui Chan)

1966

1 episode

 

John Thaw in Redcap (1964)

Redcap

7.8

TV Series

Maureen Lim (as Jacqui Chan)

1966

1 episode

 

Jack Warner in Dixon of Dock Green (1955)

Dixon of Dock Green

6.9

TV Series

Kay Tung (as Jacqui Chan)

1965

1 episode

 

Roger Moore in The Saint (1962)

The Saint

7.5

TV Series

Madam Chen (as Jacqui Chan)

1964

1 episode

 

Zia Mohyeddin and Elizabeth Weaver in The Hidden Truth (1964)

The Hidden Truth

6.6

TV Series

Tua Ling (as Jacqui Chan)

1964

3 episodes

 

Richard Burton, Elizabeth Taylor, and Rex Harrison in Cleopatra (1963)

Cleopatra

7.0

Lotos (as Jacqui Chan)

1963

 

Jezebel ex UK (1963)

Jezebel ex UK

5.8

TV Series

Doreen (as Jacqui Chan)

1963

1 episode

 

Nigel Patrick in Zero One (1962)

Zero One

8.5

TV Series

Len Fu (as Jacqui Chan)

1963

1 episode

 

Michael Quinn and Donald Wolfit in Ghost Squad (1961)

Ghost Squad

7.2

TV Series

Sara Van Neikerk (as Jacqui Chan)

1962

1 episode

 

William Holden and Nancy Kwan in The World of Suzie Wong (1960)

The World of Suzie Wong

6.9

Gwennie Lee (as Jacqui Chan)

1960

 

Sean Connery and Dorothy Tutin in Twentieth Century Theatre: Colombe (1960)

Without the Grail

7.3

TV Movie

Leila (as Jacqui Chan)

1960

 

Television World Theatre (1957)

Television World Theatre

TV Series

Yo, a Teahouse Girl

1958

1 episode

 

Up to His Neck (1954)

Up to His Neck

5.5

Sung-Yo, Night-club Hostess (uncredited)

1954

 

Producer

Bananas in Pyjamas (2011)

Bananas in Pyjamas

4.5

TV Series

executive producer

2011–2013

19 episodes

 

Sophie Karbjinski, Charlotte Nicdao, and Marny Kennedy in A Gurls Wurld (2010)

A Gurls Wurld

7.3

TV Series

executive producer

2010–2011

23 episodes

 

The Adventures of Bottle Top Bill and His Best Friend Corky (2005)

The Adventures of Bottle Top Bill and His Best Friend Corky

7.1

TV Series

producerassociate producer

2005–2007

2 episodes

 

Girl TV

4.9

TV Series

producer (2003)

2003–2005

 

Additional Crew

Blue Water High (2005)

Blue Water High

6.9

TV Series

programme managerprogram manager

2005–2008

25 episodes

 

Production Management

Uptown Otters (2022)

Uptown Otters

7.6

TV Mini Series

executive in charge of production

2022

1 episode

 

Blue Water High (2005)

Blue Water High

6.9

TV Series

programme manager

2005

3 episodes

 

Production Department

High Flyers (1999)

High Flyers

6.1

TV Series

production assistant: for Southern Star

1999

16 episodes

 

Self

Not Only... But Also (1965)

Not Only... But Also

8.3

TV Series

Self (as Jacqui Chan)

1966

1 episode

 

Helen Atkinson Wood, Nell Campbell, Simon Hickson, Brian Travers, and Trevor Neal in Juke Box Jury (1959)

Juke Box Jury

7.4

TV Series

Self - Panellist (as Jacqui Chan)

1963

1 episode

 

Whistle Stop!

TV Series

Self (as Jacqui Chan)

1960

1 episode