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Quirky, charming Asian-American renaissance woman Judy Kwon is rapidly ascending the ranks of Hollywood's most versatile actresses. The Los Angeles-born Kwon is the daughter of a second-generation Korean-American mother and an immigrant father. She was raised by her grandmother in Korea, before settling permanently in California circa grade school. Growing up in her father's L.A.-based video store, Kwon literally came of age surrounded by film. Enrolled at Beverly Hills High School (also attended by the likes of Angelina Jolie, Nicolas Cage, Lenny Kravitz and Albert Brooks), she became enchanted with acting in her junior yea
Quirky, charming Asian-American renaissance woman Judy Kwon is rapidly ascending the ranks of Hollywood's most versatile actresses. The Los Angeles-born Kwon is the daughter of a second-generation Korean-American mother and an immigrant father. She was raised by her grandmother in Korea, before settling permanently in California circa grade school. Growing up in her father's L.A.-based video store, Kwon literally came of age surrounded by film. Enrolled at Beverly Hills High School (also attended by the likes of Angelina Jolie, Nicolas Cage, Lenny Kravitz and Albert Brooks), she became enchanted with acting in her junior year, and took five years of extensive private lessons in Hollywood before forging out on her own.
Suffice it to say, the studying paid off. Over the next 15 years, Kwon went on to star in a dizzying array of over 100 commercials. Her most notable spot was a Philips flatscreen TV campaign directed by Tarsem Singh (The Cell, Immortals)-against the odds, Kwon beat out a heavily Caucasian audition pool of over 300, a breakthrough that underscores not only her irrepressible competitive spirit, but her presence at the forefront of change for Asian-American women. The commercial directors she's collaborated with reads like an all-star roster: Simon West (a Pepsi ad that ran during the 1995 Super Bowl), Danny Ducovny (Sprint, Choice Hotels International), Joe Pytka (IBM), Gore Verbinski (Xerox), Kinka Usher (Monster.com), Marcus Nispel (EMS Squared, CDW), Malcolm Venville (Honda), Leslie Dektor (Smith Barney, US West, Arthur Andersen, Tropicana), Hank Perlman (Amica Insurance, OSH) and Steven Meisel (Gap campaign). Kwon has also appeared in Shakira's "Underneath Your Clothes" video (directed by the late Herb Ritts) and on the cover of The L.A. Times Magazine, People Talk and Money Magazine.
But Kwon's heart lies in feature film and television work, where her innately funny personality shines via her endearing laugh and self-described "duck walk." Her debut feature was writer/director Dan Clark's 1999 cult horror film The Item (a trailblazer in the realm of digital film), which appeared at the Sundance Film Festival. Kwon's shorts American Seoul and Chinese Beauty (respectively, 2003 and 2005) appeared in the San Francisco International Asian American Film Fest. She has remained active not just in a diverse spectrum of shorts (2005's Broken and 2008's Maneater) and feature-length films (2007's Unspeakable and 2009's The Things We Carry), but behind-the-scenes work as a photographer and editorial assistant.
Kwon has two films currently in development. The first is Mall, the feature-length directorial debut of Linkin Park turntablist Joe Hahn; it also stars co-writer/producer Vincent D'Onofrio, and marks the second time Kwon has worked with the Emmy-nominated actor, in addition to The Velocity of Gary. Also on deck for Kwon is Abby in the Summer, co-starring Jamie Pressley and Joey Lauren Adams. With these unique projects in the can and many more to come, the future is bright for this effervescent and beautiful screen presence.
- IMDb Mini Biography By: Andrew Bonazelli
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