The 1960 romantic drama The World of Suzie Wong plucked its young star, Nancy Kwan, from total obscurity, transforming her into a glamorous star in high demand virtually overnight. Though Suzie Wong led Kwan to a long and gratifying career in show business, production of the film took a steep toll on the daughter of a Cantonese architect and British model, then just 20 years old. Kwan details in her new memoir, The World of Nancy Kwan (out April 22), how she attended the Hong Kong stop of producer Ray Stark's worldwide casting search for the film's titular ingenue because she thought she might catch a glimpse of her favorite Chinese actresses. After being encouraged into a spontaneous audition, and after months of waffling on the part of Paramount Pictures, Kwan was cast as the Hong Kong sex worker who falls into a whirlwind romance with an American architect played by William Holden. Kwan's inexperience led to a powerfully naturalistic performance, but also left her vulnerable to on set misunderstandings and even exploitation. "I loved every day of making Suzie Wong, except one when a disagreement exploded over my costume and prompted me to rebel," she writes. Though Kwan says she generally preferred to keep her head down on the Suzie Wong set, this particular conflict with director Richard Quine prompted her to remember, "All hell broke loose." "The scene called for [Holden's] character, Robert Lomax, to angrily rip off my dress because he objected to Suzie's fussy Western attire, which she wore to prove her so-called sophistication," Kwan writes. "Wardrobe had selected sexy black undergarments for the big reveal, but I was modest and secretly substituted a full slip, which was not what Dick Quine expected to see." By the time The World of Suzie Wong was being made, the Hollywood studio system was already in decline. The total control the major studios used to exert over everything — from budget to promotion to their stars' personal appearances, private lives, and costumes — had taken several major hits. Just a decade before saw the enforcement of the so-called Paramount Decrees, a set of antitrust measures leveled at the studios, which considerably weakened their power. The subject matter of Suzie Wong wasn't necessarily racier than in films the studios made when they were subject to a strict censorship regime, but Quine wanted to push how the story, originally written by Paul Osborn for the stage in 1958, was depicted to the limit of decency. "Today, an intimacy coordinator would be on set to ensure I was comfortable with such a sensitive scene," Kwan reflects, "but we didn't have that kind of protection in 1960. I was expected to follow the director's instructions. When I refused, crying because I was embarrassed to wear something so revealing, I was reminded that it was part of the job. Were they taking advantage of my youth and inexperience? Absolutely, but I didn't have a choice." Want more movie news? Sign up for Entertainment Weekly's free newsletter to get the latest trailers, celebrity interviews, film reviews, and more. Kwan explains that Stark "improved the situation by promising to close the set to all but necessary crew when we filmed." But the decision was final. She would play the scene as written. "I dried my eyes, dressed in the approved lingerie, and went back to work, telling myself I was being professional. We got through the scene, but I felt vulnerable. I had seen a darker side of the glittering world of moviemaking and promised myself I'd navigate it carefully in the future," she said. Kwan faced further challenges on the Suzie Wong set, including receiving a black eye while filming "a fight scene between me and a bar girl" because "Quine wanted the scene to look realistic and encouraged us to make it a real fight." Production wrapping wasn't the end of the road, either. Kwan says that many journalists she spoke to for the "massive" campaign to promote the film "insisted on attributing quotes to me that perpetuated xenophobic tropes of a Chinese person speaking English and bore no resemblance to the way I sounded." She also claims she was subject to a demeaning and racialized form of sexualization in the press. Though contemporary reviews of The World of Suzie Wong were mixed, the film was a financial success and launched Kwan as a major new star. She earned a Golden Globe nomination for her performance in the film and went on to lauded roles in films like Flower Drum Song and The Wrecking Crew.