Jean Kwok

Much of Jean Kwok’s early life mirrors that of Kim in Girl in Translation. When Jean Kwok was five years old, she immigrated with her family to Brooklyn, New York, from Hong Kong. Their apartment was infested with roaches and rodents and had no central heating, and when she wasn't at school, she worked in a clothing factory in Chinatown. She was accepted to the prestigious Hunter College High School after elementary school, which prepared her to later gain admission to Harvard. Though Kwok began her college education studying science, she eventually changed her major to study English and literature. Throughout college, she worked multiple jobs at a time. In between earning her bachelor’s degree and her master's degree at Columbia University, she spent several years working for a dance studio as a professional ballroom dancer. Her experiences there influenced her second novel, Mambo in Chinatown. Kwok currently lives in the Netherlands with her husband and two sons, where she writes and speaks about her work. Prior to turning to writing full time after Girl in Translation's publication, Kwok taught English and worked as a translator, as she speaks three languages (Chinese, English, and Dutch) fluently.