Kevin Kwan

Born in Singapore in 1973 to a well-to-do family, Kwan had no idea it wasn’t normal to have ponds filled with baby sharks or private planes parked in one’s backyard until he and his parents immigrated to Texas when he was 11 years old. He attended the University of Houston-Clear Lake and Parsons School of Design, earning degrees in media and photography, before then working for various New York-based magazines and design firms. Following this, he founded his own creative studio. Kwan was inspired to write Crazy Rich Asians in 2009, when he took time off of work to help care for his father, who was receiving cancer treatments. During the time they spent in the car, Kwan and his father would reminisce about life in Singapore. Published in 2013, Crazy Rich Asians received overwhelmingly positive reviews. Kwan ended up selling the film rights for $1 in exchange for the option to stay creatively involved in filming.