Sharon Kwok
Animal activist Sharon Kwok was an actress in Hong Kong in the late 80s and 90s before switching to work in environmental conservation. She tells Andrea Lo about being taught to swim by Ocean Park’s dolphins, becoming a mother at 19 and her passion for wildlife.
I was born in Hong Kong. My father is American and my mother is Chinese.
I left Hong Kong when I was 9 and went to San Francisco.
I spent a lot of time at Ocean Park when I was growing up, because my dad was one of the founders.
I learned how to swim from dolphins. I fell into the dolphin pool at Ocean Park by accident. They wouldn’t let me drown.
I’ve completely thrown myself into conservation work. It didn’t happen overnight. I’ve never been much of a planner.
I’m an artist. I used to teach art. The art ends up nice, but may be slightly different from what I envisioned in the first place.