Ai Van

Ai Van (1954-    ) is a famous singer of Vietnamese popular music and former film actress in Hanoi.  Born to a show business family as the twelfth eldest out of fourteen children, Ai Van's mother was Ai Lien, a famous Northern Vietnamese singer, and her father was Ha Quang Dinh, a film producer and owner of Viet Film, one of Hanoi's most prolific film studios.  Her two younger sisters, Ai Thanh and Ai Xuan, would also grow up to become established singers of Vietnam. 

At the age of 15, Ai Van enrolled at Nhac Vien Hanoi, a nationally acclaimed school of music and performing arts.  It was at Nhac Vien Hanoi that she would be recruited by Doan Ca Mua Nhac Nhe Trung Uong, one of Vietnam's most prestigious music and dance companies.  While in Vietnam, Ai Van had established herself both as a singer and film actress.  In 1970, she starred in the acclaimed film, Chi Dung, which gained her national fame.  She would go on to act on two other films, Chu Re Di Dau and Ban Danh Sach Mat, both of which were supporting roles.  Although her filmworks were well received by both audiences and film critics, Ai Van found her career in the film industry to be dissatisfying.  Unable to find suitable film roles, Ai Van instead focused primarily on her singing career.  She had her greatest success in her music career while in Hanoi with her vocal interpretations of the song, Trieu Bong Hong.  Another popular song of Ai Van's, Bai Ca Xay Dung, had won her a best vocals performance prize award at the Dresden International Music Festival held in Hanoi. 

In 1990, Doan Ca Mua Nhac Nhe Trung Uong sponsored Ai Van to study abroad relocating to Germany.  While in Berlin, she would be approached by Thuy Nga Paris, the most prolific Vietnamese music production label based outside of Vietnam.  From her debut appearance on the Paris By Night stage as a solo musical performer followed by her duets with Elvis Phuong, Ai Van instantly won the hearts of Thuy Nga Paris' viewer audiences with her unique, well-polished style of performing with her authentic vocal interpretations of Northern Vietnamese folk songs along with her most obvious attribute, her striking physical beauty.  Soon after, Thuy Nga Paris released her first overseas produced solo studio album, Ngay Ay Xa Nhau, which featured the track, Em Di Chua Huong, that would become known to many of her fans as Ai Van's signature song.  Throughout the rest of the 1990s decade, Ai Van would enjoy a long tenure with Thuy Nga Paris as one of the most popular performers on the Paris By Night live show music video series.  She has recorded duets with various other artists including Duy Quang, Huong Lan, Thai Chau, Nguyen Hung, Thai Hien, Trinh Nam Son and Anh Dung.

Ai Van ended her professional association with Thuy Nga Paris in 2000 and went on to make an appearance on video with Asia Productions.  In 2002, since leaving Vietnam Ai Van returned to Hanoi to make her first live show performance there in over a decade.  A breast cancer survivor, she currently resides in San Jose, California and is on her third marriage.  She had been previously married to pantomime artist, Dang Duc, while still in Vietnam and to another fellow musical performer, Tran Binh, during her years spent in Germany.  Ai Van is a mother of two children.

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50 Most Beautiful Vietnamese Women of All Time