Ngoc Anh (Amerasian Singer)

For the overseas Vietnamese singer on Paris By Night, see Ngoc Anh (Paris By Night).

Ngọc Anh (1966-    ) is an overseas Vietnamese singer of Vietnamese and Belgian descent.  

She was born in Saigon in 1966 to a Vietnamese mother and a Belgian father.  While in Vietnam, Ngọc Anh studied for 4 years at the Ho Chi Minh City Dramatic Arts Academy.  Among her instructors at the academy were legendary actresses of Southern Vietnamese folk opera, Phùng Há and Kim Cúc.  At the age of 16, Ngọc Anh was recruited as a singer for the music troupes, Cửu Long Nữ and Sao Sáng.  The following year, she and her mother left Vietnam to resettle in Boston, Massachusetts.  For the rest of the 1980s decade, Ngọc Anh remained inactive in the performing arts. 

During the early 1990s, Ngọc Anh relocated to Southern California.  One evening in 1991 she and a few friends went out dancing at Au Baccara nightclub in Fountain Valley, California.  During open mic, Ngọc Anh went on stage to sing a song per requests from her friends.  She impressed everyone in the audience including the owners of Au Baccara with her performance of a Kim Anh classic, Mùa Thu Lá Bay.  That same night, the owners of Au Baccara approached her with a job offer as a regular weekly singer in which she accepted.  A few months later, Ngọc Anh began collaborations with Hải Âu Productions as a recording artist.  Within that same year Ngọc Anh made her first appearance on the Paris By Night live show video series produced by Thuy Nga performing in a medley of songs alongside Vân Thu, Duy Hạnh, Huỳnh Thi, Ý Nhi, Thúy Vi and Don Hồ.  After Au Baccara closed down, Ngọc Anh went on to perform regularly at other Vietnamese cabarets located around Orange County such as Diamond and the Can Club.  

Aside from Thuy Nga Paris, Ngọc Anh has appeared in music videos for several other major overseas Vietnamese production companies including Dạ Khúc Productions owned by Nhat Ha and Howard Hue, Mây Productions, Diem Xua, New York Night and Van Son Entertainment.  Among the most memorable of her music video appearances on the Hollywood Night series produced by Mây Productions were her performances of medleys as part of the ensemble known as Ngũ Long Công Chúa with fellow female vocalists Thúy Vi, Giáng Ngọc, ZaZa Minh Thảo and Lynda Trang Đài.  In 1994, Ngọc Anh formed her own music label, Ngọc Anh Productions, and released her first solo studio album, Ngục Tù Thương Yêu.  That same year she also began her collaboration with Van Son Entertainment appearing in a musical comedy sketch with Van Son and Bao Liem.  She would make several more appearances on Van Son Entertainment's video series as part of the quartet known as Ma Nữ Đa Tình together with Thúy Vi, Za Za Minh Thảo and Giáng Ngọc.  Her second studio album, Một Thoáng Đam Mê, was released under her own production company two years later.  In 1996, Ngọc Anh returned to the Paris By Night stage on volume 37 of the series in a Vietnamese folk opera musical sketch, Trước Lầu Ngưng Bích written by Lam Phương, where she performed alongside Ái Vân, Thái Châu, Bảo Hân, Châu Ngọc and Hoàng Lan.  During her career peak, Ngọc Anh was among the overseas Vietnamese singers with the busiest touring schedule with performances at live shows all over the United States, Canada and Europe.  

From left to Right:  Ngoc Anh, Giang Ngoc, Huong Tho,
 Thuy Vi and Trizzie Phuong Trinh

In the early 2000s, Ngọc Anh decided to take a break from her career as an overseas Vietnamese singer.  She moved to Houston, Texas and opened up a karaoke bar.  For almost a decade, to many of her fans outside of the Houston, Texas region Ngọc Anh had seemed to have disappeared.  Finally, in 2009 after her business had gone under, she decided to return to Southern California and resume her singing career with occasional performances here and there.

Ngoc Anh currently resides in Orange County, Calfornia.  She is a mother of a grown daughter.