Phuong Thanh

Singer/ Actress Phuong Thanh

Phuong Thanh (1973-     ) Vietnamese singer most known for her powerful voice on interpretations of Vietnamese rock music, Phuong Thanh was born in the rural part of Thanh Hoa province in the southern region of Vietnam.  At the age of six she and her parents along with six other siblings, in which Phuong Thanh was the second eldest, relocated to Ho Chi Minh City.  By the age of 11, Phuong Thanh began earning a living singing for local parties and weddings.  In 1993, she and two friends formed a singing trio, Tam Ca Sao Dem (The Night Star Trio) and shortly after caught the attention of musician Bao Phuc.  A few years after that, Phuong Thanh would go on to earn national recognition with her solo recordings of such popular songs like Gia Tu Di Vang (Farewell to the Past), Trong Vang (Emptiness), Mot Thoi Da Xa (Our Moment Has Passed) and Tinh Co (Unexpected).

Since 1998 Phuong Thanh has consistently maintained her celebrity status among Vietnam's most popular and in-demand singers.  She has earned herself a reputation of being outspoken, standing up for gay rights and various social issues.  In 2005, at the age of 42, Phuong Thanh became a mother for the first time after giving birth to a daughter, Ha Nghi Phuong.

Phuong Thanh and daughter

Phuong Thanh has also become a successful actress in recent years, appearing in numerous films and television productions in Ho Chi Minh City.  She has been highly praised for her performances in supporting roles on such popular feature films and television mini-series such as Khi Dan Ong Co Bau (When Men Get Pregnant) (2005) starring Nguyen Phi Hung and Truong Ngoc Anh, De Muon (Giving Hired Birth) (2008) starring Chi Bao and Ha Kieu Anh, Nu Hon Than Chet (Kiss of the Death) (2008) starring Johnny Tri Nguyen, Thanh Hang and Hoai Linh, Dep Tung Centimet (2009) starring Tang Thanh Ha, Giai Cuu Than Chet (Saving the Death) (2009) starring Minh Hang, Chi Thien, Dong Nhi, Hong Nhung and Siu Black, Nhung Nu Hon Ruc Ro (2010) starring Minh Hang and Thanh Hang, Hot Boy Noi Loan (Lost in Paradise) (2011) starring Luong Manh Hai and Hieu Hien and Vua Di Vua Khoc (2013) starring Minh Hang and Ninh Duong Lan Ngoc.  In 2008, Phuong Thanh was among the cast members comprised of mainly Vietnamese pop singers in the wildly successful remake stage production of the classic Southern Vietnamese folk opera known as cai luong play, Lan va Diep, which included Thanh Thao in the role of Lan, Dam Vinh Hung in the role of Diep, Thu Minh in the role of Thuy Lieu along with Cam Ly, Hồng Ngọc and the late Minh Thuan.  She continues to perform as a Vietnamese pop singer at live shows for audiences all over Vietnam, as well as overseas Vietnamese audiences in all four corners of the world.

Link(s):

Phuong Thanh Fan Club on Facebook

Leslie

Leslie (1985-     ) is a French pop singer, born as Leslie Bourgouin to a Vietnamese-Polynesian father and a French mother.  Although she had been born in Le Mans, France, throughout many of her years growing up, Leslie had lived with her family in Africa in Francophone countries such as Gabon and Togo.  Leslie first came to prominence with her first recorded studio album in 2002, Je Suis et Je Resterai, which sold a total of 120,000 copies and was certified gold by the Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique.  That success would be followed by her second studio solo album released in 2004, Mes Couleurs, which sold 220,000 copies and twice certified gold by the Syndicat National l'Édition Phonographique.  Her album, L'amour en Vol (2006), was also awarded with a silver certification by the Syndicat National l'Édition Phonographique with a total of 100,000 copies sold.  Leslie also had recorded a compilation of popular cover songs from the 1980s for the album.  Leslie's success in France has been compared to the equivalence of Brittney Spears and Christina Aguilera in the United States.

Blessed with good looks and a sultry voice, Leslie has become quite popular with the younger generation of French music lovers.  She continues to perform at sold out shows all over France and Europe.  Her last released studio album to date was Les Enfants de L'orage in 2012.  Leslie has had five singles hit the top ten on the French music charts.  In addition, Leslie has also enjoyed international chart success with top ten hit singles on music charts in countries such as Belgium and Switzerland.  Among her most popular songs include Sobri (Notre Destin), Et J'attends, Et Puis la Terre and L'or de Nos Vies.




Link(s):

50 Most Beautiful Vietnamese Women of All Time
20 International Celebrities You Didn't Know Are Vietnamese

Lynda Trang Dai

Lynda Trang Dai (1968-     ) is a pioneer in dance and hip hop music among Vietnamese singers who had began her career during the mid 1980s in Orange County, California and has since been hailed by her many fans as the Vietnamese Madonna.

Born as Lê Quang Quý Trang Đài on October 9, 1968 in Danang, Vietnam, she first arrived in the United States at the age of 10 with her family.  Lynda Trang Dai first rose to prominence as the lead singer of Anh Tai Music Band and as a regular performer at Ritz Nightclub in Anaheim, California during the mid 1980s.  In 1987, Lynda Trang Dai made one of her first television appearances on Truyen Hinh Viet Nam, a popular Vietnamese-language news and variety television show which aired weekly on KSCI-TV, performing a Vietnamese classic pop tune, Tinh Co Nhu Khong in both the original Vietnamese lyrics written by Nhat Truong combined with translated English lyrics she had written herself.  That performance would spark the interests of many viewers of the weekly television show and formally introduced Lynda Trang Dai to the Vietnamese-American general audience.  She has since become one of the most popular performers on the Paris By Night music video series produced by Thuy Nga Paris.  Throughout her career which has spanned for almost three decades, Lynda Trang Dai's provocative dance moves, choice of dress attire and high energy stage performances have contributed to her becoming a household name among Vietnamese populations worldwide.

From the 1980s well into the 2000s, Lynda Trang Dai's collaborations with numerous Vietnamese music production labels have included Thuy Nga Paris, Asia Entertainment,  Lang Van, Doi Magazine, Thuy Anh, Mây Productions and Giang Ngoc.  She is also one of the most popular music video stars in the overseas Vietnamese entertainment industry.  During the 1990s, Lynda Trang Dai had released a series of well-received karaoke music video laser discs that had been filmed on different locations around the world such as Lynda in Hong Kong, Lynda in Macau, Lynda in China, Lynda in Thailand, etc.  

Happily married to fellow performer, Tommy Ngo, with children, this Vietnamese queen of dance and hip hop continues to wow audiences worldwide and makes her home in Irvine, California.  Lynda Trang Dai currently is owner of a deli and sandwich shop, Lynda Sandwich, in Westminster, California.

In 2006, Lynda Trang Dai returned to Vietnam for the first time since 1979 when she along with her family had left to resettle in the United States.  In August of that same year, she held her first concert tour in Vietnam consisting of live performances in Vietnam's three major cities, Hanoi, Danang and Ho Chi Minh City.  After the tremendous success of that first return concert tour, Lynda Trang Dai has followed up with several more equally well-received concert tours  in her native homeland.  In 2013, Lynda Trang Dai and Tommy Ngo starred in Bay Vao Coi Mong, a Vietnamese comedy movie produced by HKFilm and VT Pro Studios and distributed by Rang Dong.  The cast also included Kieu Oanh, Le Huynh, Khanh Phuong and Xuan Lan.

Link(s):

Lynda Trang Dai Facebook Page
Lynda Sandwich Facebook Page

Duy Khanh

Duy Khanh - Singer, Songwriter

Duy Khanh (1936-2003) was one of the most prolific songwriters and singers of traditional folk music in South Vietnam prior to 1975.  Among his most popular compositions included Ai Ra Xu Hue, Loi Ve Dat Me, Thuong Ve Mien Trung and Xin Anh Giu Tron Tinh Que.  

Duy Khanh moved to the United States in 1988.  He would continue his career as a performer for the overseas community there and also set up a vocals instructional class with legendary Vietnamese songstress, Thai Thanh.  During the 1990s up until the year before his death, Duy Khanh had made several memorable appearances on the live show music video series produced by Asia Entertainment performing songs such as Xin Anh Giu Tron Tinh Que, Xuan Nay Con Khong Ve written by Trinh Lam Ngan, Nguoi Linh Gia Xa Que Nha written by Nhat Ngan and a pair of medleys combining tunes written by Truc Phuong and himself together with Thanh Thuy, Hoang Oanh and Phuong Hong Que.

On December 2, 2003, Duy Khanh passed away at the age of 67 in Fountain Valley, California.  He had once been married and was a father of two children.

His music remains as an inspiration to many contemporary Vietnamese artists of today such as Tuan Vu, Truong Vu, Che Linh and Manh Quynh.

Quang Dung

Quang Dung  - Singer

Quang Dung (1976-     ) is one of the very few Vietnamese male vocalists famous for his interpretations of songs written by the legendary songwriter, Trinh Cong Son.  Born in Qui Nhon, Quang Dung began taking an interest in pursuing a career as a professional singer after entering the Tieng Hat Truyen Hinh Binh Dinh talent contest in 1997 where he placed second.  This would be followed with a Golden Voice placement on another talent show, Giong Hat Hay Cac Tinh Mien Trung, in 1998 held in Hue which consisted of contestants from the region of Central Vietnam.

Quang Dung made the decision to relocate to Ho Chi Minh City on August of 1998 upon the invitation of the owner of Dong Dao Nightclub to perform nightly as a singer.  After turning professional, Quang Dung would experience difficulties within the first couple of years in Ho Chi Minh City.  His classical style of singing was deemed by some as being outdated and unmarketable with the younger generation.  Then one day, while visiting Trinh Nightclub, Quang Dung would catch the attention of renowned Vietnamese composer Trinh Cong Son with his renditions of Bien Nho and Diem Xua.  After he had been given an autographed composition of Trinh Cong Son's Bien Nghin Thu O Lai, Quang Dung decided to record and make the song the title of his debut album in 2001.  Since then, his career has flourished with a series of more than 20 successful studio recorded solo albums making him one of the most popular Vietnamese male vocalists in Vietnam.  Quang Dũng has also recorded several duet albums with various other artists including Thanh Thảo, Hồng Nhung and Thái Hà.

In addition to his successful singing career, Quang Dung has also found success as an actor appearing in such Vietnamese films like Han Mac Tu, Gai Nhay and Nhung Chiec La Thoi Gian where he would meet Vietnamese-American beauty queen, Jennifer Pham.  The couple wedded in 2007 and welcomed the birth of a son shortly thereafter.  Their marriage only lasted for two years, ending in divorce in 2009.

(From Left to Right) Khánh Hà, Khánh Ly, Lệ Thu and Quang Dũng
 Live in Concert - Hanoi, Vietnam, 8-2-14.

Link(s):

Vietnamese Celebrity Homes Part 4

Olivia Munn

Olivia Munn

Olivia Munn (1980-     ) American actress, former model, television personality and author of Vietnamese, German and Irish descent, is best known for her film roles in Big Stan (2007), Date Night (2010), Iron Man 2 (2010), I Don't Know How She Does It (2011) and Deliver Us from Evil (2014).  Born in Oklahoma City, Olivia Munn had been raised primarily in Tokyo, Japan by her mother and stepfather who served in the US military.  It was in Tokyo that Olivia Munn started her career as a fashion model during her teenage years.  Her modeling career would continue on in her later years in the United States appearing in advertisements to promote such products as Nike, Pepsi and Neutrogena.  She graduated from the University of Oklahoma where she majored in journalism and minored in Japanese and dramatic arts.  After a couple of brief stints with internships for an NBC affiliate in Tulsa, Oklahoma followed by Fox Sports Net, Olivia Munn set her sights on pursuing an acting career in Los Angeles.

After landing several roles for major Hollywood-produced movies, Munn made the shift to television.  From 2006 until 2010, she replaced Sarah Lane as co-host of the popular G4 Network program, Attack of the Show!, working alongside Kevin Pereira.  Before leaving G4 Network on December of 2010, Olivia Munn made her debut on Comedy Central's The Daily Show, which would later on spark a bit of controversy when Irin Carmon, MSNBC national reporter and commentator on feminist issues, publicly criticized the production team of the popular show for being a sexist, male dominated establishment that had hired Munn based on her image as a sex symbol.  Carmon's criticism would be met with a group of 32 female staff members of The Daily Show who would publicly state their opposition, claiming that her opinions were based on misinformation and erroneous.

On May of 2010, Olivia Munn added author to her list of careers when her book, Suck It, Wonder Woman:  The Misadventures of a Hollywood Geek, was published.  In her personal life, she had been romantically involved with Swedish actor, Joel Kinnaman, in the past.  As of May, 2014, she has been dating Green Bay Packers quarterback, Aaron Rodgers.



Link(s):

30 Most Beautiful Viet Celebs of 2015
20 International Celebrities You Didn't Know Are Vietnamese
50 Most Beautiful Vietnamese Women of All Time
Olivia Munn on Twitter

Huong Lan

Huong Lan - Diva of Vietnamese Traditional Pop Music

Huong Lan (1956-     ) a former child prodigy in South Vietnam who at the age of 5 made her professional debut on the traditional Vietnamese opera stage known as cai luong alongside her famous father, Huu Phuoc.  Born as Tran Thi Ngoc Anh, her father had come up with her stage name combining the names of two cai luong actresses that he had deeply admired, Thanh Huong and Ut Bach Lan.  Five years after her stage debut,  she would demonstrate her successful transition to Vietnamese pop music during a national television appearance in South Vietnam singing one of legendary songwriter / singer Duy Khanh's most famous songs, Ai Ra Xu Hue.  During her teenage years, Huong Lan juggled both careers as a Vietnamese pop singer recording for several major record labels in Saigon, mainly for the Shotguns record label, and as a performer on the cai luong stage following in the footsteps of her father.  Ngoc Chanh, the owner of the Shotguns record label, had taken a particular liking to her singing voice and had found many of her recordings for his record label to be quite impressive.  Ngoc Chanh had seen strong star potential in Huong Lan and therefor, revealed to her father toward the end of 1974 of his plans to produce a solo studio album for her that could hopefully make her a pop music star.  Unfortunately, such plans would not come to fruition due to the political situation during the last months before the Fall of Saigon on April 30, 1975.

Huong Lan married fellow cai luong performer Chi Tam on December of 1975 and welcomed the birth of a son the following year.  Due to the new regime's governmental restrictions imposed on Vietnam's performing arts sector after 1975, Huong Lan had to put aside her career as a pop music singer during the last three years she spent in Saigon before moving to France in 1978.  Once in Paris, the joys of beginning a new life and breaking away from oppressive communism would only be short-lived.  In order to provide for her family, Huong Lan found work as a cook for a small family-owned restaurant in Paris.  She also welcomed the birth of another son in Paris in 1978.  Just when life seemed to offer more than its fair share of challenges, Huong Lan's marriage fell apart and finally ended in divorce in 1982.  Right around this time was when she was approached by by Thuy Nga Paris to record music for the label.  Financially strapped and in deep depression, she used recording music as a form of healing as she poured out her grief  and pain in song.  Her poignant interpretations on the songs she had recorded, particularly with her cover of Ngay Ve in which she would later appear on video for Paris By Night in 1984 was widely received and turned her into one of Thuy Nga's most popular recording artists overnight.  As her singing career was starting to take flight, Huong Lan made the decision to relocate to Southern California the following year which by then had the largest concentrated population of resettled former Vietnamese nationals.  For over 30 years, Huong Lan has managed to maintain one of the longest professional associations with Thuy Nga Paris and has performed on Paris By Night more times than any other artist.  She has appeared on a total of 71 volumes of the popular music video series, as a solo or as part of a duo/ensemble with other artists such as Thanh Tuyen, Ai Van, Thai Chau, Nguyen Hung, Che Linh, Tuan Vu, Giang Tu, Minh Vuong, Hong Nga, Huong Thuy, Tam Doan, Mai Thien Van, Hoai Nam, Tan Phat and Chi Tam.

Besides Thuy Nga Paris, Huong Lan has also partaken on numerous collaborations as a recording artist for other major Vietnamese music production labels based in the United States since the 1980s such as Thanh Lan, Lang Van, Thuy Anh, Da Lan, Doi Magazine and Asia Entertainment.  Her reign as the most popular female singer of traditional Vietnamese popular music would remain for nearly a decade.  Upon resettling in Southern California in 1985, Huong Lan befriended Nam Tran who was the executive producer and host of a weekly Vietnamese language television show called Vietnam Program which aired every Saturday morning on KSCI Channel 18.  Initially seen as a way to promote her music and gain for herself a wider audience, Huong Lan started making frequent guest appearances on the television program.  Her popularity with viewer audiences coupled with her show of dedication prompted Nam Tran to make Huong Lan the show's permanent co-host, as well as associate producer.  For many consecutive years, Huong Lan kept at her hectic schedule of performing weekly at Ritz and Caravelle Nightclubs in Anaheim, California, performing at live shows in faraway destinations every other week, a grueling recording schedule for a handful of different music production labels simultaneously (since she was in such high demand), taping a weekly television program, and even running her own music retail store, Huong Lan Music.  And not to mention, on top of all that, she was also a single mother raising two young sons then.  Most of Huong Lan's fans and her public were not aware of the challenges in her personal life during these years, since she hadn't ever shown neglect toward either her career or her audience.

In the years that followed, Huong Lan's personal and professional life would change for the better.  In 1988, she starred in a live production revival of a cai luong classic, Tam Long Cua Bien, with an ensemble cast that included her father, Huu Phuoc, Thanh Duoc, Viet Hung, Dung Thanh Lam, Bang Chau and her childhood friend, Phuong Mai.  As the second half of a major concert event that combined both Vietnamese pop music and cai luong, the cast performed at the Anaheim Convention Center in front of an audience that was 7,000 strong.  This would be followed by another triumphant cai luong live production of Nua Doi huong Phan, where Huong Lan again played the lead alongside veteran cai luong performers such as Huu Phuoc, Thanh Duoc, Dung Thanh Lam, Kieu My Hanh, Ha My Lien, Phuong Mai and newcomer, Bich Ngoc.  The enormous success Huong Lan and her cast members enjoyed with both live productions also brought about a resurgence in popularity of the cai luong stage, as well as introducing the traditional Southern Vietnamese opera to a whole new generation of younger Vietnamese-Americans.  The following year, Huong Lan would return to perform once again in a cai luong live production at the Anaheim Convention Center.  This time she and ex-husband, Chi Tam, would reunite on stage to portray the lead roles for Lan va Diep.  Audience turn out for their performance of Lan va Diep nearly totaled 10,000.  The year of 1989 was also a turning point in her personal life as Huong Lan became a newlywed.

While at the top of her game, in 1994 Huong Lan accepted an invitation to perform on a concert tour of Vietnam with other overseas Vietnamese singers Duc Huy, Thao Mi and Quoc Anh.  She would later regret making that decision of having agreed to tour Vietnam then.  At the time, normalized relations between the US and Vietnam had yet to formally take place.  With only the trade embargo on Vietnam having been lifted by the US government since February of that year, relations between the two countries were still in talks and far from settled.  For any former Vietnamese national who had even dared to either do business in Vietnam then or to go public with having any ties with the current regime would often be met with extreme animosity from the predominantly anti-communist overseas Vietnaemese communities.  For Huong Lan, this would be no different.  When information of her acceptance to partake on a national concert tour of Vietnam hit the press within Vietnamese communities in the United States, Huong Lan was branded as a communist sympathizer and a traitor toward the overseas Vietnamese community.  Even some of her most loyal fans turned against her and boycotted her live performances.  She had been blacklisted.  During this difficult period for Huong Lan, to make things worse many show promoters avoided booking her fearing that the controversy she was surrounded with would have a negative reflection of low ticket sales, as well as the possibility of picketing protesters.  A fallen star she had become, Huong Lan's career for the future was now filled with uncertainties.

Like the saying, time heals all, fortunately for Huong Lan, the matters that had brought both her career and life to a screeching halt back in 1994 would eventually be resolved by just that.  Since then, she has been able to regain and salvage her rapport with her public and fans.  A bonafied, legendary Vietnamese artist, now in her fifties Huong Lan remains active in her singing career, dividing her time between Vietnam and the United States where she continues to record music, appear on music videos for Thuy Nga Paris and perform at live shows for her many fans.   Among her most popular recorded signature songs are Chiec Ao Ba Ba, Con Thuong Rau Dang Moc Sau He, Long Me, Hinh Bong Que Nha, Chuyen Mot Nguoi Di and Cay Dan Bo Quen.  

Huong Lan has a younger sister, Huong Thanh, who is an established Vietnamese singer based in Paris, France.  Both of her younger brothers, Jean-Claude Tran and Steve Tran, are established actors of French cinema and television.

Link(s):

Huong Lan Fan Page on Facebook

Lệ Thu

Lệ Thu (1943- 2021) was one of the most famous singers in South Vietnam from the 1960s up until the Fall of Saigon in 1975.  

Born in Hai Phong as Bùi Thị Oanh, she and her mother would leave their home in the communist North for a new life in South Vietnam when she was just 10 years old.  At age 16 while still in high school, she and a few friends decided to stop by Bong Lai Nightclub in Saigon one night where she went up on stage to sing a song during open mic.  The owner of Bong Lai was so impressed with her performance that he immediately approached her with a job offer to sing regularly at his club.  Concerned that her parents would object should they find out, she accepted the offer to sing nightly at Bong Lai under the alias, Le Thu, which would become her permanent professional stage name.
After 3 years, Le Thu left Bong Lai to perform nightly at Tu Do Nightclub in Saigon in 1962.  In the years that followed, Le Thu would collaborate with Jo Marcel and become one of the most popular headliners at major cabarets and nightclubs of Saigon such as Hoa Binh, Ritz and Queen Bee.  Le Thu also recorded for numerous record labels in South Vietnam prior to 1975 such as Shotguns, Continental, Premier, Son Ca and May Hong.  Among her most popular signature songs include Ngam Ngui, Dung Bo Em Mot Minh, Cho Toi Duoc Mot Lan, Nua Hon Thuong Dau, Thu Hat Cho Nguoi, Ha Trang and Chiec Bong Ben Duong, the theme song of a movie by the same name which had starred Kieu Chinh, Kim Cuong and Thanh Duoc that had also featured a cameo appearance by Le Thu in 1973.

Le Thu fled from Vietnam in 1979 by boat and spent 8 months at Pulau Bidong, a refugee camp in Malaysia, before permanently resettling in Southern California in 1980.  In the United States Le Thu has successfully managed to continue with her career as a Vietnamese singer recording for various overseas Vietnamese music production labels and performing at live shows for overseas Vietnamese audiences worldwide.  During the mid 1980s, Le Thu recorded what would later become another of her signature tunes, a song written and composed by Tran Quang Nam, Muoi Nam Tinh Cu (A Decade Apart).  Her particular rendition of the song had become extremely popular with overseas Vietnamese audiences and gained her a following of new fans of younger generations. Le Thu had mademany appearances on both music video live shows series of Thuy Nga Paris and Asia Entertainment.   On Thuy Nga's Paris By Night, Le Thu's most memorable performances have included her renditions Mai Toc Da Huong written by Nguyen Hien, Nuoc Mat Mua Thu written by Pham Duy and Hai Ngoai Thuong Ca written by Nguyen Van Dong.  And for Asia Entertainment, Le Thu has appeared on video performing songs like Huong Xua written by Cung Tien, Giac Mo Hoi Huong written by Vu Thanh and duets with Khanh Ly and Diem Lien of medleys of songs written by Trinh Cong Son, Nhin Nhung Mua Thu Di and Nang Thuy Tinh, and Truong Sa, Xin Con Goi Ten Nhau and Mot Mai Em Di, respectively.  During the final decade of her life, Lệ Thu had made headlines with several triumphant return concert tours in Vietnam.  

Le Thu and Khanh Ly in Da Lat, Vietnam (March, 2016)

In the winter at the end of the year 2020, it was reported that Lệ Thu had been stricken with Covid-19 and had to be hospitalized.  Only 16 days later, she would succumb to the disease on January 15, 2021. Her eldest daughter, Trần Thị Cẩm Tú, would also lose her battle with cancer less than two months later taking her last breath on March 22, 2021.  

Link(s):  

Another 50 Most Beautiful Vietnamese Women of All Time

Le Quyen

Le Quyen - Famous Vietnamese Singer
from Hanoi

Le Quyen (1981-     ) Born in Hanoi, Le Quyen since 2005 has become one of the most famous singers of Vietnamese popular music.  Upon graduating from Hanoi University of Culture, she set her sights on a professional singing career while in her early twenties.  In 2005, Le Quyen released her first solo album, Giac Mo Co That (A Dream Come True).  Her sultry voice and heartfelt interpretations of easy listening Vietnamese love songs quickly gained her a following of devoted fans in her native Vietnam, as well as internationally within the Vietnamese diaspora.  Le Quyen's popularity has allowed her to perform all over the world, most recently in a series of sold-out concerts in the United States.

Among her critically acclaimed albums include Nhu Giac Chim Bao (2008). recorded with Tuan Hung,  Le Quyen Acoustic (2009), a live album recorded at one of her concerts in Ho Chi Minh City, and Khuc Tinh Xua (2010), a solo studio album featuring a collection of classical Vietnamese love songs.  Le Quyen is married and lives in Ho Chi Minh City where she and her husband own and run a cabaret nightclub.

Le Quyen during one of her live concerts

Link(s):

Vietnamese Celebrity Homes Part 3

Betty Nguyen

Betty Nguyen (1974-     ) American network television news anchorwoman, currently for NBC and MSNBC since 2013.  Betty Nguyen was born in Saigon, South Vietnam in 1974.  Her father was a US serviceman and her mother is Vietnamese.  She came to the United States on April 19, 1975, 11 days before the Fall of Saigon.  Nguyen graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a bachelor's degree in journalism.

Betty Nguyen has a long resumé as a television news anchor.  Before landing her position as news correspondent for CNN in 2004, she had worked for several CBS affiliates in Texas.  From 2004 until 2010, Nguyen worked for CNN as a correspondent and covered major world events such as Hurricane Katrina, the death of Pope John Paul II and the earthquake in Haiti.  After six years as the first Vietnamese anchorwoman for CNN, Nguyen joined CBS News and remained there until April of 2012 for two years.  She has won several awards for her work as a television news anchorwoman including an Associated Press Award in 1998 for breaking news coverage and a regional Emmy Award in 2003 for outstanding noon newscast.

In 2000, Betty Nguyen founded the Help the Hunger Foundation which helps poverty-stricken people of Vietnam.  The foundation was created after Nguyen and her family made their first trip back to Vietnam and witnessed the harsh conditions of the impoverished people there.

Married since 2014, Betty Nguyen became a mother for the first time the following year with the birth of her son, Thomas.

Link(s):

30 Most Beautiful Viet Celebs of 2015
50 Most Beautiful Vietnamese Women of All Time
Betty Nguyen's Official Website
Help-the-Hungry.org

Tuan Vu

Tuan Vu (1959-     ) Overseas Vietnamese singer known for his interpretations of the more traditional Vietnamese music.  Born in Phan Thiet, Vietnam, Tuan Vu moved to the United States in 1979 where he first settled in San Francisco, California.  He began his singing career in the early 1980s.  During the latter part of that decade, Tuan Vu was considered the bestselling overseas Vietnamese male recording artist of traditional Vietnamese music.  He has recorded for numerous Vietnamese music production labels such as Giang Ngoc, Phuong Hoang, Lang Van, Doi Magazine, Thanh Lan, Tu Quynh, Thuy Anh, Nguoi Dep Binh Duong, Asia Productions and Thuy Nga Paris.  Among his most popular recorded songs are Nguoi Yeu Co Don, Doi Mat Nguoi Xua, Buom Trang, Giot Le Dai Trang and Co Be Ngay Xua.

Tuan Vu has performed at concerts for overseas Vietnamese audiences all over the world.  In 2001, Tuan Vu returned to Vietnam for the very first time and recorded three solo studio albums for the music production label, Rang Dong, based in Vietnam.  He has since returned to Vietnam to perform on numerous live shows across the country.  Tuan Vu has recorded duets with some of the biggest names among overseas Vietnamese female vocalists like Huong Lan, Thanh Tuyen, Giao Linh, Phuong Dung, Luu Hong, Kim Anh, Ngoc Lan, Phuong Hong Que, My Huyen, Son Tuyen and Thien Trang.


Link(s):

Tuan Vu Official Website

Khanh Ly

Khanh Ly (1945-     ) along with Thai Thanh and Le Thu was considered among the three primary female vocalists of South Vietnam prior to 1975.  Born in Hanoi as Nguyen Thi Le Mai, she would later take on the surname, Pham, as a result of her mother's remarriage.  In 1956, she along with her family relocated to Da Lat.  As a child, she entered a singing talent contest held at the Norodom Venue in Saigon and placed second.  At the age of 19, she chose the stage name, Khanh Ly, and turned professional upon landing her first steady gig performing nightly at Anh Vu Nightclub in Saigon.  In less than a year working in Saigon, Khanh Ly decided to return to Da Lat where she would work for the next three years singing for local clubs there.

Trinh Cong Son and Khanh Ly

In 1964, Khanh Ly would meet up with musician / composer Trinh Cong Son, then still an unknown, who tried to persuade her to return to Saigon in order to further pursue her singing career.  Content with her life in Da Lat, Khanh Ly turned down Trinh Cong Son's invitation and remained in Da Lat until 1967.  Another chance meeting with Trinh Cong Son in 1967 would lead to Khanh Ly's decision to give Saigon another try and from then on her career rose to prominence.  Her recording of Diem Xua, written and composed by Trinh Cong Son, instantly gave her national recognition.

From the years 1967-1975, Khanh Ly collaborated with numerous record labels based in Saigon such as Continental, Du Am, Song Nhac and Tinh Ca Que Huong.  Khanh Ly became most famous for her interpretations of songs written and composed by Trinh Cong Son like Cuoi Cung Cho Mot Tinh Yeu, Ca Dao Me, Phuc Am Buon, Mua Hong, Nhu Canh Vac Bay and Phoi Pha.  She had also scored a number of hits with songs written by others such as Vi Toi La Linh Muc, Niem Khuc Cuoi, Roi Mai Toi Dua Em and Dau Tinh Sau.  In 1970, Khanh Ly accepted an invitation to perform on a concert tour of Japan by NHK Television and while there recorded an album produced by Columbia Nippon of Trinh Cong Son composed songs in both Vietnamese and Japanese.  In 1972, Khanh Ly opened her own nightclub in Saigon named simply as Khanh Ly Nightclub where she peformed nightly until 1975.  Upon the Fall of Saigon, Khanh Ly left for the United States where she has continued her career as a Vietnamese singer, started her own music label, Khanh Ly Productions, and has remained active to this day.

Khanh Ly has been married three times.  Recently widowed, her last marriage was to Nguyen Hoang Doan, a Vietnamese newspaper editor and columnist.  She is a mother to four grown children.  Her two oldest, a son and a daughter, were from her marriage to her first husband who was known by the pseudonym, Minh Di.  Another daughter was from her marriage to Mai Ba Trac.  And her youngest son, the only out of her four children born in the United States was fathered by her third husband, Nguyen Hoang Doan.  Khanh Ly currently resides in Cerritos, California.

Khánh Ly Live in Concert
at Hanoi Opera House (November, 2017)

Link(s):

Khanh Ly's Official Website

Ho Ngoc Ha

Ho Ngoc Ha:  Famous Singer, Actress and Model
 of Present Day Vietnam

Hồ Ngọc Hà (1984-     ) first rose to prominence as a fashion model and has since enjoyed even bigger successes in her careers as a Vietnamese pop singer and film actress.  Born on November 25, 1984 in Hue, Central Vietnam, Ho Ngoc Ha's exotic good looks are a clear sign of her Eurasian mixed genes.  Her paternal grandfather was French who had resettled in Vietnam during the French colonial era.  At the age of 15, Ho Ngoc Ha began modeling professionally.  Four years later, her modeling career would take her to Ho Chi Minh City where she competed in the 2003-2004 Supermodel of Vietnam Contest taking the first prize.  Although her modeling career was in full swing, Ho Ngoc Ha had set her sights on pursuing a career as a professional singer.  Her notoriety as a fashion model helped land her a guest spot on the popular televised program, Nguoi Dep Hat (Beautiful People Who Sing), where she caught the eye of musician composer Bao Quoc.  Soon after, Ho Ngoc Ha would be contacted by Bao Quoc with a personal invitation in which she readily accepted to record a song written and produced by the musician, himself, and would later be featured on a compilation album of his compositions recorded by various other artists.  This would mark Ho Ngoc Ha's very first professional audio recording. 

In 2004, Ho Ngoc Ha recorded her debut solo studio album, 24 Gio 7 Ngay (24 Hours 7 Days).  Although relatively well-produced, promotion for the album was rather weak as it didn't receive the strong financial backings from the record label, Viet Tan Studio, and therefor did not achieve the commercial success she had hoped for.  However, distribution for the album was fairly wide enough to introduce Ho Ngoc Ha onto the pop music scene of Vietnam and allowed her the exposure needed for her to partake at numerous live concert shows throughout Vietnam.  As a live performer, Ho Ngoc Ha triumphed as audiences instantaneously took notice of her regal stage presence and elegant style of performing.  During this time, despite the fact that she was new to the pop music scene many members from the audience would recognize Ho Ngoc Ha due to her successful modeling career having one of the most recognizable faces in Vietnam.  Before the year ended, Ho Ngoc Ha's singing career would gain significant momentum with her highly successful live performances coupled with the exposure generated from a scandal in which several of her nude photos she had taken in the past unexpectedly surfaced. 

An introduction from musician Huy Tuan, executive producer of Ho Ngoc Ha's debut album, to his fellow musician friend, Duc Tri, would develop into a romantic as well as a professional relationship.  In 2005, she signed with Duc Tri's record company, Music Faces, as an exclusive artist and remained with the label for the next five years.  Duc Tri would also produce most of her recordings while she was under contract with Music Faces.  Her first two solo studio albums for the Music Faces label were produced by Duc Tri, Va Em Da Yeu (And I Have Loved) and Muon Noi Voi Anh (I Want to Tell You), and released in 2005 and 2006, respectively, to enormous commercial and critical success giving Ho Ngoc Ha the much needed boost in her music career.  That same year Ho Ngoc Ha embarked on a successful concert tour performing for overseas Vietnamese communities in several cities across the United States.  A duet album, Ao Anh, recorded together with singer Duc Tuan was also released to round out the year.

In 2007, Ho Ngoc Ha's personal relationship ended with Duc Tri while she was recording her fourth studio album, Khi Ta Da Yeu (When We Were in Love).  Like her previous two albums, Duc Tri was the executive producer.  The outcome of this album was a clear indication that their personal break-up had put a strain on their professional working relationship.  After production for the album wrapped up, Duc Tri washed his hands from the project almost entirely.  The lack of promotion from Music Faces resulted in disappointing sales for the album after its release.  Frustrated with the lackluster performance of her fourth solo studio album, Ho Ngoc Ha went on a two year hiatus.  Right around this time, she would begin a new relationship with Nguyen Quoc Cuong, also known as Cuong Dollar, a professional auto racer and heir to one of Vietnam's wealthiest billionaire families who had previously been romantically linked to Vietnamese film actress, Tang Thanh Ha.  Their courtship would make Ho Ngoc Ha the target of tabloids that had painted an image of her as a gold digger.  By then, Ho Ngoc Ha was no stranger to scandals given how she had been in a much publicized extra-marital relationship as the other woman with singer Huy MC which was rumored to have caused his divorce to singer Thu Phuong.  Despite such negative press, Ho Ngoc Ha endured and in 2009 returned with an album entitled as The First Single.  Through her association as spokesmodel for Sunsilk of Vietnam, Ho Ngoc Ha successfully lobbied for financial backings from the UK-owned manufacturer of hair products for the launching of the album's promotion campaign.  For Ho Ngoc Ha, the heavy promotion for her album brought about a bold resurgence in her singing career.  In 2010, she would release her very last album under the Music Faces label, Tim Lai Giac Mo (Recovered Dreams), which was recorded while she was pregnant with Nguyen Quoc Cuong's child.  This would mark the first time Ho Ngoc Ha would record a solo studio album without the involvement of Duc Tri as executive producer since signing with Music Faces five years prior.  In contrast to what had happened with the previously released album, Khi Ta Yeu Nhau, back in 2007, this album did not involve Duc Tri in the production aspect yet it would receive his strong support with the promotion campaign.  Another studio album, Hanh Phuc Bat Tan (Sudden Joy), would also be released in 2010.  All three of Ho Ngoc Ha's studio albums released during the years 2009-2010 were major successes and reconfirmed her status as a superstar of Vietnamese pop music.

Her latest solo studio album, Moi Tinh Xua (Old Flame), was released in 2014.  Three years prior, Ho Ngoc Ha had released Se Mai Ben Nhau (Invincible).  Reportedly one of the costliest productions among music albums ever recorded by any artist of Vietnam, Ho Ngoc Ha made history as the first singer of Vietnam to shoot a music video to one of the songs featured on the album in Hollywood.  World-renowned musician Lenon Zervos, who had worked with the likes of major international artists such as Lady Gaga and Kanye West, was credited for the remastering of all tracks featured on Se Mai Ben Nhau which had taken place in its entirety overseas in Australia.  Ho Ngoc Ha's immense popularity with audiences at her live concert shows have placed her in the ranks of Vietnam's most bankable live performers.  Her widely popular concert tour back in 2009 named after her second solo studio album, Va Em Da Yeu. was televised and broadcasted nationally in Vietnam.  Two years later, another taping for television featuring Ho Ngoc Ha live in concert, Ho Ngoc Ha Live Concert 2011, took place in front of a smaller, more intimate audience at Lan Anh music venue located in Ho Chi Minh City.

In addition to her successful singing career, Ho Ngoc Ha has also appeared as an actress on the Vietnamese silver screen.  Like her previous experience as a singer with her debut album, her debut film released in 2005, 39 Do Yeu (39 Degrees Love) which she had costarred with actor Binh Minh, turned out to be a commercial failure and was panned by critics.  Her next film, however, Chien Dich Trai Tim Ben Phai, released later in the same year was both a critical and commercial success.  In recent years, Ho Ngoc Ha has been in collaboration with the popular television program, Vietnam's version of The Voice, as a mentor.  Dubbed unofficially as "Vietnam's Queen of Endorsements", Ho Ngoc Ha has maintained a lucrative modeling career through the years as celebrity spokesmodel endorsing products for companies like Sunplay, Toshiba, Sony Ericsson, Sunsilk and YanTV.

In 2010, Ho Ngoc Ha and Nguyen Quoc Cuong became parents after she gave birth to a baby boy named by the couple as Nguyen Quoc Hung.  From the beginning of their relationship, the couple has constantly been surrounded with controversy.  During her pregnancy, it was revealed that Ho Ngoc Ha was once married to a wealthy businessman by the name of Pham Quang Hung.  She was just 17 years old when she first married and divorced the following year.  Upon becoming parents, the couple's controversial decision to remain unmarried had been one of the hottest topics with the tabloid press of Vietnam. On March of 2013, the couple finally tied the knot in a lavish wedding held in Ho Chi Minh City.  In June of 2015, it was reported that the couple have separated and are on the verge of filing for divorce.

Ho Ngoc Ha and Son, Nguyen Quoc Hung

Thanh Hà (left) and Hồ Ngọc Hà (right)
 in Ho Chi Minh City (March - 2017)

Link(s):

Vietnamese Celebrity Homes Part 1
30 Most Beautiful Viet Celebs of 2015

50 Most Beautiful Vietnamese Women of All Time

Ho Ngoc Ha Official Website

Ho Ngoc Ha on Facebook