Cam Tien

Cam Tien (1970-     ) is among the most popular actresses of the Southern Vietnamese opera stage known as Cai Luong.  Born in Saigon to working class parents, Cam Tien grew up in Tay Ninh with dreams of one day becoming a teacher although she had acquired a deep appreciation of Cai Luong along with the traditional genre of singing in Vietnamese opera known as Vong Co from a very young age.  However, prior to reaching the tender age of 20 Cam Tien would trade in such dreams of attaining a teaching career when she was discovered by Cai Luong veteran performer Chau Thanh and Vietnamese opera playwright Dang Minh, who had both encouraged her to pursue the Cai Luong stage as an actress.  Right after her graduation from high school, Cam Tien relocated to Ho Chi Minh City with plans to attend her first year at the University of Ho Chi Minh City but was then recruited by the Trung Hieu Theater Company where she would officially make her professional debut as Lien, the role of the protagonist's mistress in the play, Song Gio Cuoc Doi (Stormy Life), written by renowned playwright, Vien Hung.  The play went on a successful national tour in Vietnam, as its cast members enjoyed performing to packed houses at various major cities in all three regions of the country.  In particular, Cam Tien's performance was widely acclaimed as audiences immediately took notice of her unique style of singing, beauty and striking stage presence.  Although only a supporting role, Cam Lien's portrayal of Lien has been considered to be the initial vehicle that had turned her into a star.

The success Cam Tien had enjoyed with the role of Lien, the mistress in Song Gio Cuoc Doi would then lead the way for a string of other similar theater roles for the young actress.  She would duplicate that level of success with her portrayals of characters such as Huong in Vu An Ma Nguu and Dung in Dong Tien Dam Mau.  After just six months with Trung Hieu Theater Company, Cam Tien rose to become the lead actress alongside fellow actor, Duc Tai, upon the sudden departures Chau Thanh and Phuong Hang, the theater company's previous lead actor and actress pair.  Cam Tien would successfully defy the odds shocking skeptics as Trung Hieu Theater Company would enjoy continued sold out productions with her being billed as their leading lady.  Despite Cam Tien's accomplishments as lead actress, her salary from Trung Hieu Theater Company had remained unchanged and was only equivalent to that typically of an understudy.  After several unsuccessful attempts to renegotiate her salary with the owners of Trung Hieu, Cam Tien decided to leave the company and joined Thanh Tu - Trang Bich Lieu Theater Company where she would achieve further success in the play production of Lam Sanh Xuan Nuong.  Another successful brief collaboration would follow for Cam Tien in the year of 1989 when she was approached by Cai Luong promoter He Sa of Hoa Hong Theater Company inviting her to fulfill the coveted position of lead actress in popular productions like 17 Nam Truong Han and Kiem Si Doi.  It was then that legendary Cai Luong promoter Phi Bang would realize Cam Tien's tremendous potential as a headliner lead actress and personally invited her to collaborate with Kim Thanh, one of Vietnam's most prolific Cai Luong theater production companies which boasts an impressive long list of iconic, superstar performers such as Ut Bach Lan, Ngan Vuong and Thai Binh.  During Cam Tien's stint at Kim Thanh, she managed to achieve further success gracing the Cai Luong stages with her memorable performances in Nguoi Dien Tren Song Lanh, Nhat Kiem Ba Vuong and Co Xe Doc Ma.  Cam Tien had then established herself as one of the most highly regarded and in demand actresses of the Cai Luong stage.

In 1990, Cam Tien joined Song Hau Theater Company as their lead actress where she would land a string of lead roles in plays like Cong Chua Toc Vang, Duong Guom Nguyen Ba and Lan va Diep, the immensely popular classic play often deemed as the Vietnamese equivalent to Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliette.  When she finally made it to becoming the lead actress for Thanh Nga Theater Company, a dream shared by virtually all Cai Luong peformers, Cam Tien would be paired up with Vuong Canh as her leading man.  Thanh Nga Theater Company indeed had found a winning combination with the two as they would become one of the most popular and sought after couples on the Cai Luong stage throughout the early 1990s.  Together, the pair would share equal billings as headliner performers in Hoang Tu Mat Nam and Duyen Chi Tinh Em.  Cam Tien and Vuong Canh would go on to headline for Tai Nang Playhouse Theater in Ho Chi Minh City.

At the height of her popularity, Cam Tien decided to set her sights on her personal life and got married in 1992 to an American citizen of Vietnamese origin who was divorced from a previous marriage and a father of two children.  For a brief time, Cam Tien relocated to the United States to live with her husband.  Unfortunately, her first marriage was short lived as the couple divorced just two years after their wedding.  Cam Tien has since remarried.  This time, to a Canadian citizen of Vietnamese origin, businessman Lam Duc.  The couple currently make their home in Ho Chi Minh City where Lam Duc operates a successful business in the tourism sector of Vietnam.  Cam Tien is now a stepmother to Lam Duc's son from a previous marriage and the two of them have a daughter together, Kim Tien, born in 2002.

Cam Tien has recorded audio soundtracks of numerous cai luong productions such as Mua Rung with Kim Tu Long, Dat Phuong Nam with Minh Canh and Tu Do Em Buon with Minh Vuong, Chau Thanh and Diep Lang.

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