Tu Quyen

Tu Quyen (1977-    ) is a Vietnamese-American singer.  Born on October 8, 1977 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania as the eldest in a family of six, Tu Quyen moved around several places while growing up.  She lived in Port Arthur, Texas, Secramento, California and Ontario, Southern California.  While she was attending Cal State Long Beach, Tu Quyen moved to Orange County and began recording for Eagle Productions.  Among her most successful solo studio albums for Eagle Productions have included Nu Cuoi Xa Vang, Mo Lam Canh Chim and Mat Troi Be Con.  In 1995, she appeared alongside actor Johnny Tri Nguyen on her first music video made for her recorded Vietnamese version of a popular Chinese song, Nu Hong Mong Manh, which was a major hit with Vietnamese audiences worldwide and has since become known as one of her signature songs.  Among her other major hit songs include Nhung Loi Doi Gian, Chi Minh Em Thoi and Trong Em Tinh Van Sang.  Tu Quyen is considered as the very first American-born Vietnamese pop music diva and has become one of the most popular overseas Vietnamese female singers.

During the late 1990s, Tu Quyen was a contracted exclusive weekly performer at the Ritz Nightclub in Anaheim, California.  She went on to perform for many live shows for overseas Vietnamese audiences worldwide.  Tu Quyen has also appeared on numerous music videos for Tinh Productions, May Productions, Van Son Entertainment and Thuy Nga Paris, where she continues to be one of the most popular performers on the Paris by Night stage. 

Hoang Oanh

Hoang Oanh (1946-    ) is an overseas Vietnamese singer who had first risen to prominence in Saigon during the 1960s.

A graduate from the University of Saigon, School of Literature, Hoang Oanh was one of the most successful female recording artists in South Vietnam prior to 1975.  She recorded for numerous record labels including Shotguns, Song Nhac, Viet Nam, Son Ca, Thien Thai and Continental with a total of more than 200 audio tracks.  Born as Huynh Kim Chi on June 11, 1946 in My Tho, South Vietnam, she was raised in a strict Roman Catholic upbringing.  With her religious background unlike her peers Hoang Oanh was discouraged by her family and therefor did not perform at cabarets and nightclubs throughout her career.  She did, however, perform at music festivals and concerts put together primarily by university students' unions of South Vietnam.  In 1969, Hoang Oanh was invited to perform in France and Switzerland by the South Vietnamese foreign exchange students' union.

Hoang Oanh left her native South Vietnam for the United States on April 28, 1975, first resettling in New York, then New Jersey and eventually California.  During the 1980s. Hoang Oanh set up her own music production label, Hoang Oanh Music, and produced a series of solo studio albums.  She has made many appearances on video for Asia Productions and Thuy Nga Paris.  Hoang Oanh has recorded duets with many popular male recording artists such as Duy Khanh, Nhat Truong and Che Linh.

Link(s):

Hoang Oanh Facebook Page

Ha Thanh

Ha Thanh (1937-2014) was a famous Vietnamese singer.  Born on July 25, 1937 in Hue, Central Vietnam, she grew up as the fourth eldest in a family of ten children.  Ha Thanh began her professional singing career at the age of 16 after winning first prize at a talent contest sponsored by Radio Vietnam in Hue.  Her performance of Dong Song Xanh (The Blue Danube) swept the judges off their feet earning her the highest marks among contestants.  Immediately following her victory, Ha Thanh became a professional singer for the Radio Vietnam station in Hue, Central Vietnam.

For ten years, Ha Thanh remained content working as a vocalist for Radio Vietnam in Hue.  Her popularity with listeners had grown steadily through the years making her the most popular singer in Central Vietnam.  As Ha Thanh's singing voice would gain new audiences through Radio Vietnam's broadcasts in other regions, Saigon, the center of Vietnam's music industry, eventually came calling.  In 1963, Ha Thanh made her first trip to Saigon to record a couple of songs at the invitation of Song Nhac record label.  It was during this trip that she would be introduced to musician Nguyen Van Dong through a mutual acquaintance, singer/songwriter Manh Phat.  Prior to returning to her hometown of Hue, Ha Thanh would make a memorable live performance of Ve Mai Nha Xua (Coming Back Home) with Nguyen Van Dong's band known as Tieng Thoi Gian for a music festival concert held in Saigon.  Two years later, she would relocate to Saigon, this time at the invitation of another prominent record label by the name of Continental which was headed by Nguyen Van Dong.

Much like the legendary collaborations between singers and composers like Thanh Thuy with Truc Phuong, Thai Thanh with Pham Duy and Khanh Ly with Trinh Cong Son, Ha Thanh found enormous success through her recordings of songs written by Nguyen Van Dong such as Hang Hang Lop Lop, Chieu Mua Bien Gioi, Nho Mot Chieu Xuan and Mai Dam Son Khe.  From 1965 until 1975, Ha Thanh was one of the most popular female singers of Vietnam.  As one of the busiest recording artists in extremely high demand, her collaborations for numerous record labels in Vietnam such as Premier, Son Ca, Viet Nam, Shotguns and Truong Son allowed her to command the highest salary among singers in the music industry of Vietnam in her day.  Once resettled in Saigon, Ha Thanh continued her work with Radio Vietnam as one of the most renowned musical performers in radio broadcasting.  She became a headliner performer at the prestigious Tu Do cabaret in Saigon and also performed for many music festivals and concerts for ARVN troops and universities.  In 1969, Ha Thanh was selected by the government of South Vietnam to perform on a concert tour for Vietnamese foreign exchange college students studying abroad in France.

In 1970, Ha Thanh got married to ARVN lieutenant-colonel Bui The Dung.  Two years later, she would give birth to their only daughter.  After the Fall of Saigon, Ha Thanh would be separated from her husband who had been sent away to reeducation camp by the new communist regime in Vietnam for a total of thirteen years.  In 1984, through sponsorship from her family members in the United States Ha Thanh and her daughter were able to flee Vietnam and resettle in Boston, Massachusetts.  As soon as she adjusted to her new life in the States, Ha Thanh readily submitted paperwork to sponsor her husband from Vietnam.  After six long years, Ha Thanh and her husband were finally reunited in 1990.  Unfortunately, their reunion would be bittersweet as the dissolution of their marriage would take place just two years later.

Prior to resettling in the United States, Ha Thanh like many other popular singers from the pre-'75 Saigon era had been restricted by the communist regime from continuing with her music career in Vietnam.  Unable to earn a living as a professional singer for almost a decade after the Fall of Saigon had made life difficult for Ha Thanh and her daughter.  At the time of her arrival to the United States, Ha Thanh was already approaching middle age.  In a field such as the entertainment industry where age can certainly play a significant role in one's potential for success, Ha Thanh's return to the music business after resettling in the United States was not without its challenges.  However, due to her past career achievements and rather large following of fans she had acquired from way back in Saigon prior to 1975, Ha Thanh's legendary iconic status would sustain the interests of several prominent music producers and events promoters within the overseas Vietnamese music industry in the 1980s.  Among those producers was Le Ba Chu, the owner of Giang Ngoc music production label, who had also been a fan of Ha Thanh.  In 1985, Ha Thanh traveled to California to record her first solo studio album, Hai Ngoai Thuong Ca, for the Giang Ngoc label.  Despite such a lengthy absence, the album was quite well received among music lovers within the Vietnamese diaspora worldwide.  A devout practicing Buddhist, Ha Thanh made many live performances at Buddhist temples and at charity concerts for the Vietnamese-American Buddhist Association.  She had also recorded two other solo studio albums that were comprised of Buddhist religious songs:  Ngat Huong Dam (1999) and Nhanh Duong Cuu Kho (2003).  During her career after leaving her native Vietnam, Ha Thanh would be invited to perform at many live shows for overseas Vietnamese audiences across the United States, Canada, Europe and Australia.  Ha Thanh's daughter, Kim Huyen, for a brief period in the 1990s had followed in her mother's footsteps and became an overseas Vietnamese singer, as well.


Ha Thanh died on January 1, 2014 in Boston, Massachusetts from leukemia.   

Doan Trang

Doan Trang (1978-    ) is a Vietnamese pop singer.  She had risen to fame in Vietnam since 2001 after entering and placing second in Ho Chi Minh City's most prestigious vocals talent contest show, Tieng Hat Truyen Hinh Thanh Pho Ho Chi Minh.  Since then, Doan Trang has developed for herself a signature Latin-influenced sound with Vietnamese popular music.  To many of her fans, she is also known by her nickname, Chocolate, which had been given to her as a child due to her dark and tan skin tone.

Born on February 4, 1978 in Dong Nai province of Southern Vietnam, Doan Trang grew up as the second eldest in a family of four children.  From early on as a very young child, she had already taken a strong interest in music.  By the time she was five, Doan Trang was singing and dancing on stage as a child performer for numerous local children's fine arts programs and festivals.  Throughout her years in school, Doan Trang actively participated and won many competitions in music.  She attended and graduated from two different universities, Nhac Vien Thanh Pho Ho Chi Minh (Ho Chi Minh City School of Music) and HUFLIT, an international university where she majored in English.  During her years in college, she sang at local bars and nightclubs to help pay for her tuition and books.

Following in the footsteps of others such as Dam Vinh Hung, Thu Minh and Duc Tuan, in 2001 Doan Trang entered one of Vietnam's most prestigious talent contest, Tieng Hat Truyen Hinh Thanh Pho Ho Chi Minh, and placed second.  From then on, Doan Trang would gain national prominence with a series of solo studio albums including 4 Mua Tinh Yeu, Chocolate, SocoDance and Am Ban.  Her most popular hit singles have consisted of Forget Me Not, Khi Toi 20 and Socola.

Since 2011 Doan Trang has been married to a Swedish national.  Together they have a daughter, Sol, born in 2012.

Link(s):

Vietnamese Celebrity Homes Part 3

Bebe Pham

Bebe Pham (1983-    ) is a Vietnamese fashion model and film actress.  During her successful modeling career, she had appeared on numerous campaign ads for such international brands like Reebok, Rémy Martin and Fashion TV.  As an actress, Bebe Pham has starred in films produced in Vietnam, the Philippines and the United States.  She is currently the wife of Vietnamese-American actor Dustin Nguyen.

Born in Bien Hoa, Vietnam as Pham Thi Thuy, she would later acquire the name, Bebe, when she became a model at the age of 19.  She first signed with LYDAC, the French-owned international modeling agency at their branch in Ho Chi Minh City.  It was there that she would be given the nickname, Bébé, by the predominantly French staff at the modeling agency due to her youthful baby face look.  After LYDAC closed down its Vietnam branch, she went on to sign with PL Agency, Vietnam's largest fashion modeling agency and management firm.  She had also been credited as BB Minh Thuy on many of her modeling assignments at the beginning of her career.

Despite her busy schedule as a successful fashion model, Bebe Pham managed to complete her studies at Lac Hong University in 2005 and earned a bachelor's degree in accounting.  That same year, she would also win the coveted Vietnam Supermodel 2005 award.  Two years later, Bebe Pham would make the successful transition from fashion model to film actress when she signed a three-year contract with Big Foot Entertainment, a Philippines-based film production studio.  In 2007, she starred in her first Filipino film, Deep Gold.  Among Bebe Pham's English-language films include Midnight Movie (2007), Victim of Circumstance (2009) and The Girl with No Number (2012).  In Vietnam, she is most known for her portrayal of Giang Binh in both the film and television series versions of Huyen Su Thien Do (2011).

Bebe Pham and Dustin Nguyen
on their wedding day (1-21-2015)

On January 21, 2015, Bebe Pham and Dustin Nguyen were married in a lavish wedding ceremony held at the Caravelle Hotel in Ho Chi Minh City.  Prior to their wedding, the couple had become parents to two daughters, Sky (b.2013) and Scarlett (b.2014).

Link(s):

50 Most Beautiful Vietnamese Women of All Time
Bebe Pham's Official Website

Jeannie Mai (TV Personality)

For the Eurasian Vietnamese Singer, see Jeannie Mai (Singer).

Jeannie Mai (1979-    ) is an American television personality who had first gotten her start as a make-up artist for celebrities.  She is originally from San Jose, California and was born to parents of Vietnamese origin.

While a freshman at De Anza College where she was studying to become a communications major, Jeannie Mai began working for MAC Cosmetics at the age of 18.  As a trainer at MAC Cosmetics, she was able to hone her skills as a make-up artist and within a couple of years developed for herself a clientele that included such high profile celebrities like Christina Aguilera, Alicia Keyes and Rosario Dawson.  She also found work as a celebrity make-up artist on Good Day, Sacramento, MTV's Total Request Live and KCAL Los Angeles.

Jeannie Mai began working in front of the camera in 2003 co-hosting an Asian-American magazine show, Stir.  Her wit and charming personality was quickly taken notice by the executives at California Music Channel, a San Francisco based music videos program, who offered her a position to host her own music countdown.  Shortly thereafter, Jeannie Mai became an entertainment reporter and producer on WB's The Daily Mixx.  

In the following years, Jeannie Mai's popularity as a television personality would grow to a national level hosting various entertainment and fashion related segments for such networks as E!, Lifetime, TLC and NBC.  Her sense of style and insightful editorials on fashion were widely received by television viewer audiences which spawned a career for Jeannie Mai as a fashion expert.  She has been affectionately dubbed as a "fashion wearapist" by her fans through the years.  Since 2011, Jeannie Mai has been co-host of the Miss Universe beauty pageant.

Since 2013, Jeannie Mai has hosted a live weekly show, Style Pop, for the Style Network.  She is also the co-host of the widely popular Fox talk show, The Real, alongside Tamera Mowry, Loni Love, Adrienne Bailon and Tamar Braxton.  She has continued to make frequent appearances as a fashion expert on such television programs such as The Today Show, Wendy Williams and E! News.  

In addition to her television work, Jeannie Mai also devotes much of her time as a philanthropist.  She is quite active with Heartbeat Vietnam, an organization that helps to provide health care for impoverished children in Vietnam, and NightLight International, an organization that helps rescue women and children who have been victimized through sex trafficking.

She has been married since 2007 to Freddy Harteis, the host of The Hollywood Hunter for the Sportsman Channel.

Link(s):

30 Sexiest Vietnamese Celebs of 2016

External Link(s):

Jeannie Mai's Official Website

Tiana Alexandra

Tiana Alexandra (1956-     ) is a Vietnamese-American actress, film producer and documentary filmmaker best known for her award-winning 1992 film, From Hollywood to Hanoi.

Born on August 11, 1956 in Saigon with a given birth name as Du Thi Thanh Nga, she spent the first ten years of her life in South Vietnam being brought up in an affluent, privileged family.  Tiana's father, Du Phuoc Long, was a prominent South Vietnamese politician who had served as Director of Press in Saigon and Cultural Attaché in Washington, D.C. for the U.S. allied administration of President Ngo Dinh Diem of South Vietnam.  Three years following the assassination of President Diem, Tiana's family decided to emigrate to the United States in 1966 leaving behind their aristocratic social status they had been accustomed to back in their native Saigon.  They first resettled in Fairfax, Virginia where her father would continue as the family provider working as a diplomat for the South Vietnamese Embassy in Washington, D.C.  Despite the challenges her family would face as an immigrant family in the United States, they adapted quite well into American middle class society rather quickly.  Her father would further his education at Georgetown University Diplomatic School and Johns Hopkins University Graduate School of Advanced International Studies.  He would later become a scriptwriter and newscaster for Voice of America, as well as an author with a published novel, The Dream Shattered:  Vietnamese Gangs in America (1997).  Like her father who would take on an anglicized name as Patrick Du Long upon resettling in the United States, she had taken on the name Tiana, which is an anglicized version of her Vietnamese name.

Tiana Alexandra attended Fairfax High School in Virginia.  It was during high school that Tiana started to actively pursue her interests in performing arts, as well as martial arts.  At a nationals competition held by martial arts master Jhoon Ree, she would be introduced to legendary martial arts movie actor Bruce Lee.  She would become Bruce Lee's very first female protégée.  Tiana left home while still a teenager and relocated to Hollywood, California.  Through her friendship with Bruce Lee, she would meet her future husband, Academy Award-winning screenwriter Stirling Silliphant. Their wedding took place at the legendary Chasen's Restaurant in West Hollywood on July 4, 1975 while Tiana was still a month shy from turning 18.  The star-studded wedding ceremony included a guest list of celebrities that were in attendance such as Natalie Wood, Robert Wagner, William Holden and Henry Mancini.

For the remainder of the 1970s decade, mainstream America would become more familiarized with Tiana Alexandra.  Together with her husband, she would make guest appearances on nationally televised shows such as The Mike Douglas Show, The Reed Ferrell Show and Tattletales.  Becoming the first Vietnamese-American member of the Screen Actor's Guild, Tiana Alexandra made her film debut co-starring with James Caan and Robert Duvall in The Killer Elite (1975).  She has also starred in a string of made-for-television movies and mini-series which include Pearl (1978), Fly Away Home (1981) and The Three Kings (1987).  Tiana Alexandra had also embarked on a short-lived singing career during the early 1980s under the management of Bill Wyman of The Rolling Stones.

By the 1990s, Tiana Alexandra had started another career as a filmmaker.  Her very first film in which she had written, directed and produced was released in 1992 called From Hollywood to Hanoi.  With Oliver Stone as executive producer, the film was an autobiographical documentary of Tiana Alexandra's life and also highlighted several important issues concerning the Vietmam War, bilateral conflicts between Vietnam and the United States and the plight of Amerasians and Vietnamese-Americans.  The 78 minutes long documentary included numerous footage with clips of Tiana Alexandra interviewing several key players from the Vietnam War such as General Nguyen Giap Vo, General William Westmoreland, Nobel Peace Prize Winner Le Duc Tho, as well as cameo appearances of celebrity icons within Vietnamese pop culture such as film actors Tran Quang and Tham Thuy Hang and Vietnamese-American pop music singer Tuan Anh.  The film was a critical success and had won several awards in the film industry including the Best of the Fest Award at the 1995 Telluride Film Festival.  It should also be noted that From Hollywood to Hanoi is the very first American-produced film shot on location in Vietnam since the Fall of Saigon.

Tiana Alexandra interviewed by
Bryant Gumbel on Today

Together with Oliver Stone, Tiana Alexandra had co-founded the Indochina Film Arts Foundation in 1993.  For more than two decades, the foundation has put together cooperative projects in fine arts, theater, films, educational workshops, lectures and radio broadcasting.  She has also lectured at many top universities across the United States including Harvard University, Notre Dame University, UC Berkeley, UC Santa Barbara, Stanford University, Columbia University and the University of Southern California.  As of 2013, the foundation has shortened its name and now operates simply as Film Arts Foundation.

Since From Hollywood to Hanoi, Tiana Alexandra has worked on a series of other critically acclaimed documentaries and film projects.  Most notable was her 2005 documentary, Requiem, which commemorated the 30th Anniversary Reunion of the Associated Press War Photographers and featured Pullitzer Prize winners Peter Arnett and Nick Ut.  In 2011. Tiana Alexandra was credited as associate producer of the film, A Dangerous Method, about Swiss psychologist Carl Jung and was based on the Christopher Hampton play, The Talking Cure.  On April of 2015, Tiana Alexandra wrapped up production of her next documentary project, The General and Me, which focuses on her relationship with General Nguyen Giap Vo .

Tiana Alexandra was married to Stirling Siliphant, screenwriter most famous for his Academy Award-winning screenplay of In the Heat of the Night (1967), for over 20 years from 1975 until his death on April 26, 1996.  Together, they had one child.

Link(s):  

50 Most Beautiful Vietnamese Women of All Time
Tiana Alexandra's Official Website

Nguyen Hung

Nguyễn Hưng (1955-    ) is an overseas Vietnamese singer.  Born in Saigon as the youngest child of a dance instructor, Nguyen Hung began his career as a performer in ballroom dancing while still a teenager.  At the age of 17, he entered and won first prize in a ballroom dance contest sponsored by Trang Den Magazine in Saigon.  After the Fall of Saigon, Nguyen Hung became a circus performer working with several circus troupes in Vietnam such as Doc Lap and Bong Sen.  In 1982, he opened his own ballroom dance studio and school in Ho Chi Minh City.

Upon his marriage to a Canadian citizen of Vietnamese origin, Nguyen Hung relocated to Toronto in 1992.  Two years later, he would sign with Thuy Nga Paris and has since become one of the most popular performers on the Paris By Night stage.  Among his most popular music video appearances for Thuy Nga Paris include a performance featured on volume 29 filmed in 1994 where he danced alongside hostess Nguyễn Cao Kỳ Duyên.  Nguyen Hung has recorded over a dozen solo studio albums for Thuy Nga Paris along with several duet studio albums with Thùy Vân, Bảo Ngọc. Hồ Lệ Thu, Thế Sơn, Như Quỳnh, Ái Vân, Như Loan. Hương Lan, Phi Nhung, Loan Châu, Thủy Tiên and Lưu Bích.

Dong Nhi and Nguyen Hung performing
on Sol Vang stage in Ho Chi Minh City (April, 2015)

Nguyen Hung has performed at live shows for Vietnamese audiences all over the world.  He and his wife divide their time between homes in Toronto and Ho Chi Minh City.  They have two children, a son and a daughter.  In addition to his career as a professional Vietnamese singer, Nguyen Hung also is a restaurateur and owns his own restaurant in Toronto, named simply as Nguyễn Hưng Restaurant.




Link(s):

Vietnamese Celebrity Homes Part 2

Kieu Nga

Kieu Nga (1960-    ) is a Vietnamese-American singer most known for her interpretations of French love songs in the 1980s.  Born on May 22, 1960, Kieu Nga grew up in Saigon and left her native homeland for the United States in 1983.  She first rose to prominence with her recordings for the label, Asia Productions, during the 1980s.


After Kieu Nga had made numerous recordings for Asia Productions, Giang Ngoc, Da Lan and Kim Ngan, she had yet to make her first live performance until 1986 when she performed alongside another fellow overseas Vietnamese diva, Ngoc Lan, in Houston.  On that very first live performance, Kieu Nga thrilled audiences with her live interpretations of songs such as Ngo Thuy Mien's Giang Ngoc, Duc Huy's Bay Di Canh Chim Bien and French popular songs such as Lui and Il Te Parle D'amour.  Although she was quite nervous, she managed to receive one thunderous applause to another from her live audience.  From then on, her career as a live performer took off.  Kieu Nga would later perform at live shows for overseas Vietnamese audiences all across the United States, Canada, Australia and Europe.  She would become dubbed as the Vietnamese Queen of French Love Songs by Vietnamese audiences worldwide.

During the 1980s and 1990s, Kieu Nga recorded a series of studio solo albums.  Her first solo studio album was released by Asia Productions in 1985, Tinh Khuc ABBA, a compilation of songs made famous by the Swedish group.  Kieu Nga later collaborated with Lang Van which produced several of her most successful solo studio albums in the 1980s such as Nhu Giot Sau Roi (1987), Chuyen Lo Muoi Nam Tinh Cu (1988) and Tinh Khuc Carpenters (1989).  Kieu Nga also enjoyed tremendous success with several duo studio albums recorded with Ngoc Lan for the Nguoi Dep Binh Duong music production label.  She along with Ngoc Lan and Nhu Mai were considered the three most successful overseas Vietnamese female singers of the 1980s.

Ngoc Lan and Kieu Nga
  in their music video of Anh Thi Khong (Toi Jamais) for May Productions

Kieu Nga has rarely appeared on music videos.  In 1990, Kieu Nga had appeared on Asia Productions Volume 1, Tinh Yeu va Tuoi Tre, in a music video made for her recording of Xin Con Goi Ten Nhau.  In 1994, Kieu Nga appeared on Ngoc Chanh's Shotguns Productions music video showcase with her performance of Vi Em Yeu Anh.  Her most popular music video appearance to date was for May Productions in which she appeared alongside Ngoc Lan in their duet version of Sylvie Vartan's Toi Jamais, entitled in Vietnamese as Anh Thi Khong.  Most recently, Kieu Nga had appeared on Asia Productions performing in a duet rendition of May Lang Thang with Trish Thuy Trang.

Her brother is legendary Vietnamese singer Elvis Phuong.  She is also the aunt of singer Phuong Hung.  Kieu Nga has returned to Vietnam on several successful concert tours since the 1990s.  She continues to perform occasionally at live shows for Vietnamese audiences worldwide.  Aside from her singing career, Kieu Nga devotes much of her time as a single mother of a teenager child.  

Mai Le Huyen

Mai Le Huyen (1946-    ) is a Vietnamese singer and actress.  She has often been accredited as the pioneer female singer of rock and roll music of Vietnam.  Born as Nguyen Thi Kim Cuc to Laotian-Vietnamese intermarried parents, she started her professional singing career at the age of 17 when she relocated to Saigon from her hometown of Binh Long.  At one of her earliest steady performing gigs, Van Canh music venue in Saigon , she had befriended several musicians such as Dinh Viet Lang, Tran Trinh and Van Thuyet Linh who together had come up with a stage name for the up and coming rock and roll chanteuse.  From then on, she would be known across the country as Mai Le Huyen.

As a protégée of musician/songwriter Tran Trinh, Mai Le Huyen's first hit single that had brought her to prominence was a ballad he had written especially for her called Le Da (Tears of a Stone).  Other songs she had also become known for had been written and composed by musician Y Van such as Ao Anh (Illusions) and Thoi (No).  But it was Mai Le Huyen's interpretations of Vietnamese rock and roll music that truly had set her apart from other singers of South Vietnam during her day.  Among her signature rock and roll tunes that had turned her into a major star included Hai Trai Tim Vang (Two Golden Hearts), Mat Xanh Con Gai (Blue Eyed Girl), Co Nho Dem Nao (Remember That Night?) and Tup Leo Ly Tuong (Ideal Shack).  

On stage, Mai Le Huyen's trademark livelihood and unmatched energy had quickly earned for herself a reputation of being among Saigon's top crowd pleasers.  Her career had skyrocketed at the rate that was comparable to that of a speeding bullet.  From the moment she first exploded onto the cabaret scene of Saigon, Mai Le Huyen had evolved from a featured up and coming new sensation into a major headliner almost overnight.  Shortly after she had relocated to Saigon, through an introduction from veteran performer Tran Van Trach, Mai Le Huyen began singing at several clubs and bars which catered primarily to US military personnel patrons alongside other up and coming new performers also on the rise to stardom such as Elvis Phuong, Khanh Ha and Anh Tu. Soon after, she would become one of the most bankable and in demand headliners of various major concert events across South Vietnam.  She had also conquered the hearts of the South Vietnamese ARVN troops through her countless interpretaions of songs that had similar themes pertaining to the lives of military troops such as Nguoi Linh Chung Tinh (Faithful Soldier), Nang Tien Cua Linh (A Soldier's Goddess) and Tinh Yeu va Thuy Thu (A Sailor's Love).  Along with veteran performers such as Duy Khanh and Nhat Truong, she toured relentlessly throughout the country entertaining ARVN troops.

Hung Cuong and Mai Le Huyen 

Her numerous collaborations with various major record labels in South Vietnam like Shotguns, Continental, Song Nhac, Viet Nam, Thanh Thuy, Thuong Ca, Hoang Thi Tho, Nha Ca and Hoa Mi had made Mai Le Huyen one of the most prolific recording artists in the music industry of South Vietnam from 1965 until 1975.  When she teamed up with famous actor/singer Hung Cuong as a duo, her fame continued to grow even higher as the pair enjoyed blockbuster successes with their many duets recorded and released on vinyl, as well as a series of studio albums recorded as a duo released on audio cassette.  Hung Cuong and Mai Le Huyen would become the most popular among singing duos in South Vietnam.  They would become the highest paid singing duo act of South Vietnam with an unprecedented highest salary command per live concert appearance.  Their popularity would also include their contributions as movie actors as the two had starred in a series of light-hearted, comedic movies together in Saigon.


During the height of Mai Le Huyen's singing career in South Vietnam, she had also partaken another successful career as an actress.  Beginning as a stage actress, she starred on several plays as a theater troupe performer headed by Tham Thuy Hang and Tuy Hong.  On the small screen, Mai Le Huyen also found success familiarizing herself with television audiences of South Vietnam with her frequent appearances in comedy sketches of the weekly television program produced and hosted by La Thoai Tan called 45 Phut Vui La Thoai Tan (45 Minutes of Comedy La Thoai Tan).  Her popularity from that show would lead to her own television weekly show simply called Mai Le Huyen's Show.  And on the silver screen, Mai Le Huyen would also achieve fame and success with starring roles in a string of movie productions in South Vietnam such as Gac Chuong Nha Tho (The Church Bell Towers), Manh Luc Dong Tien (The Power of Money), Ly Ruou Mung (A Toasted Glass), Con Gi Cho Nhau (What Has Remained for Us) which costarred Hung Cuong and Mong Tuyen and Nha Toi (My Old Man), a well received comedy in which she had costarred with La Thoai Tan who was also producer of the movie.

Mai Le Huyen's extraordinary successes in both careers as a singer and an actress had made her one of the wealthiest women in show business of South Vietnam by 1970.  Being one of the highest paid musical performers at live shows, as well as her lucrative earnings as a recording artist in less than five years had enabled her the financial capability to go into business for herself.  After buying out the cabaret club at Khach San De Nhat (Premiere Hotel) in Saigon, Mai Le Huyen joined the ranks of her colleagues Thanh Thuy and Khanh Ly in running her own nightclub.  According to several articles published on various Vietnamese entertainment magazines, it was at this nightclub under the ownership by Mai Le Huyen where performers like Thai Chau and Jeannie Mai had started their careers.  Mai Le Huyen would remain on top of her career in South Vietnam all the way until the year of 1975.  Audiences in South Vietnam will always remember Mai Le Huyen for her signature look of mini skirts, short hair and curvaceous figure.

After the Fall of Saigon in 1975, Mai Le Huyen moved to the United States.  She has continued her career as a performer recording for various overseas Vietnamese music production labels and has performed at live shows all over the world.  Mai Le Huyen has focused more in her career overseas as a comedic actress appearing in several comedy sketches for Asia Entertainment.

As for her personal life, Mai Le Huyen has been twice married.  Her first husband was musician Tran Trinh who had written the song, Le Da.  That first marriage had produced a daughter, Kim Dung, who is now a singer in Vietnam.  Her second marriage took place in the United States.  Recently widowed, Mai Le Huyen has experienced some financial woes having to care for a grown daughter with Down Syndrome.

Link(s):

Another 50 Most Beautiful Vietnamese Women of All Time

Tuy Phuong

Tuy Phuong (1939-2001) was a singer and actress of South Vietnam prior to 1975.  During the early 1960s, she was among the most famous singers at cabarets in Saigon.  A multilingual songstress, Tuy Phuong was known as Vietnam's queen of the twist for her interpretations of popular songs in this music genre and abilities as a talented dancer.  Her mother was the legendary film actress and singer Tuy Hoa.

Born in Bac Lieu, South Vietnam in 1939, Tuy Phuong and her mother moved to Phnom Penh, Cambodia when she was six years old in 1945.  As a single mother, Tuy Hoa, worked as a singer for the Tony Murena band at the Rex cabaret in Phnom Penh for several years before returning to Vietnam.  She began her career as a stage actress at the age of 15 under the guidance of her mother.  Tuy Phuong acted alongside such famous actors like Kim Cuong, Tham Thuy Hang, Ngoc Duc and her mother, Tuy Hoa, in various plays like Tra Hoa Nu, Nguoi Me Toi Loi, Dua Con Chi Bep, Yeu Trong Bong Toi and Ao Anh.  

At the age of 17, Tuy Phuong entered and won first prize in the beauty pageant sponsored by Dong Duong Film Studio.  A prominent film career would immediately follow.  Taken under the wings of actress, Bich Thuan, Tuy Phuong starred in a series of films which included Tinh Que Y Nhac, Thach Sanh Ly Thong, Manh Luc Dong Tien, Bich Cau Ky Ngo and Anh Sang Do Thanh, a joint venture film production between Vietnam and the Philippines.

In 1959, Tuy Phuong embarked on her music career.  Together with musicians Tung Lam and Tung Giang, she formed a trio known as Muon Phuong.  Tuy Phuong would become one of the major headliners at Hoa Binh venue in Saigon in the 1960s.  Among her signature songs included Mambo Italiano, Suong Thu written by Van Phung and Xin Le Cuoi Em written by Thong Dat.  Although Tuy Phuong had possessed a well trained singing voice, her audience seemed to pay more attention to her beauty rather than her singing talents.

After 1975, Tuy Phuong continued with her career as a performer appearing in numerous comedy sketches for the Tan Dan Nam acting troupe.  She returned as a musical performer at the reopening of the Hoa Binh venue in Ho Chi Minh City becoming one of the first among the showcase of regular performers there alongside Cam Van, Bao Yen and Nha Phuong during the 1980s.  After the passing of her mother in 1995, Tuy Phuong rarely made any public appearances and retired as a live performer.

On November 13, 2001, Tuy Phuong passed away after a long battle with cancer.  She left behind a husband of over 30 years.  Tuy Phuong had no children.

Link(s):

50 Most Beautiful Vietnamese Women of All Time

Minh Thuan

Minh Thuan (1969-2016) was a popular singer and actor in Vietnam.  Born on September 12, 1969 in Saigon, South Vietnam, he had come from a family of first-generation Northern Vietnamese migrants from Ninh Binh province.  At the age of five, Minh Thuan began singing for the local church choir in Saigon with encouragement from his mother.  He began his professional singing career at the age of 14 in early 1984 when he became a regular performer at the Cultural Performing Arts Theater located in the fifth district of Ho Chi Minh City.

In the early 1990s, Minh Thuan first gained national prominence as part of a singing duo along with another fellow male vocalist Nhat Hao.  The two began performing together back in 1988 when they had first met singing for a political music troupe known as Tien Dat in Ho Chi Minh City.  Four years later, the duo would record their very first studio album together titled as Chang Trai Beijing (Beijing Boy) which featured a collection of covers of popular Chinese love songs.  Its enormous success with skyrocketing sales made it one of the bestsellers in the pop music industry of Vietnam during the year of 1992.  The unexpected success with the release of this debut album led to a series of Chang Trai Beijing releases in the years to come which in total consisted of 12 volumes.  They had become one of the most in demand acts among nightly performers at various music venues and cabarets in Ho Chi Minh City during the 1990s.  At the height of their popularity, Minh Thuan and Nhat Hao maintained a grueling schedule of performing at 22 different locations around Ho Chi Minh City on a nightly basis, a record among live performers in Vietnam that is still firmly held by the duo to this day.  The duo had also become known with several signature trademarks such as their high energy live performances and style of dress that was often compared and praised to the ranks of Hong Kong's top male celebrities and fashion icons.  Minh Thuan and Nhat Hao  were also among the very few famous Vietnamese entertainers with long hair.  In a traditionally conservative culture like Vietnam, this had never happened before.  Yet not only did the audience accept these two male singers with long hair, but it had become a signature look for the duo and contributed significantly to their popularity.

Nhat Hao (right) and Minh Thuan (left)
 photographed on the cover of one of their recorded studio albums as a duo

After eight years of performing together as a duo, Minh Thuan and Nhat Hao both decided to go their separate ways in 1996.  Although the both of them would go on to pursue solo careers, Nhat Hao eventually would leave Vietnam and take up permanent residence in the United States while Minh Thuan's career as a solo artist in Vietnam would continue to flourish throughout the next decade.  Minh Thuan has since appeared on many music video productions and has recorded for prominent record labels in Vietnam such as Kim Loi, Mua Hong, Rang Dong and Hoang Dinh.  In 1996, Minh Thuan had set up his own music production label in which had released several of his most successful studio albums Loi Chuc Phuc (1996), Tra No Tinh Xa (1998), Tinh Phieu Lang (2001) and Ngay Tho Au Da Xa (2003).  He has also appeared on many duet albums with other artists, most notably Phuong Thanh who also happens to be one of his closest friends.  Minh Thuan and Phuong Thanh have enjoyed tremendous success with their recorded duets of hit songs like Telephone, Ly Ngua O and Con Gai Bay Gio.  Other artists that have also recorded duets with Minh Thuan include My Tam, Cam Ly, Minh Tuyet, La Suong Suong and Sy Ben.

As of 2006, Minh Thuan had chosen to remain inactive in his career as a recording artist.  Despite making occasional appearances as a music performer at live shows, he had since shifted his focus into his acting career.  Minh Thuan has appeared on the big screen of Vietnamese cinema with an impressive resume which includes films like Hon Thuong Ba, Da Hang Thit (Truong Ba's Soul in the Butcher's Body) (2006) which had starred Johnny Tri Nguyen and Phuong Thanh and two starring vehicles of film actress Van Trang, Thien Menh Anh Hung (2012) and Scandal:  Bi Mat Tham Do (2012).  In 2008, he had starred in his most famous role to date as Ninh Lam in the extremely popular Vietnamese drama series, Co Gai Xau Xi, which was a Vietnamese adaptation of the popular television series, Ugly Betty, produced in the United States.  Although this was his first casting on a television drama series, Minh Thuan successfully proved himself to television viewer audiences  that he could definitely hold his own working alongside such acting pros like Ngoc Hiep, Lan Phuong and Binh Minh.  Two years later, Minh Thuan would be cast on another Vietnamese television drama series called, Cho Mot Tinh Yeu, which also starred fellow singers turned actors My Tam and Quang Dung.

On September 2, 2016, Minh Thuan was admitted to Pham Ngoc Thach Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City after suffering a stroke.  It was there that doctors discovered that he had been stricken with advanced stage lung cancer.  Minh Thuan took his last breath at 8:15am on September, 18, 2016.  He was cremated at Binh Hung Hoa Cemetary in Ho Chi Minh City.  Minh Thuan was only 47.