Phuong Thao

Phương Thảo (1968-    ) is a famous Vietnamese pop singer of Anglo-American and Vietnamese descent.  

Her mother, Nguyễn Thị Hoa, a Vietnamese typist employed by a government agency, had met her father, Jim Yoder, an American army operations sergeant during the summer of 1967 while he was stationed in Sa Đéc, South Vietnam.  Several weeks after their brief relationship, Nguyễn Thị Hoa discovered she was pregnant.  On March 13, 1968, Nguyễn Thị Hoa gave birth to a daughter she named Văn Thị Kim Lang (who would later become known by her stage name, Phương Thảo).  Jim Yoder, the baby's biological father, was unaware that his brief romance while stationed in Sa Đéc had produced a daughter.  He left Vietnam in 1969 to return home to the United States. 

Like many other Amerasians left behind in Vietnam after the Fall of Saigon, Phương Thảo grew up in an impoverished household.  Phương Thảo and her younger half-brother were brought up in a small shack in Sa Đéc where her mother worked as a street vendor.  At school, she was often teased by her fellow classmates for being Amerasian.  During her teen years, she turned to music for solace.  At the age of 19, after winning first prize at a talent competition she relocated to Ho Chi Minh City and embarked on a successful career as a professional Vietnamese pop singer.  

Phuong Thao in the film, Ngôi Sao Cô Đơn (1992) 

In the early 1990s, Phương Thảo had risen to become one of the biggest stars in the Vietnamese pop music industry.  She was able to take her family out of poverty within a short period of time after turning professional.  Phương Thảo headlined at all the major venues in Ho Chi Minh City and toured extensively throughout Vietnam.  She recorded for various music labels such as Bến Thành Audio, Vafaco and Saigon Audio.  In addition, Phương Thảo had also enjoyed a brief career as an actress starring in a total of 3 films opposite Lê Tuấn Anh, who was her leading man on and off screen:  Ngôi Sao Cô Đơn (1992) costarring the late Đơn Dương, Kim Xuân and Việt Anh, Tỷ Phú Không Tiền (1992) costarring Diễm Hương, Duy Phương and the late Út Bạch Lan and Em và Michael (1994) costarring Trương Ngọc Ánh, Huỳnh anh Tuấn and Ngọc Giàu.  Her immense popularity ranked comparably with the likes of other superstars such as Cẩm Vân, Bảo Yến, Nhã Phương and Thu Hà.  In 2000, America's People Magazine dubbed her as "Vietnam's answer to Mariah Carey".  

In 1992, Phương Thảo was interviewed by American author Thomas Bass who had traveled to Vietnam to do a documentary on Amerasians.  Phương Thảo's story deeply affected Thomas Bass who then took it upon himself to help find her father, Jim Yoder, in the United States.  Shortly thereafter, Phương Thảo and her father corresponded for the first time through mail.  Four years later, on November of 1996 Jim Yoder flew to Ho Chi Minh City to meet for the very first time his long lost daughter who was now a famous singer in Vietnam.  When Jim Yoder stepped off the airplane, he was greeted by his daughter, Phương Thảo, who handed him a bouquet of 28 roses, which represented the number of years the two of them had been apart.  The event turned into a media sensation as the Vietnamese paparazzi gathered right outside Tân Sơn Nhất International Airport along with hundreds of Phương Thảo's fans who had been closely following her story.

Phương Thảo and Ngọc Lễ

With her established career as one of the most successful singers in Vietnam, Phương Thảo twice passed up the opportunity to resettle in the United States during the 1990s.  She remained at the top of her game in Vietnam's pop music industry throughout the decade and well into the 2000s.  Her studio album, Café Một Mình, released in 1996 impressively sold over 100,000 units.  In the year 2000 Phương Thảo released another commercially and critically successful studio album, Ru Cho Con và Em, which was dedicated to her first-born daughter, NaNa.  Finally in 2006, Phương Thảo left her native Vietnam to resettle in the United States where she forged ahead with her career collaborating with the prominent overseas Vietnamese production label, Asia Entertainment.  Among her most memorable appearances on the popular live show video series produced by Asia Entertainment include songs performed with and written by her husband, Ngọc Lễ such as Xe Đạp Ơi, Ba Ngọn Nến Lung Linh, Giấc Mơ Mong Manh, Bài Thơ Cho Con and of course, Café Một Mình.  In addition, the pair had also performed songs written by others on Asia Entertainment's video series which include the duet with legendary singer Hà Thanh, Nha Trang written by Minh Kỳ and Hồ Đình Phương, another duet with Dalena, Làm Thơ Tình Em Đọc written by Trúc Hồ and Xuân và Tuổi Trẻ written by Thế Lữ.  After several years of constant touring around the United States, Phương Thảo and her husband both decided to take a break from live performances in order to have more time to spend with family.  

Phương Thảo (far right), Ngọc Lễ (front center)
and their daughters, Na Na and Nấm

Prior to meeting her current husband, musician/songwriter/singer Ngọc Lễ, Phương Thảo had been married twice.  Her second marriage was to Vietnamese film actor Lê Tuấn Anh during the early 1990s.  (Lê Tuấn Anh is now married to comedienne Hồng Vân.)  Phương Thảo and Ngọc Lễ have been happily married since 1996 and are proud parents of two daughters, Nana and Nấm.  Both daughters can be seen in their performance of Ba Ngọn Nến Lung Linh on volume 55 of Asia Entertainment's video series, 75 Năm Âm Nhạc Việt Nam Kỳ 2 - Hát Với Thần Tượng (2007).  They currently reside in Orange County, California.  A recording studio has been built inside their home where Phương Thảo and Ngọc Lễ write, produce and record their own music.