Thuy Nga

Thúy Nga (1976-    ) is a famous Vietnamese comedic actress.

Trần Thị Thúy Nga was born on August 5, 1976 in Quảng Ngãi, Vietnam and is the eldest in a family of two children.  Both her parents were highly educated professionals.  Her father was a civil engineer, while her mother was a physician.  From an early age, despite discouragement from her parents Thúy Nga dreamed of one day pursuing a career as an actress.  She also had dreams of becoming a singer, as well.  But those dreams were squashed when at the age of 13, a mysterious ailment left her permanently deaf in her left ear.  At the age of 18, she left her hometown of Quảng Ngãi after graduating from high school and relocated to Ho Chi Minh City where she would enroll at Trường Cao Đẳng Sân Khấu & Điện Ảnh (National Academy of Theatrical & Film Arts).  After graduating with a degree in drama from the Academy of Theatrical & Film Arts, Ho Chi Minh City, in 1997, Thúy Nga struggled to find work as an actress for the next several years.  After facing rejection after rejection at countless auditions, she considered putting aside her dreams of becoming an actress and began learning another craft in order to earn a living.  She found work as a seamstress while attending a trade school to become a tailor.  Just before completion of tailoring school, an opportunity in the field of entertainment came knocking at her door.  After a chance meeting with comedienne Hồng Vân in 2000, Thúy Nga was recruited as a troupe performer at her comedy theater, Sân Khấu Kịch Phú Nhuận.    

Since the year 2000, Thúy Nga has become one of the most successful comedic actresses of Vietnam.  She found her niche in portraying parodies of wacky, wise-cracking old ladies such as Bà Già Bán Khoai Nướng (The Old Lady Selling Roasted Sweet Potatoes).  With the ability to speak authentically in all three major dialects of the Vietnamese language, Thúy Nga easily became a fan favorite with audiences in all three regions of Vietnam.  In 2001, she was cast in her first feature film, Chiếc Chìa Khoá Vàng, a war epic comedy directed by Lê Hoàng and starred Mỹ Duyên and Tạ Ngọc Bảo.  From 2003 to 2005, for three consecutive seasons Thúy Nga appeared on the highly-rated Gala Cười television variety comedy show performing in such comedy sketches with Hồng Vân in Dạy Con, with Phú Quý, Văn Duy, Kim Huyền, Hương Hà and Nguyệt Minh in Cha Nào Con Nấy and with Quốc Thuận in Cầu Duyên, Mẹ Vợ Sành Điệu, Cô Gái Bán Khoai and Ôm Xe.  In 2004, she was honored with a Mai Vàng Award (Golden Orchid Award) for Best Comedic Actress for her performance in the comedy sketch, Cầu Duyên.  Thúy Nga has appeared in several other comedy feature films which include Lá Chúc Thư (2003), Khi Đàn Ông Có Bầu (When a Man Gets Pregnant) (2005) starring Nguyễn Phi Hùng, Kim Thư, Hồng Nga, Tấn Beo, Trương Ngọc Ánh, Bảo Quốc, Ngọc Giàu and Phương Thanh, Đẻ Mướn (Giving Hired Birth) (2005) starring Chi Bảo and Hà Kiều Anh, Lấy Vợ Sài Gòn (Marrying a Saigonese) (2005) starring Minh Thư, Nguyên Vũ and Hiền Thục, Hai Lúa (2014) with Trấn Thành, Thanh Nam and Diễm Hương and Bộ Ba Rắc Rối (2015) starring Kathy Uyên and Hoàng Oanh.

In 2009, Thúy Nga made her debut appearance on volume 96 of the popular live show video series, Paris By Night, which is produced by the overseas Vietnamese production studio coincidentally of the same name as hers, Thúy Nga, in a comedy sketch, Áo Em Chưa Mặc Một Lần (written by Nguyễn Ngọc Ngạn) alongside Chí Tài, Bằng Kiều and Bé Tí.  The overwhelming response from viewer audiences of the video series prompted the producers of Paris By Night to invite the comedic actress to return on volume 98 that same year with another performance in a comedy sketch written by Nguyễn Ngọc Ngạn, Trẻ Mãi Không Già, alongside Hương Thủy, Chí Tài and Bé Tí.  On January 10, 2009, Thúy Nga married Vietnamese-American businessman, Nguyễn Văn Nam, and resettled to Southern California shortly thereafter.  That same year, she was also honored with an HTV Award in Vietnam for Best Comedian of the Year.  On May 3, 2011, Thúy Nga gave birth to a daughter she named Nguyệt Cát, who would later join her mother on several performances for Paris By Night.  In 2014, her marriage ended in divorce.  

Chí Tài and Thúy Nga

Thúy Nga has maintained a continuous collaboration with Thúy Nga Productions appearing in a total of 22 volumes of the Paris By Night video series to date.  Among the various performers she has worked with in comedy sketches featured on the Paris By Night stage include Việt Hương, Trường Giang, Hoài Linh, Quang Minh, Hồng Đào and Nguyễn Cao Kỳ Duyên.  In 2013, she took her live show, Xin Lỗi Em Chỉ Là... Con Quỷ, on the road performing for Vietnamese audiences all over the United States, Canada, France, Belgium, Germany, Czech Republic, Russia, Australia and Vietnam.  That same year,  Thúy Nga returned for another season on Gala Cười in a comedy sketch, Bà Ngoại Thời @ with Hiếu Hiền, Diễm Hương and Đức Thịnh.  In 2015, Thúy Nga Productions released the DVD of her live show, Xin Lỗi Em Chỉ Là... Con Quỷ, complete with comedy sketches she performed alongside Bé Tí, Vũ Quang Trung, Nguyên Khoa, Minh Nhí, Văn Ruy, Minh Dũng, Leon Vũ, Mỹ Ngân, Bảo Quốc, Chí Tài, Trang Thanh Lan, Hữu Nghĩa and Calvin Hiệp along with musical performances by Thúy Nga, herself, Trịnh Nam Sơn, Tuấn Vũ, Trizzie Phương Trinh and Hương Lan.  Currently, she is working on the 11th season of Gala Cười.

Link(s):

Vietnamese Celebrity Homes Part 4