Helen Thanh Dao

Helen Thanh Đào (1977-    ) is a famous actress of Taiwanese television dramas originally from Vietnam.

In 1999, Helen Thanh Đào left Vietnam to resettle in Taipei, Taiwan.  Three years later, she entered a national model search competition in Taiwan where she had placed in the top 5 out of 1,500 contestants.  The exposure Helen Thanh Đào gained from the modeling competition opened many doors for her in Taiwan's entertainment industry.  She then pursued her childhood dream of  becoming an actress landing various roles, from smaller to supporting, on Taiwanese television dramas and freelanced as a model for major international brand name products such as Mugi.   In 2005, Helen Thanh Đào returned to Vietnam and costarred in her first Vietnamese television movie, Đô-la Trắng (White Dollars), alongside veteran martial arts actor Lý Hùng and model/actress Ngọc Thúy.  Her performance as Khánh Băng in her debut Vietnamese television movie won praises from both critics and viewer audiences solidifying her entrance into the Vietnamese entertainment industry.  The following year, Helen Thanh Đào was honored with an HTV Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role in a Television Movie.

For the remainder of the 2000s decade, Helen Thanh Đào was able to enjoy a successful career as an actress on both the silver and small screens in Vietnam, as she traveled back and forth from Taiwan.  Among her television and feature film acting credits in Vietnam during this period include Hai Mảnh Đời (2006) starring Kim Ngân, Hoài An and Cao Minh Đạt, Giá Mua Một Thượng Đế (2006) starring Việt Trinh and Lý Nhã Kỳ, Ván Cờ Tình Yêu (2007) starring Hà Kiều Anh and Huy Khánh, Luật Giang Hồ (2007) starring Kinh Quốc, Cuộc Chiến Hoa Hồng (2008) starring Trương Quỳnh Anh, Lê Khánh, Khương Ngọc and Hữu Châu, Sóng Gió Thương Trường (2008) starring Hoằng Phúc, Trịnh Kim Chi, Công Ninh and Thân Thúy Hà, Tiếng Dương Cầm Trên Biển (2009) starring Minh Tiệp and Jennifer Phạm and Định Mệnh (2009) starring Quốc Cường.

In Taiwan, Helen Thanh Đào reached national prominence in the 2010s starring in several highly rated television drama series.  Among her television acting credits in Taiwan include My Little Honeymoon (2012), for which she was nominated for Best Actress at the 47th annual Golden Bell Awards, Taiwan's equivalent to the Emmy Awards, My Dear Stilt (2012) and Brides Married Here (2016).  Her popularity in both Vietnam and Taiwan led to Helen Thanh Đào being appointed as ambassador of tourism between the two countries.

Since the beginning of her career in Taiwan, Helen Thanh Đào had falsified her personal information to the public concealing her real age, place of birth, ethnic origin and even marital status.  Helen Thanh Đào had initially made claims that she had been born on September 22, 1983 in Taipei, Taiwan to a Taiwanese father and a half-Vietnamese/half-Indian mother.  She had also shared with her public that she had been a foreign exchange student at UCLA and was still an unmarried young woman.  For many years, the Taiwanese paparazzi were only able to speculate about Helen Thanh Đào's personal life and her relationship with her manager, Đới Phát Khuê (Pinyin:  Dai Fa-quei), a Taiwanese former business executive.  More falsified claims would continue to sprout later on in her career as the actress revealed to both the Taiwanese and Vietnamese medias about the sudden loss of her mother in an automobile accident in 2010, followed by her brother's suicide the following year.   As it turned out, both of these tragic events had never actually taken place, but were mere fabrications by the actress as publicity stunts in hopes of gaining sympathy from the public.

Andy Quách (left), Helen Thanh Đào (center) and Thuỳ Anh (right)
 at Movie Premeire of Nếu Ta Còn Bên Nhau (9-20-18)

Finally, on January 8, 2017 at a press conference held in Taipei, Taiwan, Helen Thanh Đào decided to come clean to the public about her personal information.  During the press conference, she revealed that she had actually been born as Nguyễn Thanh Đào on September 23, 1977 in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam to both parents whom are Vietnamese and that she was not of mixed with either Taiwanese or Indian blood as she had previously claimed.  She had also confessed that she had never attended UCLA, but had graduated from Hùng Vương University in Ho Chi Minh City with a bachelor's degree in economics prior to resettling in Taiwan.  The actress was most emotional when she admitted to having fabricated the family tragedies involving the untimely passings of her mother and brother to the media several years ago and that both her mother and brother, in fact, were still alive and well today.  The biggest shocker came about when she revealed that she had been married since 1999 to her manager, Dai Fa-quei, who had brought her to Taiwan that same year.  A few weeks following the infamous press conference, Helen Thanh Đào announced that she had filed for divorce on grounds of spousal abuse.  She further explained that her estranged husband had been the mastermind behind the fabricated lies about her personal information told to the media in the past.

Helen Thanh Đào at book signing event in Ho Chi Minh City (6-19-18)

At present, Helen Thanh Đào is trying her best to put her troubled past behind her by keeping busy in her career with several new projects.  On June 19, 2017, Helen Thanh Đào's book, a collection of her photos taken by various photographers around the world, was released in stores across Taiwan and Vietnam.  On November of that same year, Helen Thanh Đào announced that she will be hosting and producing the upcoming Miss Vietnam Global pageant held in Taiwan.  She is also currently working on a new film.