Ðoàn Mai Phương (1964- ) often credited simply as
Mai Phương, is a famous Vietnamese actress, radio hostess, director and businesswoman.
Originally from Hanoi, Ðoàn Mai Phương was born into a well known family of theatrical arts. Her father was renowned play director
Ðoàn Bá. Two of her younger sisters,
Mai Trang and
Mai Lan have also grown up to become established Vietnamese actresses of stage, television and film. Her youngest brother,
Đoàn Bình, is currently a well-known actor of stage, television and film in Vietnam and is one of the most popular troupe performers for
Sân Khấu Kịch Phú Nhuận, the playhouse theater headed by comedienne/actress
Hồng Vân. After graduating from the acclaimed theater academy in Vietnam,
Trường Nghệ Thuật Sân khấu II, Ðoàn Mai Phương was immediately recruited by the
Bông Hồng Theater Troupe and was often cast as the lead female character alongside actress
Hoa Hạ in a string of highly successful plays throughout the 1980s such as
Tiếng Nổ Lúc 0 Giờ,
Người Cần Được Bảo Vệ,
Đời Chỉ Có Một Lần and
Nụ Hôn Có Vị Mặn. She made her debut on the silver screen with a supporting role in the feature film,
Ngọn Lửa Thành Đồng (1980). For her next three feature films, Ðoàn Mai Phương would continue to land supporting roles in
Con Thú Tật Nguyền (1984) starring Vietnamese cinema heartthrob actor
Trần Quang and actress
Phương Dung,
Cầu Rạch Chiếc (1985) and
Ván Bài Lật Ngửa Part VI: Lời Cảnh Cáo Cuối Cùng (1986) starring
Nguyễn Chánh Tín and
Thanh Lan. Ðoàn Mai Phương starred in her first lead role in a feature film,
Lầm Lỡ, which was also released in 1986. Two years later, Ðoàn Mai Phương would receive critical praises for her performances as the lead female characters in the feature films,
Biển Bờ, in which she teamed up again with leading man, Trần Quang, and the controversial
Những Đứa Con Lạc Loài, which was also released to overseas Vietnamese audiences on video re-titled as
Nữ Chúa Sài Gòn, as Mini Hồng, Saigon's infamous lady mobster, and costarred actress
Mộng Vân. Among her other feature films produced in Vietnam include
Tiếng Gọi Lúc Mờ Sáng (1987),
Người Trong Cuộc (1987),
Chiều Sâu Tội Ác (1988) with Thanh Lan,
Người Tìm Vàng (1989) and
Người Đàn Bà Bị Săn Đuổi (1989).
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Nguyễn Chánh Tín and Ðoàn Mai Phương in the film,
Ván Bài Lật Ngửa Part VI: Lời Cảnh Cáo Cuối Cùng (1986) |
In 1989, Ðoàn Mai Phương married an overseas Vietnamese French citizen and welcomed the birth of a son the following year. Shortly thereafter, she along with husband and child relocated to Nouméa, New Caledonia where they would remain for over a year before eventually resettling in Paris, France. While in Paris, Ðoàn Mai Phương enrolled in cosmetology school and studied to become a makeup artist. In 1994, she starred alongside
Việt Hùng,
Ngọc Nuôi and
Hoàng Long in her first overseas Vietnamese produced film,
Bụi Bolsa, directed by
Lê Tuấn, In 1996, she co-hosted alongside
Nguyễn Ngọc Ngạn and
Nguyễn Cao Kỳ Duyên volume 32 of the popular live show video series,
Paris By Night: 20 Năm Nhìn Lại, produced by
Thúy Nga. After her marriage of 10 years ended in divorce during the late 1990s, Ðoàn Mai Phương decided to relocate permanently to Southern California where she successfully embarked on a new career as a radio talk show hostess for
Sài Gòn Cali Radio Hải Ngoại on
KALI - 106.3 FM alongside
Quốc Thái,
Băng Châu,
Quỳnh Hương and
Khả Tú. In addition, she has also found success as a businesswoman owning her own business,
Mai Phương Beauty & Wellness Center, located in Westminster, California. Ðoàn Mai Phương is also partnered with Quốc Thái in an entertainment company which includes ownership of the
Saigon Performing Arts Center in Fountain Valley, California which houses many of the plays she has starred in, directed and produced for audiences of the Little Saigon community of Orange County, California. Throughout the past two decades, her contributions in live theater have significantly played a major role in helping preserve the art of live theater performance within the Vietnamese-American community. Among the many live theater productions held at the Saigon Performing Arts Center starring Ðoàn Mai Phương through the years have included adaptations in Vietnamese of William Shakespeare's
Romeo and Juliette (Romeo và Juliette) which costarred
Tuấn Hùng,
Anh Dũng,
Trâm Anh,
Bé Mập,
Calvin Hiệp,
Leon Vũ and
Huy MC, Georges Bizet's
Carmen (Cô Gái Không Tình Yêu Carmen) which costarred
Vũ Khanh and
Ái Vân and
Cha Yêu, a reprisal of the classic Vietnamese play written by legendary playwright
Thanh Hoàng.
After an absence of 22 years, in 2011 Ðoàn Mai Phương returned to Vietnam and accepted a role in the Vietnamese 30-episode long television mini-series,
Cá Cược Cuộc Ðời, starring
Đức Hải,
Thân Thúy Hà and
Lê Bê La. In 2016, she was selected to serve among the panel of judges at the
Mrs. Vietnam Business Achievement & Miss Vietnam Worldwide Beauty Pageant held at the M3 Live Event Center in Anaheim, California, sponsored by
Blue Ocean Music Productions. It has been reported that Ðoàn Mai Phương and Quốc Thái have been in a long-term, committed relationship that has lasted for more than a decade.
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