Born as Hoang Kim Hoa in Chau Doc, South Vietnam to a Vietnamese father and a Malaysian mother, she was the fourth eldest in a family of eleven children. At the age of 19, she was discovered by musician Le Van Thien after he had heard her sing Moon River during open mic one night at the Tour d'Ivoire Nightclub in Saigon. Impressed with her powerful vocals, Le Van Thien took the initiative of introducing her to Pat Lam, an established singer that had toured with the USO and performed for clubs and venues all over South Vietnam which primarily catered to patrons of US military personnel. Through Pat Lam's guidance, she was able to land her first gigs as a professional singer entertaining US troops. Her powerful, husky voice and soulful interpretations of popular American songs like Respect, Chain of Fools, Unchain My Heart, Unchained Melody, Oh Carol, Black Is Black, If You Go Away and What I Say quickly made her a crowd favorite at such venues. For the next two years, she would become one of the top performers at shows held at major US military bases in Cam Ranh, Ban Me Thuot and DaNang, as well as nightclubs with predominantly American audiences in Saigon. She was then known by her stage name simply as Carol.
She added "Kim" to her professional stage name, making her Carol Kim, in 1969 when she became a contracted exclusive headliner at the prestigious Tu Do cabaret in Saigon which was then run by singer Khanh Ly. Now, as she played in front of audiences made up of mostly Vietnamese members, Carol Kim had to learn and start singing Vietnamese songs. She would continue to perform exclusively at Tu Do until the infamous bombing incident in the fall of 1971, which resulted in the untimely death of film actress Thuy Ngoc, who had also been the wife of musician Le Van Thien, the man who had discovered Carol Kim several years prior. After Tu Do cabaret was shut down, she went on to perform nightly at Queen Bee, another upscale music venue in Saigon. During this period, she began recording for various Vietnamese record labels such as Shotguns, Pham Manh Cuong, Viet Nam, Nhac Tre, Jo Marcel, Kim Dang, Thanh Thuy and Truong Hai. Among her most popular Vietnamese hit songs prior to 1975 included Hay Khoc Di Em (Just Cry, My Dear) written by Trinh Cong Son, Noi Buon Con Gai (The Sadness of Being a Girl) written by Nhat Ngan and Tinh Phu (Betrayed Love) written by Do Le, which was also the featured theme song of the film, Song Tinh, starring Tham Thuy Hang released in 1972.
Carol Kim resettled in the United States after the Fall of Saigon where she has managed to continue with her successful singing career. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, she was a regular performer at the Ritz Nightclub in Anaheim, California, owned by legendary musician and promoter Ngoc Chanh. Among the lineup of singers of Ritz Nightclub, Carol Kim had held the longest professional association as she remained as a regular performer there up until 1999 when it went through a change of hands in ownership. She has also toured extensively performing at live shows for overseas Vietnamese audiences throughout the United States, Canada, Europe and Australia. In recent years, she has made several triumphant returns performing for live shows in her native Vietnam. Most notable was in 2007 when she had returned and performed with Kim Anh and Quang Thanh in a sold out show in Ho Chi Minh City.
In 1987, Carol Kim formed her own music production label, Carol Kim Productions, and released her first solo studio album outside of Vietnam entitled Chuyen Tinh Khong Doan Ket. The album was a commercial success and would be the first of a series of solo studio albums produced and released under her label. Among her other solo releases include Dung Bo Em Mot Minh (1988), Chi Co Anh (1989), Rong Reo (1992), Mot Coi Di Ve (1993), Trong Vang (1999) and Tai Doi Vang Anh (2001). In addition to recordings produced and released under her own label, Carol Kim had recorded and appeared on video for various other music production labels such as Lang Van, Thuy Nga Paris and Nguoi Dep Binh Duong. During the late 1980s, Carol Kim had appeared on Paris By Night Volumes 7 & 8 with performances of Phut Say Dam (Stop the Rain) and Oh Carol. She had also recorded a duet album with Tuan Anh, Thien Duyen Tien Dinh, released in 1992 by Tuan Anh Productions. Her last solo studio album released to date, Dau Tinh Thien An (2011), was a collection of Gospel songs. In 2011, Carol Kim had appeared on Paris by Night Volume 101 videotaped live at the Pechanga Resort and Casino in Southern California in a comedy sketch with comedian/musician Chi Tai, Be Ti and Hoai Tam.
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10 Viet Celebs Who Don't Look Vietnamese
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