Tinna Tinh

 Tinna Tinh (1985-    ) is a famous Vietnamese singer and actress of Czech and Vietnamese descent.

She was born in Prague, Czech Republic to a Czech mother and a Vietnamese father.  Her names given at birth were Tinna Dinhova by her mother and Dinh Thi Tinh, in Vietnamese, by her father.  At the age of 11, Tinna Tinh's parents divorced.  For the next five years, she was shuffled back and forth between living with her mother and her father.  At the age of 15, Tinna Tinh decided to move out on her own.  In 2001, she relocated to Hanoi, Vietnam where she made her first attempt at pursuing a career as a professional singer.  After 6 months struggling and getting nowhere in the Hanoi pop music scene, Tinna Tinh returned to Prague where she resumed work in retail and as a Vietnamese interpreter.  Two years later, she had managed to save up some money and returned to Vietnam to once again pursue her dream of becoming a professional singer.  This time around, Tinna Tinh would resettle in Ho Chi Minh City and her dream of a career in music would finally come true.

Prior to her rise to stardom, she had used various professional stage names such as Thien Cam, Phuong Tu Phuong and Dam Tu Ca before settling with Tinna Tinh.  After relocating to Ho Chi Minh City in 2003, she was cast as the lead female role in the Vietnamese comedy film, Tro Dua Cho Thien Loi (Thunder's Joke) starring Minh Tiep and Trung Hieu.  The following year, Tinna Tinh would be honored with a Canh Dieu Vang Award (Golden Kite Award), Vietnam's equivalent to an Academy Award, for most promising female newcomer.  Although her acting career had brought her initial prominence, Tinna Tinh still relentlessly pursued her dream of a career in music.  Her debut album, Chiec Guong (The Mirror), which featured a collection of 11 alternative rock and dance music songs she had written herself was released in 2006 by Lac Hong Productions.  In 2007, Tinna Tinh appeared for the first time on music video for Van Son Entertainment performing Tra Lai Cho Toi, a song she had written and recorded for her upcoming second studio album, Mu Tat (2009).  She appeared on 13 consecutive volumes of Van Son Entertainment's music video series from 2007 until 2012 and joined the ranks in popularity with such established performers with the same label like Truong Vu, Tam Doan, Nguyen Khang and Cat Tien.  Among her most popular performances on the video series produced by Van Son included songs she had written such as Vong Xoay, Khoang Cach, Du Biet, Thi Tham, Vi Sao? and Hoa Lai Mau Xanh.  Her most well received studio albums were Nghiet Nga (2008) released by Monster Music Productions, Tinna Tinh Dance (2009), Sang Toi (2010) released by Viet Tan Studio, Tai Tieng (2010) and Pho Dong (2011) recorded with singer Don Nguyen.  Tinna Tinh's beauty, unique vocals and energetic stage presence led her to performances in live concerts for Vietnamese audiences all over the world.

Tinna Tinh in Mat Xac (2014)

In 2009, Tinna Tinh was offered the lead role in De Mai Tinh (Fool for Love), a film produced by Dustin Nguyen, but turned it down due to unspecified health matters.  Her secrecy about her health brought about unwanted, false rumors which circulated at a national level in Vietnam of her being HIV positive.  The role was subsequently taken by actress Kathy Uyen.  In 2010, Tinna Tinh was one of the key featured performers at Rock Storm, Vietnam's largest rock and roll music festival concert to date.  The following year, she accepted the lead female role starring opposite actor Thai Hoa in Long Ruoi, a Vietnamese comedy also produced by Dustin Nguyen which became one of Vietnam's largest grossing cinema releases of 2011.  In 2012, she costarred with Binh Minh in the television movie, Giấc Mơ Cỏ May.  In 2014, Tinna Tinh starred alongside Hoang Phuc and Phi Thanh Van in Mat Xac, a thriller directed by Do Thanh An.

Link(s):

10 Viet Celebs Who Don't Look Vietnamese
Another 50 Most Beautiful Vietnamese Women of All Time