Jay Manalo

Jay Manalo (1973-    ) is a famous actor of Pinoy cinema and television and former male model.

He was born in Saigon, South Vietnam on January 30, 1973 to a Vietnamese mother and a Filipino father.  His father was originally from Manila and was based in Saigon during the Vietnam War working as a musician.  Shortly after his birth, Jay and his parents left Vietnam to resettle in his father's native Manila, Philippines.  At age five, Jay's parents divorced.  His mother remarried to a US Navy serviceman and moved to the United States, followed by his father leaving the Philippines to work overseas for a number a years.  Jay grew up in Manila and was then raised primarily by his paternal grandmother.  After an absence of more than a decade, Jay was finally reunited with both of his parents while he was in his twenties during the early 1990s.

Blessed with good looks, Jay Manalo began modeling while still a teenager.  After placing first runner up in the Philippines' national SM Man of the Year competition, casting agents in the Pinoy film and television industry began to take notice of the newcomer male model.  In 1994, Jay Manalo landed his first acting role in the action film, Brat Pack.  For his next two films, Urban Rangers (1995) and Paracale Gang (1996), he would be cast in the lead roles.  Despite a sizable fan base he had acquired in a short period of time with his first three films, Jay Manalo didn't find his niche until he won the lead role in the romantic film, Gayuma (1996).  This image of him as the sexy leading man on the big screen would continue to flourish with another well-received romantic film, Totoy Mola (1996).  By the latter part of the 1990s decade, Jay Manalo had become a bonafied heartthrob of Pinoy Cinema and a major male sex symbol of the Philippines and all of Asia.

Among his most popular films on the big screen also include Sabong (1998), Bayad Puri (1998), Prosti (2002) for which he won an URIAN award for best actor, Ang Huling Birhen Sa Lupa (2003) for which he won for best actor at the Manila Film Festival Awards, Bayaran (2004) for which he won a FAMAS award for best actor and Aishite Imasu 1941:  Mahal Kita (2004) for which he won for best supporting actor at the Metro Manila Film Festival Awards.

Jay Manalo's television acting career had officially started in 1997 when he appeared on the top rated soap series in the Philippines, Mula Sa Puso.  Of his television acting credits, he is mostly known as the lead actor on the 2005 ABS-CBN soap opera, Vietnam Rose.  

In 2007, Jay Manalo was arrested and taken into custody at the Ninoy Acquino International Airport in Manila just minutes after he had boarded Philippine Airlines flight that was about to take off and head toward Palawan.  Apparently, he had told a flight attendant that he was carrying a bomb inside his backpack right before boarding.  But what was intended only as a joke somehow was misconstrued.  In the end, the prosecutor found Manalo's joking to be of no malicious intentions but just in poor taste.

Link(s):

20 International Celebrities You Didn't Know Are Vietnamese
20 Most Handsome Vietnamese Men of All Time

Maiwenn

Maiwenn (1976-    ) is a French cinema actress, screenwriter and director of French, Breton, Vietnamese and Algerian descent.  Her mother is French actress Catherine Belkhodja.  She has a younger sister, Isild Le Besco, who is also a famous film actress, screenwriter and director.

Born on April 17, 1976 in Las Lilas, France, Maiwenn was brought onto the motion picture industry as a child actress by her mother.  Credited as Maiwenn Le Besco, she landed a series of notable roles on the French silver screen and made-for-television movies during her childhood and teenage years.  In 1983, she played the child version of the lead character, "Elle", which was portrayed by veteran French actress Isabelle Adjani in the critically acclaimed commercial blockbuster, L'Été Meurtrier (One Dead Summer) (1983).  Among her other acting credits during her adolescence include such films as L'État de Grâce (State of Grace) (1986) and Lacenaire (1990).  In the early 1990s, she shortened her professional name to just Maiwenn as a result to difficulties she had in her relationships with her parents.

After meeting Luc Besson at the annual César Film Awards show in 1991, Maiwenn at age 15 became romantically involved with the 32-year-old film director.  The following year, the two married and moved to Beverly Hills, California where Maiwenn would give birth to their daughter, Shanna.  During the course of her marriage to Besson, Maiwenn's acting career had pretty much gone on hiatus with the exception of a small part in the film, Léon (1994), credited as Quin-Quin.  While making the film, Le Cinquième Élément (The Fifth Element), in 1996 Besson fell in love with actress Milla Jovovich and began having an extra marital affair.  They divorced shortly thereafter.

After returning to Paris, Maiwenn resumed her acting career performing nightly at Le Café de la Gare in Le Pois Chiche, a one woman autobiographical show as a stand-up comedian.  She then returned to films as lead actress in Haute Tension (2003), Les Parisiens (2004) and Le Courage D'Aimer (2005).  In 2006, she made her feature film directorial debut in the semi-autobiographical Pardonnez-Moi, in which she had also produced and written the screenplay for.  The film would earn Maiwenn two César nominations at the beginning of 2007 in the categories for most promising actress and best first feature film.  Among the most popular films Maiwenn had also directed and written screenplays for include Le Bal des Actrices (All About Actresses) (2009), a mockumentary featuring a gala of top actresses in contemporary French cinema such as Mélanie Doutey, Julie Depardieu and Linh Dan Pham, Polisse (2011), a French drama film which had won the Cannes Film Festival jury prize, Lumieres award for best director, Cinemania Film Festival audience award and the Sarasota Film Festival award for best in world cinema and Mon Roi (2015), which had costarred her younger sister, Isild Le Besco, and was nominated for the Cannes Film Festival Palme d'Or award.  

Maiwenn had married her second husband, Jean-Yves Le Fur, a French businessman, events promoter and creator of DS Magazine in 2002.  The marriage lasted for only two years and produced a son, Diego, born on July of 2003.  

Link(s):

20 International Celebrities You Didn't Know Are Vietnamese

Isild Le Besco

Isild Le Besco (1982-    ) is a French film actress, screenwriter and director.  She is the daughter of French actress Catherine Belkhodja and younger sister of French film actress/screenwriter/director Maiwenn.  Isild Le Besco is of French, Breton, Vietnamese and Algerian descent.

In 1996, Isild Le Besco was selected by director Emmanuelle Bercot for the starring role of a 14-year-old girl involved in a relationship with a 35-year-old man played by Olivier Marchal in the controversial film, La Puce.  In 2000, she worked with director Benoit Jacquot for the first time in the film, Sade.  Their joint collaboration would later be repeated on several more films such as Adolphe (2002), À Tout de Suite (2004), Princesse Marie (2004), L'Intouchable (2006) and Au Fond des Bois (2009).  

For the 2006 animated French film, U, Isild Le Besco lent her voice in the role of the princess.  That same year, she would be recognized with the Marcello Mastroianni Award for best emerging actress at the Venice Film Festival for her performance in the film, L'Intouchable.  Among her other noted starring film roles include Un Moment de Bonheur (2002) as "Betty", La Maison du Canal (2003) as "Edmée", Backstage (2005) as "Lucie", and Je Te Mangerai (2007) as "Emma".  In 2015, she costarred in Mon Roi, a film directed by her sister, Maiwenn,  

Isild Le Besco has also been an accomplished screenwriter and director.  She wrote and directed several French films including Demi-tarif (2004), Charly (2007) and Bas-fonds (2010).  

Link(s):

20 International Celebrities You Didn't Know Are Vietnamese

Chris Tianssen

Chris Tianssen (1982-    ) is an international male model from Paris, France.  He is Eurasian, of French and Vietnamese mixed parentage.  His exotic good looks have made him one of the most in-demand male models in Europe.  Chris Tianssen has worked with renowned photographers Pablo Chester and Cyprien Leym.  He is represented by IModels International.  













Link(s): 

20 Most Handsome Vietnamese Men of All Time
Chris Tianssen on Twitter

Pauline Chan

Pauline Chan (1956-    ) is an Australian actress, director, screenwriter and producer originally from Vietnam.

Pauline Chan moved to Hong Kong from Vietnam at the age of 16 in 1972.  Two years later, she graduated from high school in Hong Kong and moved to the United States to attend UCLA as a film major.  In 1980, Pauline Chan relocated to Australia and resettled permanently in Sydney.

In 1987, Pauline Chan made her acting debut on the Australian television series, Vietnam.  Two years later, she costarred alongside Nicole Kidman and Denholm Elliott in the Australian TV mini-series, Bangkok Hilton.  In 1991, she directed the short film, Dusty Hearts, which won the Special Mention Award in the category of best short film at the Torino International Festival of Young Cinema.  In 1994 she wrote and directed the film, Traps.  In 1996, she directed and costarred with Mimi Rogers in the thriller, Little White Lies.  In 2006, she produced Ultraviolet, a sci-fi action thriller film in English and Vietnamese.  In 2011, she wrote, directed and produced the film, 33 Postcards, which was a joint production between Australia and China starring Guy Pearce, Claudia Karvan and Chinese actress Zhu Lin.

Introducing Two New Pinterest Boards: Cai Luong and Cinema of Vietnam

Viet Celeb would like to cordially invite you to check out our two newest boards on Pinterest:  Cai Luong and Cinema of Vietnam.

Cai Luong Pinterest Board:  Honoring Veteran Actors and Actresses of Vietnamese Folk Opera Known as Cai Luong such as Thanh Nga, Huu Phuoc, Hung Cuong, Thanh Duoc, Ut Bach Lan, Phung Ha, Bach Tuyet, Thanh Sang, Huong Lan, Vu Linh, Mong Tuyen, Le Thuy, Cam Tien, etc.

Cinema of Vietnam Pinterest Board:  Honoring Cinema of Vietnam Actors, Actresses and Directors such as Tran Anh Hung, Kieu Chinh, La Thoai Tan, Tham Thuy Hang, Kim Cuong, Le Quynh, Ngo Thanh Van, Tang Thanh Ha, Binh Minh, Dustin Nguyen, Linh Dan Pham, Thanh Lan, Kim Vui, Johnny Tri Nguyen, etc.  

Ray Lui

Ray Lui (1956-    ) is a famous actor of Hong Kong television and films.

Born on December 22, 1956 in Hai Phong, Vietnam, Ray Lui is the third eldest in a family of five children.  He is of Hoa descent.  Due to the Vietnam War, Ray Lui and his family moved to Hong Kong in 1967.  His breakthrough role was in the 1980 TVB-produced Hong Kong television series, The Bund, as Ting Lik costarring Chow Yun-Fat and Angie Chiu.  He would reprise his role in The Bund II (1980) and The Bund III (1980-1981).  Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, Ray Lui would be one of the most popular heartthrobs of Hong Kong cinema and television.  He has starred in many other Hong Kong television series including The Old Miao Myth (1983), The Rough Ride (1985), The Flying Fox of Snowy Mountain (1985), Twilight of a Nation (1988), Book and Sword, Gratitude and Revenge (2002), Seven Swordsmen (2006), Born Rich (2009), All Men Are Brothers (2011), The Han Triumph (2011) and Legend of Yuan Empire Founder (2012).  Ray Lui has also starred in many Hong Kong-produced films including Health Warning (1983), Walk on Fire (1988), To Be Number One (1991), The Great Conqueror's Concubine (1994), The Suspect (1998), Flash Point (2007), Death and Glory in Changde (2010), The Founding of a Party (2011), 7 Assassins (2013) and Firestorm (2013).  To his Vietnamese fans, he is known as Lu Luong Vy.

Yang Xiaojuan and Ray Lui

Ray Lui has been married three times.  His first marriage was to Hong Kong actress Kathy Chow in 1988 which lasted only five months.  His second marriage was to actress Cally Kwong in 1996 which lasted only six months.  Since 2001, Ray Lui has been married to actress Yang Xiaojuan.  The two are proud parents of a son, Lui Sin-yeung.

Link(s):

20 International Celebrities You Didn't Know Are Vietnamese 
20 Most Handsome Vietnamese Men of All Time