Dung Thanh Lam

Dung Thanh Lam (1942-2004) was a famous actor of Southern Vietnamese folk opera stage and cinema of Saigon.

Born as Paul Robert Bui Van Tam in Gia Dinh (a former name for the city of Saigon) to a French father and a Vietnamese mother, he was raised in a Roman Catholic upbringing.  Dung Thanh Lam attended grade school at Tabert Mossard and graduated from Tan Thanh High School in Saigon.  Since his early childhood years, he had taken an interest in cai luong, Southern Vietnamese folk opera.  Taken under the wings of a husband-and-wife team of veteran cai luong performers Hoang Suong and Thu Van, Dung Thanh Lam was admitted to Minh Hung Theatrical Arts Academy to study the art of Southern Vietnamese folk opera.  In 1964, he officially turned professional and became a contract player for the Thu Do Folk Opera Theater Troupe.  When its two principal actors, Ut Tra On and Hoang Giang, decided to leave the Thu Do Troupe, it paved an opportunity for Dung Thanh Lam and fellow actor, Tan Tai, as their replacements.  Dung Thanh Lam's first folk opera play while under contract with the Thu Do Theater Troupe was Bong Hong Sa Mac (Desert Rose), in which he played alongside such veteran performers like Tan Tai, Minh Phung, Kim Ngoc, Truong Anh Loan and Van Huong.  Among his other folk opera plays while under contract with the Thu Do Theater Troupe included Chiec Ao An Tinh, Sau Quan Ai, Hoa Dao Tren Kiem Thep and Cay Quat Lua Hong.

After the Thu Do Theater Troupe dismantled the following year, Dung Thanh Lam was recruited into the Kim Chuong - Thanh Huong Folk Opera Theater Troupe.  There he would be teamed up with Phuong Lien as his leading actress in such folk opera plays as Quy Bao, Nguoi Goi Do Tren Song and Thuong Phuong Bao Kiem.  

In 1967, Dung Thanh Lam joined the prestigious Da Ly Huong Theater Troupe which had housed two of the biggest names among cai luong performers, Hung Cuong and Bach Tuyet, as the leading actor and actress.  Dung Thanh Lam was then cast in the folk opera play, Ke So Tinh, which besides Da Ly Huong Theater Troupe's leading actor and actress, Hung Cuong and Bach Tuyet, also starred legendary folk opera performer Huu Phuoc.  Dung Thanh Lam remained with Da Ly Huong Theater Troupe well into the 1970s when the name was changed to the Hung Cuong - Bach Tuyet Theater Troupe and performed in numerous other well-received cai luong plays such as Anh Hung Xa Dieu, Tien Rung Bac Bien, Lenh Cua Ba, Nguoi Dung Chan Dem Mua, Van Ly Truong Thanh, Gai Diem Vo Hien and Con Ma Nha Ho Hua.  

During the 1970s, Dung Thanh Lam had also ventured into film acting.  He was cast in supporting roles in such films produced in South Vietnam like Xa Lo Khong Den (Highway Without Lights) (1973) with Thanh Nga, Tran Van Trach, Tuy Hoa and Trang Thanh Lan and Con Ma Nha Ho Hua (1973), the film adaptation of the classic cai luong play starring Bach Tuyet.

In 1974, Dung Thanh Lam had successfully reclaimed his French citizenship by descent and was awaiting for his right of abode in France that would finally take place three years later.  He first resettled in Marseilles in 1977, but eventually made his way to the largest overseas Vietnamese community of France located in the 13th district of Paris.  While living in France, Dung Thanh Lam along with other veteran cai luong performers whom were also former Vietnamese nationals such as Huu Phuoc, Huong Lan, Chi Tam, Hoang Long, Phuong Thanh, Kieu Le Mai, Ha My Lien, Thanh Duoc, Phuong Hong Ngoc and Phuong Mai put their efforts into reviving Southern Vietnamese folk opera with recitals of classic plays such as Doi Mat Nguoi Xua, Di Bien Mot Minh and Cho Tron Cuoc Tinh.  However, Southern Vietnamese folk opera could not attain the same caliber as Vietnamese popular music had achieved which quickly developed into a thriving industry with overseas Vietnamese audiences.  After several years of frustration, Dung Thanh Lam decided to pack up and resettle in the United States during the mid-1980s.

In 1987, Dung Thanh Lam tried his hand at a brief career as a singer of Vietnamese popular music and released a studio album entitled Lau Dai Tinh Ai.  The album contained a total of 12 tracks which included several duets recorded with Son Ca, Nhu Mai and Hai Ly and also featured a pair of solo tracks recorded by Huong Lan.  Although Dung Thanh Lam had received many praises for his recorded version of the Lam Phuong-penned classic, Giot Le Sau, which originally was made famous by singer Che Linh back in Saigon prior to 1975, the album was met with modest reception in sales.

The following year, Dung Thanh Lam teamed with an all-star cast in a reprisal stage production of Tam Long Cua Bien headed by Huong Lan that also featured Huu Phuoc, Thanh Duoc, Viet Hung, Phuong Mai and Bang Chau.  The live play was part of a major overseas Vietnamese performing arts festival held at the Anaheim Convention Center on May of 1988 where they played to an audience that was 7,000 strong in attendance.  The overwhelming success of live stage production of Tam Long Cua Bien led to another reprisal of another classic cai luong play, Nua Doi Huong Phan.  With two successful live performances at Valley High School Auditorium in Santa Ana, California and the Civic Auditorium in Oakland, California, the cast included Huong Lan, Huu Phuoc, Thanh Duoc, Phuong Mai, Kieu Hanh, Ha My Lien, Viet Hung, newcomer Bich Ngoc and comedic supporting role portrayed by emcee Viet Thao.  In 1989, Dung Thanh Lam starred alongside Mong Tuyen, Thanh Duoc and Phuong Thanh in a reprisal video adaptation of Mua Rung, which was produced and released by Thuy Nga Paris.

Dung Thanh Lam died on November 26, 2004 of liver failure.  He never married and had lived his entire adult life as a bachelor.  During the 1980s, Dung Thanh Lam had been romantically linked with Kim Qui, a former burlesque star who had been a popular performer at cabarets back in Saigon prior to 1975.

Dung Thanh Lam, Christopher, Anh Vu and Manh Quynh taken in 1997

Thanh Thao

Thanh Thao (1977-    ) is a Vietnamese singer and owner and CEO of Music Box Entertainment, one of the most prolific talent management companies in Vietnam.

Born as Pham Trinh Phuong Thao on March 8, 1977 in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, she would later choose Thanh Thao as her professional stage name in order to avoid being confused with the famous pop singer Phuong Thao.  At the beginning of her professional music career, Thanh Thao had been taken under the wings of musician Duc Tri who had helped launched the careers of pop female vocalists Phuong Thanh and Ho Ngoc Ha.

In 1998, she was introduced to Rang Dong Entertainment by iconic pop male artist Ngoc Son and began recording for the label.  Thanh Thao would gain further notoriety as a singer with the successes of her recordings released under the Rang Dong Entertainment label which included such songs like Oi Tinh Yeu, a cover of a hit song from the popular Thai duo, China Dolls, Khoc Cho Yeu Thuong, a Vietnamese rendition of Run to You by South Korean pop sensation, DJ Doc, and Thien Than Bong Dem, a Vietnamese version of Heaven by Groove Coverage.

In 2002, Thanh Thao recorded Bup Be Xinh Dep, her bestselling solo studio album of her entire career.  The title track which had been written by composer Phuong Uyen would become known as Thanh Thao's signature song.  The blockbuster success from this album solidified her name in the Vietnamese pop music industry and essentially turned her into a star.

Five years later, Thanh Thao along with longtime friend and business associate, fashion model Thuy Vinh, together set up a talent management firm called Music Box Entertainment.  Since then, Music Box Entertainment has managed the careers of many established music artists of Vietnam such as Tu Minh Hy, Ngo Kien Huy, Ngan Khanh, Nam Cuong and Thuy Anh, who is also the younger sister of Thanh Thao.  In 2011, Thuy Vinh and Thanh Thao ended their partnership and each went their separate ways.  Both have made public statements insisting that their friendship has not been affected by the dismantling of their business partnership despite the contrasting image circulated in the Vietnamese tabloid press.  That same year, Thanh Thao also formed Thanh Thao Productions.

Thanh Thao hosted the first season of the popular television show, Giong Hat Viet Nhi, a Vietnamese adaptation of the Dutch television show, The Voice Kids.  

As for her personal life, Thanh Thao has yet to walk down the aisle as a bride choosing to remain single.  She had been romantically linked to musician Duc Tri, singer Quang Dung and was once engaged to Roderick Haire, the CEO of AIA Vietnam Insurance Corporation.

Fabien Corbineau

Fabien Corbineau (1987-    ) is a French-Vietnamese Eurasian model and actor of South Korean television.

Born as Fabien Yves Jerome Corbineau on October 30, 1987 in Paris, France, he began his career as a fashion model while he was still a teenager.  In 2008, Fabien Corbineau made his debut on South Korean television as an actor on the popular drama series, East of Eden.  He has since appeared on more than a dozen other South Korean drama series including Jejungwon (2010), Dr. Jin (2012), The King of 2 Hearts (2012) and Running Man (2014).  As of 2014, he has been a regular cast member of the popular South Korean television entertainment show, I Live Alone.  He is also known to his many fans in South Korea as either Fabien Yoon or Choi Yoon.


Fabien Corbineau speaks both French and Korean fluently.

Link(s):

30 Most Beautiful Viet Celebs of 2015
20 International Celebrities You Didn't Know Are Vietnamese
20 Most Handsome Vietnamese Men of All Time
Fabien Corbineau on Twitter

Luu Hong

Luu Hong (1947-    ) is an overseas Vietnamese singer known for her distinct sensual and narrative voice.

Born in Cochinchin (a former name for the region of South Vietnam while under French rule) to a German father and a Vietnamese mother, Luu Hong had developed a keen interest in singing while she was still a young child.  Her professional singing career began in 1965 after she and a few friends visited the Queen Bee nightclub in Saigon one night.  During open mic, she got up and sang two songs, Sang Ngang written by Do Le and Tuoi Da Buon written by Trinh Cong Son.  The very next day, she was contacted by the owner with a job offer to perform nightly at the club.  During the next several years, Luu Hong would perform at many more nightclubs throughout Saigon.

Luu Hong left her native homeland for the United States in 1975 upon the Fall of Saigon.  It was here where her singing career really started to take flight.  In 1982, Luu Hong formed her own music production label, Luu Hong Enterprises, with the release of her first studio solo album, Tieng Hat Luu Hong 1 - Loi Cuoi Cho Anh.  For the next ten years, her production label would release over a dozen of her studio albums in total. Luu Hong's bestselling studio album of the 1980s, Tinh Ca Tuyet Voi, which also featured guest male singers Tuan Anh, Tuan Vu and Tuan Dat, was released in 1988.  That same year, she also appeared on Thuy Nga's Paris By Night Volume 6 with a performance of Bay Gio Thang May written by Tu Cong Phung.  In 1992, she appeared with her performance of La Thu (Autumn Leaves) on volume 3 of Asia Entertainment's Tinh Yeu Tuoi Tre music video series along with Lam Thuy Van, Nhu Mai, Thuy Vi and Trung Hanh.  Luu Hong has also appeared on music videos produced by Truong Thanh and Diem Quynh.  By the end of the 1980s decade, she had come full circle as a successful overseas Vietnamese singer and was enjoying her career peak.  Her popularity had led her to numerous collaborations as a recording artist for various major overseas Vietnamese music production labels such as Da Lan, Doi Magazine, Nguoi Dep Binh Duong, Phuong Hoang and Asia Entertainment.  Luu Hong had also toured extensively performing in live shows for overseas Vietnamese audiences across the United States, Canada and Europe and was among the original lineup of regular performers at the Majestic Nightclub in Huntington Beach, California in the early 1990s which consisted of Tuan Ngoc, Thai Thao, Cong Thanh & Lynn, Hang Nga and Phi Khanh.  Among her most popular recorded songs include Chuyen Hen Ho, Ca Phe Dang, Tu Do Em Buon, Pho Dem, Linh Hon Tuong Da and Nang Xuan. 

In 1995, Luu Hong retired from the entertainment business to a quiet life in El Toro, California.  Divorced from her first marriage to Duke Ngo which had produced two sons and lasted for more than twenty years, Luu Hong has since been in a steady relationship with a man named Nhon.  The year 2012 proved to be a difficult year for Luu Hong as she experienced the deaths of both her eldest son and mother that occurred within weeks from one another.

It should be noted that Luu Hong was the first Eurasian Vietnamese singer to really have made a major impact in the Vietnamese music industry.  Although there were others before her who had reached a certain level of prominence such as Yen Huong, Jeannie Mai, Marie Louise of the pop music group, CBC, and Christiane Le of the pop music group, Family Love, back in Saigon prior to 1975, Luu Hong's rise to mainstream success in the overseas Vietnamese music industry during the 1980s had far surpassed that of her Eurasian predecessors.  After the release of several highly successful studio albums toward the final years of the 1980s decade, Luu Hong was then unquestionably a bona fide star in the Vietnamese music industry with a rather large fan base consisting of Vietnamese music lovers in all four corners of the world long before the likes of Thanh Ha and Phi Nhung had come along in the 1990s.

Link(s):

Another 50 Most Beautiful Vietnamese Women of All Time

Tran Quang

Tran Quang (1942-    ) is a Vietnamese film actor.  Prior to 1975, he had been one of the major heartthrobs of Saigon cinema.

Originally from Vientiane, Laos, Tran Quang was raised primarily in Saigon, South Vietnam.  In 1963, he graduated from the University of Saigon, School of Fine Arts.  Tran Quang began his film career in 1968.  Among his most popular films include Nang (Lady) (1970), Nhu Hat Mua Sa (1971), both of which were starring vehicles of actress Tham Thuy Hang, Nguoi Tinh Khong Chan Dung (Faceless Warrior) (1971), starring Kieu Chinh, Vet Thu Tren Lung Ngua Hoang (1971), starring Thanh Nga and Nhu Giot Suong Khuya (Like Drops of Dew at Night) (1972), costarring Bach Tuyet and Doan Chau Mau.

Tham Thuy Hang and Tran Quang

After the Fall of Saigon, Tran Quang remained in Vietnam and continued his film career.  Among the films he had starred in that were produced during the post communist era of Vietnam include Co Nhip (1975), Toi Loi Cuoi Cung (1979), Con Thu Tat Nguyen (1980) and Vet Thu Nam Thang (1982).  In 1988, Tran Quang appeared in singer/actress Thanh Lan's solo music videotape, Tinh Yeu Chao Don.

In 1992, Tran Quang left Vietnam to resettle in the United States.  He then ventured onto a new career as an emcee co-hosting the popular live show music video series, Hollywood Night, produced by May Productions alongside Nguyen Cao Ky Duyen and the first volume of Dem Saigon produced by Asia Entertainment with Dustin Nguyen, Amerasian Model and Revlon's Most Unforgettable Woman of the Year Award Winner Mary Xinh Nguyen, Vietnamese-American actress Isabelle Nhu Loan and singer Anh Quy.

Link(s):

20 Most Handsome Vietnamese Men of All Time

20/20 Viet Celebs Featured Next

Here are the next 20 Vietnamese celebrities to be featured on VietCeleb.BlogSpot.com.

Viet Celebs of Pre-'75 Saigon:

Phuong Dung:  Singer 

Tran Quang:  Film Actor 

Minh Hieu:  Singer and Film Actress 

Dung Thanh Lam:  Stage and Film Actor 

Ngoc Giau:  Southern Vietnamese Folk Opera Actress

Overseas Vietnamese Celebs Since 1975:

Thien Kim:  Singer

Anh Tu:  The Late Vietnamese Pop Singer and Musician

Luu Hong:  Eurasian Overseas Vietnamese Singer
 of German and Vietnamese Descent

Luong Tung Quang:  Overseas Vietnamese Singer on Paris By Night 

Kim Anh:  Overseas Vietnamese-Chinese Singer
Famous for the Song, "Mua Thu La Bay"

Hiep Thi Le:  Hollywood Film Actress, Star of "Heaven and Earth" and Restaurateur

International Celebrities of Vietnamese Descent:

Cung Le:  Vietnamese-American Champion Kickboxer

Minh-Khai Phan-Thi:  German TV Personality and Actress 

Fabien Corbineau:  Eurasian French-Vietnamese Fashion Model
and Actor of Korean Cinema and Television

  

Nai Bonet:  Eurasian French-Vietnamese Hollywood Movie Actress
and Bellydancer

 Celebrities of Present Day Vietnam:  

Thanh Thao:  Singer

Cat Phuong:  Vietnamese Actress of Film, Stage and Television

Tran Lap:  Vietnamese Rock Singer/Musician

Khong Tu Quynh:  V-Pop Singer and Actress

Kim Tu Long:  Southern Vietnamese
Folk Opera Actor

Do Thi Hai Yen

Do Thi Hai Yen (1982-    ) also known as Hai Yen, is a Vietnamese film actress who had gained international prominence with her portrayal of Phuong in the Hollywood major motion picture, The Quiet American (2002).

She was born in Bac Ninh province in Northern Vietnam on October 1, 1982 and grew up in Hanoi.  At the age of 17, Do Thi Hai Yen made her film debut with a supporting role in The Vertical Ray of the Sun (1999), a Vietnamese-language film directed by internationally renowned Vietnamese filmmaker Tran Anh Hung.  In 2000, she was cast in another supporting role in Vu Khuc Con Co (Song of the Stork), a film directed by Nguyen Phan Quang Binh and Johnathan Foo of Singapore that went on to win the 2002 Milan Film Festival Award for best feature film.

In 2001, her beauty and acting talents won Do Thi Hai Yen the role of Phuong for the film, The Quiet American, in a competition that consisted of 2,000 candidates.  The film starred Academy Award-winning actor Sir Michael Caine and Brendan Fraser.  Released in 2002, The Quiet American was an international critical success and was recognized with accolades in film industries worldwide including a Satellite Award for best actor in a motion picture and nominations for both an Academy Award and a BAFTA for best actor for Sir Michael Caine.  For her performance, Do Thi Hai Yen was nominated for a Satellite Award for best supporting actress in a motion picture.

Among her other film credits include Chuyen cua Pao (Story of Pao) (2006), a film in which she had produced as well as starred in the lead role that went on to win four Golden Kite Awards, Vietnam's equivalent to the Oscars, Choi Voi (Adrift) (2009) with Linh Dan Pham, Johnny Tri Nguyen and veteran cinema of Hanoi actress, Nhu Quynh, which won the International Critics Prize at the 66th Venice Film Festival in 2009 and Canh Dong Bat Tan (The Floating Lives) (2010) with Dustin Nguyen and Tang Thanh Ha and Cha va Con va... (Big Father, Small Father and Other Stories) (2015).  Do Thi Hai Yen has been Vietnam's celebrity spokesperson for such international brands like Louis Vuitton, Motorola V8 Luxury and Escada.

Link(s):

Another 50 Most Beautiful Vietnamese of All Time