The artistic journey of the only Vietnamese beauty shining in Hollywood - Lang Son Newspaper and Radio and Television

Kieu Chinh (real name Nguyen Thi Kieu Chinh) was born in 1937 and was one of the first beauties in Saigon in the 60s and 70s. Along with Tham Thuy Hang, Thanh Nga and Kim Cuong, she was known as "the four great beauties of Saigon".

Born into a wealthy family in Hanoi, Kieu Chinh began her artistic career at the age of 15 when she moved to the South. She got her start in cinema with a small supporting role in the Hollywood film "The Quiet American", and was quickly given the lead role in her first film "The Bell of Thien Mu" at the age of 18.

With a beautiful face, elegant demeanor and fluent English, Kieu Chinh has an advantage when foreign film crews need native actors. Although she did not study acting at any school, Kieu Chinh's acting is very natural, like an instinct.

During the 1960s, Kieu Chinh appeared in American films such as "A Yank in Vietnam" (1964) and "Operation CIA" (1965), "Destination Vietnam" (1968).

Especially the famous movie she produced, in which she played the main role, "The Lover Without a Portrait". At that time, Kieu Chinh was praised as the leading actress of Vietnamese cinema.

In 1970, Kieu Chinh went abroad to India with Indian star Dev Anand to star in the movie "The Evil Within". With her talent, she set foot in many world film festivals such as West Germany, India, Hong Kong (China), Japan, Taiwan (China), Korea, Singapore, Thailand...

At the peak of her career, Kieu Chinh suddenly encountered an incident, forcing her to leave her homeland after 1975. At the age of 38, she was determined to step into Hollywood. Just one year later, she had leading roles in famous TV series, opening up opportunities to participate in a series of famous works such as "The children of An Lac" (1980), "Hamburger hill" (1987) and "The joy luck club" (1993).

With her role in "The Joy Luck Club", Kieu Chinh was honored in the list of 50 actors who moved audiences the most in cinema history - and was the only Asian actress on this list.

In 1996, she won an Emmy for the documentary "Kieu Chinh: A journey home". Kieu Chinh was honored as "Best Vietnamese Actress" at the Asian Film Festival, affirming her position as a bright star of Vietnamese cinema.

In 2003, she received the Lifetime Achievement Award and Special Acting Award at the Women's Film Festival in Torino, Italy. In 2021, she was honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Asian World Film Festival in Los Angeles. To date, Kieu Chinh remains the first Vietnamese actress to achieve these remarkable achievements in Hollywood.

In addition to cinema, Kieu Chinh is also a famous speaker at many cultural organizations in the US. She is still mentioned as a symbol of beauty and talent of Vietnamese cinema, standing out with her endless passion for the profession and is the most successful Vietnamese star in Hollywood.

In March 2025, Kieu Chinh returned to Vietnam from the US to participate in the film project "Chrysalis" (The Cocoon) with producer - actress Truong Ngoc Anh.

At 88, Kieu Chinh still makes many people admire her strong health, professional demeanor and natural beauty. Although time has left its mark on her face, she still maintains a calm and kind expression.

Talking about the secret to maintaining the energy to continue working at the age of U90, Kieu Chinh said that it is art. "Art has fed me. For the past 68 years, my life has been closely linked to art, and until today, I am very happy to return to Vietnam to make a film," she said.

Kieu Chinh is happy that her family always supports her to continue contributing to art, as long as she feels happy. For her, having the health to work is a wonderful thing.

Source: https://baolangson.vn/hanh-trinh-lam-nghe-thuat-cua-my-nhan-viet-duy-nhat-toa-sang-tai-hollywood-5044515.html