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A Vietnamese character actress who got her start in film when Joseph L. Mankiewicz came to Saigon for location footage for his offbeat "The Quiet American" (1958), Kieu Chinh soon became one of South Vietnam's best-known personalities, making over 40 films and hosting her own popular TV talk show. In the mid-1960s she also appeared in several American productions including "A Yank in Vietnam" (1964) and "Operation C.I.A." (1965), the latter opposite Burt Reynolds....
Full Bio , Awards & Milestones

Filmography

21 - ( Chinese Woman / 2008 / Released / )
Journey From the Fall - ( Ba Noi / 2007 / Released / )
Face - ( Mrs Liu / 2005 / Released / )
Green Dragon - ( Kieu / 2002 / Released / )
What's Cooking? - ( Grandma Nguyen / 2000 / Released / )
Catfish in Black Bean Sauce - ( Thanh / 1999 / Released / )
City of Angels - ( Asian Woman / 1998 / Released / Village Roadshow Pictures Worldwide )
The Joy Luck Club - ( Suyuan / 1993 / Released / IFDL )
Vietnam, Texas - ( Mailan / 1990 / Released / )
Gleaming the Cube - ( Madame Trac / 1989 / Released / Filmpac Holdings )
Welcome Home - ( Leang / 1989 / Released / )
Hamburger Hill - ( Mama San / 1987 / Released / Village Roadshow Pictures Worldwide )
Hamburger Hill - ( Technical Advisor / 1987 / Released / Village Roadshow Pictures Worldwide )
Operation C.I.A. - ( Kim-chinh / 1965 / Released / )
The Quiet American - ( Buddhist nun / 1958 / Released / )
TV Credits
Tempted ( 2003 / Released ): Actor
The Beast ( 2001 / Released ): Actor
No Way Out: The Fall of Saigon ( 2000 / Released ): Actor
Players ( 1997 / Released ): Actor
Riot ( 1997 / Released ): Actor
Everybody Loves Raymond ( 1996 / Released ): Actor
ER ( 1994 / Released ): Actor
Danielle Steel's "Message From Nam" ( 1993 / Released ): Actor
Last Flight Out ( 1990 / Released ): Actor
The Bakery ( 1990 / Released ): Actor
The Girl Who Came Between Them ( 1990 / Released ): Actor
Vietnam War Story ( 1988 / Released ): Actor
Return of Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer ( 1986 / Released ): Actor
The Girl Who Spelled Freedom ( 1986 / Released ): Actor
Cocaine: One Man's Seduction ( 1983 / Released ): Actor
The Letter ( 1982 / Released ): Actor
Fly Away Home ( 1981 / Released ): Actor
The Other Victim ( 1981 / Released ): Actor
The Children of An Lac ( 1980 / Released ): Actor
My Husband Is Missing ( 1978 / Released ): Actor
Cover Girls ( 1977 / Released ): Actor
M*A*S*H ( 1972 / Released ): Actor
Chicago Hope ( Released ): Actor
Cybill ( Released ): Actor
Martial Law ( Released ): Actor
Nash Bridges ( Released ): Actor
Touched By an Angel ( Released ): Actor
Full Biography (Back to top)

A Vietnamese character actress who got her start in film when Joseph L. Mankiewicz came to Saigon for location footage for his offbeat "The Quiet American" (1958), Kieu Chinh soon became one of South Vietnam's best-known personalities, making over 40 films and hosting her own popular TV talk show. In the mid-1960s she also appeared in several American productions including "A Yank in Vietnam" (1964) and "Operation C.I.A." (1965), the latter opposite Burt Reynolds. Having lost a father and a brother in conflicts with the French in the early 50s, Kieu Chinh quickly left for the US when the North Vietnamese invaded in 1975. TV-movies including "The Children of An Lac" (1980), "The Letter" (1982) and "The Girl Who Spelled Freedom" (1986) have kept her busiest, but feature films offered her roles in "Hamburger Hill" (1987) and "Gleaming the Cube" (1988). Wayne Wang's "The Joy Luck Club" (1993) offered Kieu Chinh one of her best parts to date as a mother reaching out to her daughter over games of mah-jongg.

Profession(s):
Actor, talk show host
Sometimes Credited As:
Kieu Chinh Nguyen
Kieu-Chinh
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Family
brother:Lan Chinh (born c. 1934; joined revolutionary forces of Ho Chi Minh c. 1954 to fight against the French; Chinh long thought he was dead, but exchanged letters with him in 1993 and made plans to see him later that year for the first time in 39 years)
daughter:Vanessa Chinh (born 1956)
father:Nguyen Cuu Chinh (from a wealthy Buddhist family; never saw father again after he decided not to accompany Chinh to Saigon in order to look for her older brother when she was 14; father sent Chinh on a plane with family friends and she never saw him again; in 1978 Chinh found out that he had died destitute in Hanoi)
husband:Nang Te (eldest son of the Nguyens Dai Do, the family friends who took Chinh in when she was sent to Saigon by her father; when Nang Te was scheduled for training in Fort Benning, Georgia, his mother was afraid he might stay to live in the U.S. so she arranged a marriage with Chinh; married c. 1955, divorced 1980; father of Chinh's three children)
mother:An Chinh (was killed in WWII during an Allied bombing raid while in a hospital shortly after giving birth)
sister:Tinh Chinh (older; married c. early 1950s and settled in Paris)
son:Paul Chinh (born c. 1959)
son:Jean-Pierre Chinh (born c. 1961; was in a severe car accident at age 24 which left him with burns on half his body; underwent long slow recovery)
Awards (Back to top)
San Diego Asian Film Festival Lifetime Achievement 2006
Vietnamese International Film Festival Lifetime Achievement 2003
Best Actress of Vietnam Award 1969

Milestones (Back to top)
2007 Starred in "Journey from the Fall," an epic feature following a Vietnamese family through the aftermath of the fall of Saigon
2002 Co-starred in the independent drama, "Face"
2000 Co-starred in Gurinder Chadha's ensemble, "What's Cooking?"
1997 Had featured role in the Showtime drama "Riot"
1993 Co-starred in Wayne Wang's "The Joy Luck Club"
1989 Cast in the HBO drama special, "Vietnam War Story: The Last Days"
1987 Acted first US feature in over 20 years, the Vietnam War drama, "Hamburger Hill"
1986 Co-starred in the ABC TV-movie, "The Girl Who Spelled Freedom"
1983 Appeared in five episodes of "Dynasty" (ABC) playing Sister Agnes
1980 Served as technical advisor and acted in the CBS TV-movie, "The Children of An Lac"
1977 First acting job in the U.S. (After almost two years) in an episode of the CBS series, "M*A*S*H"; episode was loosely based on her life
1977 Made TV-movie debut in "Cover Girls"
1975 Left Saigon on April 24, one week before Saigon fell to the Vietcong; moved to California with the help of performers who had appeared on her TV show, including the American actress Tippi Hedren
1970 Produced the war epic "Nguoi Tinh Khong Chan Dung (Faceless Lover)"
1965 Appeared in "Operation C.I.A." opposite Burt Reynolds
1964 Appeared in the American production, "A Yank in Vietnam"
1958 American film debut as a Buddhist nun in "The Quiet American"
1957 Acting debut starring in the Vietnamese production, "Hoi Chuong Thien Mu (The Bells of Thien Mu Temple)"
1957 Attended a reception for Figaro Productions, which journeyed to Saigon for location shooting for "The Quiet American"
1954 Taken in by another family at age 14 when she flew to Saigon (date approximate)

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