Kieu Chinh

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.

• Also Credited As:
  Kieu Chinh Nguyen, Kieu-Chinh
• Born:
  in Hanoi, Vietnam
• Job Titles:
  Actor, Talk show host

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
• 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: 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
• Son: Paul Chinh. born c. 1959

Milestones

• 1954 Taken in by another family at age 14 when she flew to Saigon (date approximate)
• 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"
• 1958 American film debut as a Buddhist nun in "The Quiet American"
• 1964 Appeared in the American production, "A Yank in Vietnam"
• 1965 Appeared in "Operation C.I.A." opposite Burt Reynolds
• 1970 Produced the war epic "Nguoi Tinh Khong Chan Dung (Faceless Lover)"
• 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
• 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"
• 1980 Served as technical advisor and acted in the CBS TV-movie, "The Children of An Lac"
• 1983 Appeared in five episodes of "Dynasty" (ABC) playing Sister Agnes
• 1986 Co-starred in the ABC TV-movie, "The Girl Who Spelled Freedom"
• 1987 Acted first US feature in over 20 years, the Vietnam War drama, "Hamburger Hill"
• 1989 Cast in the HBO drama special, "Vietnam War Story: The Last Days"
• 1993 Co-starred in Wayne Wang's "The Joy Luck Club"
• 1997 Had featured role in the Showtime drama "Riot"
• 2000 Co-starred in Gurinder Chadha's ensemble, "What's Cooking?"
• 2002 Co-starred in the independent drama, "Face"
• 2007 Starred in "Journey from the Fall," an epic feature following a Vietnamese family through the aftermath of the fall of Saigon