Hà Phương
Hà Phương | |
|---|---|
| File:HaPhuong.png | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Trần Thị Hà Phương |
| Born | March 31, 1972 Saigon, Vietnam |
| Website | Official Website |
Trần Thị Hà Phương (born March 31, 1972) is a Vietnamese singer and actress.[1] She is the second oldest sister of three singing sisters: Cẩm Ly, who runs a Saigon record company, and Vietnamese pop star Minh Tuyết.[2] Her husband is Chinh Chu.
Early Life
Phuong grew up in Saigon, Vietnam, where she dreamed of being a performer, but was also a shy and timid child.[3]
Phuong and her sisters represented their school in local and nationwide singing competitions in Vietnam. They also got airplay on VPOP (Vietnamese pop music) stations.[4]
Career
Music
After she graduated from high school, Phuong enrolled in the College of Arts and Culture, District 10 Culture House, where she took took dance and music classes. She also took private vocal classes and studied Vietnamese/Broadway musicals.[5]
Phuong got her start performing at various entertainment venues in Vietnam:
In Vietnam, being a professional singer doesn’t mean you’re a star or a diva. Therefore, when I first started I had to wait to sing after big stars finished their performances. If no big stars were there, then it would be my turn.[6]
She got her big break when her song "Hoa Cau Vuon Trau" was played during halftime of the 1994 World Cup, which was broadcast in Vietnam.[7]
Book
Phuong wrote a book in 2017 titled “Finding Julia,” which is was inspired by her life: a Eurasian acting student, Julia Chamonix, is haunted by the death of her Vietnamese mother, and her own secret desires.[8]
Film
A film version of "Finding Julia" starred Phuong, Andrew McCarthy and Richard Chamberlain. The film premiered on Oct. 28, 2017 at the Third Annual Asian World Film Festival in Los Angeles.[9]
Phuong, who studied acting at the TVI Actors Studio in New York, found making the film a challenge:
I completely forgot the fact that this is not my Vietnam and nobody knows who I am. Not to mention all of the difficulties while shooting and writing the screenplay, but I had already gone too far to go back. Have you ever experienced the dilemma of making progress yet unable to go back? The feeling was that I was lost in the ocean. It was a truly horrifying nightmare! Ha Phuong and Julia in the movie both have nightmares. And we both tell ourselves "Where there’s a will there’s a way and I won’t give up." My journey is still ongoing and it is a valuable experience in my life as an artist.[10]
The film included her English language song “Lost in a Dream."[11]
Philanthropy
All the profits from Phuong’s DVD/CD sales, concerts and films[12] go to fund the Ha Phuong Foundation[13].
Phuong created the foundation in 2008 to help underprivileged children by paying for their housing, surgery, food, clothing, and education. The foundation also funds instruments, vocational training and career development for blind children.[14]
Phuong also sponsors the Ha Phuong Young Female Filmmakers Initiative, which is administered by New York Women in Film and Television.[15] The initiative includes a training program for recent high school grads, financial assistance for graduate students and an apprenticeship program for women entering the film and TV industry.
Phuong also contributes to the Vietnam Relief Effort[16], a non-profit organization created by her husband and his sister. The Vietnam Relief Effort helps fund Vietnamese schools, surgeries for war veterans and disabled people, and brings Vietnamese doctors to the U.S. for medical training.[17]
Albums
- Bông Ô Môi
- Tình đẹp Hậu Giang
- Ca dao em và tôi