List of Vietnamese Americans

This is a list of notable Vietnamese Americans who have made significant contributions to the American culture or society either politically, artistically, or scientifically.

List

Arts and entertainment

*Adam Ho - singer
*Angela Melini - "Playboy" Playmate, model, Internet entrepreneur.
*Betty Nguyen - CNN anchor. [ [http://bnmagazine.com/article_detail.php?art_id=106] "Like most Vietnamese-Americans, I was going to pursue a career that’s often regarded as bringing honor to the family..."]
*Cardin - singer, composer and former member of group Asia 4 [ [http://www.vietshowbiz.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=57] ]
*Cao Boi - from Survivor.
*Cat Tien - singer [ [http://asianfanatics.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=6845 [Vietnam Cat Tien - AsianFanatics Forum ] ]
*Chloe Dao - fashion designer/"Project Runway" winner [ [http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/living/fashion/14523068.htm] "That is, after all, how the 34-year-old Vietnamese-American refugee became a successful..."]
*Cuong Vu - jazz trumpeter and vocalist [ [http://72.14.205.104/search?q=cache:z4Xdp9GSgU0J:www.knittingfactory.com/labels/biopage/biopage.cfm%3Fartist%3DCuong%2520Vu%26Cat_Selected%3D1%26SubCat_Selected%3D1+%22Cuong+Vu%22+Vietnamese&hl=en&gl=ca&ct=clnk&cd=9] "CUONG VU is a Vietnamese born jazz trumpeter"]
*Da Nhat Yen - singer
*Dat Phan - comedian, winner of first "Last Comic Standing" [ [http://wc.arizona.edu/papers/98/188/04_6.html] "Dat Phan is actually my real name. It's actually derived from China, even though I'm Vietnamese"]
*Dinh Q. Le - fine arts photographer.
*Don Duong - actor.
*Đon Hồ - singer.
*Dustin Nguyen- actor [ [http://cglass.vinu.edu/21js/21art5.html] "I was only the first Vietnamese kid in the state..."]
*Phong Nguyen (Nguyễn Thuyết Phong) - ethnomusicologist and musician; winner of the National Heritage Fellowship
*Elyzabeth Pham - Miss Wisconsin USA 1999.
*Ham Tran - movie director
* Hung Huynh - Top Chef (season 3) winner
* John D. Tran- IP Attorney and [http://www.vangusa.com/ VANG] -Executive Director 2009
*Jonathan Ke Quan - actor and stuntman [ [http://www.bbc.co.uk/films/2002/01/08/indiana_jones_and_the_temple_of_doom_1984_review.shtml] "Vietnamese newcomer Ke Huy Quan makes a shrill debut..."]
*Johnny Tri Nguyen - actor
*Katie Luong - actress and model [ [http://www.international.ucla.edu/article.asp?parentid=5894] "...she is considered one of the most recognized Vietnamese-American actors in Hollywood. She was born in Vietnam, but immigrated to Southern California at a young age..."]
*Kieu Chinh - actress
*Navia Nguyen - supermodel and actress.
*Ky Duyen Cao Nguyen - co-host of Paris by Night [ [http://www.danchimviet.com/diendan/NationalGala.shtml] Dead link|date=March 2008]
*Maggie Q. - actress and model. [ [http://www.teenhollywood.com/d.asp?r=122843&c=1025] "She’s a gorgeous, Hawaiian born, Vietnamese/American actress, a model gone action star in films in Japan and China..."]
*Michelle Banzer - Miss Kentucky USA 2007
*Phi Nhung - singer [ [http://www.phinhung.net/index.html] ]
*Ringo Le - movie director.
*Tony Bui - movie director.
*Leyna Nguyen-Anchor/Reporter-CBS2-KCAL9 (Los Angeles). [ [http://cbs2.com/bios/local_bio_078175652.html cbs2.com - CBS 2 KCAL 9 News Team ] ]
*Tuan Nguyen - sculptor.
*Thai Ngo - gangster rapper.
*Thuy Thu Le - actress. [Le - [http://www.thezreview.co.uk/dvdreviews/c/casualtiesofwar.htm] "Vietnamese actress Thuy Thu Le"]
*Thuy Trang - actress [ [http://www.retrojunk.com/details_person/95/] "Vietnamese-American actress, and was born in Saigon, South Vietnam."]
*Rosie Tran - Writer, actress, and comedian.
*Tila Nguyen - Model. Also known as Tila Tequila, Real name is Tila Nguyen - Model, singer, actress, and show host of A Shot At Love With Tila Tequila [ [http://ca.askmen.com/women/models_250/284b_tila_nguyen.html] "this Vietnamese vixen beauty really knows how to put on a show..."]
*Tom Vu - info-mercial icon, professional poker player and real estate investor.
*Trish Thuy Trang - singer/songwriter [ [http://www.trishttrang.com Trish Thuy Trang - Official Website ] ]
*Kim Vo- television personality and celebrity hair stylist [ [http://www.kimvo.com/about-kimvo.html Kim Vo - Salons ] ] [www.imdb.com/name/nm2358496/ - 21k]
*Truc Ho - Composer, producer, television executive.

Business

* Bill Nguyen, founder and CEO of lala.com [ [http://telephonyonline.com/wireless/dataapps/wireless_hope_inside_hype/] "Nguyen parlayed his ascending reputation and Onebox.com's buzz into an $850 million merger with Phone.com"]
*Frank Jao - pioneer of Little Saigon in Orange County, California [ [http://www.dol.gov/_sec/media/speeches/20050502_VANG.htm] "Vietnamese American entrepreneurs-like Mr. Frank Jao"]
*Quach Nhut Danh - Pharmacist, "pioneer" of Little Saigon in Orange County, California [ [http://www.ocregister.com/ocregister/homepage/abox/article_1139473.php] "Little Saigon medicine man"]
*Tran Dinh Truong - hotel owner.
* Trung Dung - engineer, who sold his "OnDisplay" to "Vignette Corporation" in 2000 for $1.8 billion.

Literature and Journalism

*Aimee Phan - author [ [http://www.van-online.org/resources/phanreview.html] "Aimee Phan offers her observations as a Vietnamese American..."]
*Andrew Lam - journalist and short story writer, editor of the Pacific News Service [ [http://alternet.org/story/32314/ AlterNet: Consumerism vs. Frugality ] ]
*Andrew X. Pham - author.
*Chau Nguyen - news anchor. First Vietnamese-American to be awarded a regional Emmy-award.
*Diem Thuy Thi Le - poet
* Doan Van Toai - author, former student leader
*Huynh Sanh Thong - author.
*Kien Nguyen - author.
*Le Ly Hayslip - Author of "When Heaven and Earth Changed Places", which was turned into a motion picture (Heaven & Earth) directed by Oliver Stone.
*Lan Cao -- author of Monkey Bridge,
*Lucy Noland - American Journalist; currently an anchor at the Fox News Channel in New York City
*Tran bich san - Writer, philosopher, and editor of "The Little Saigon News of New Orleans (1995-present)".
*Mong-Lan - writer, poet, visual artist, educator [ [http://www.umass.edu/umpress/spr_01/monglan.html UMass Amherst: University of Massachusetts Press ] ]
*Monique Truong- author [ [http://www.houghtonmifflinbooks.com/catalog/authordetail.cfm?authorID=8872 Monique Truong ] ]
*Nguyen Chi Thien - dissident poet
*Nguyen Qui Duc - essayist and radio producer
*Phong Bui - publisher of the Brooklyn Rail
*Phung Le Ly Hayslip - memoirist and humanitarian [ [http://www.wic.org/bio/lhayslip.htm] "She is Vietnamese and a survivor of the Viet Nam war."]
*Quang X. Pham - author.
*Qui Nguyen - playwright and stage fight coach
*Stephanie Trong - Jane Magazine executive editor
*Ut Huynh Cong - photographer. First Vietnamese American to win the Pulitzer Prize for Spot News Photography (1973) and the World Press Award

Military

*Ngo Quang Truong - Former general of ARVN. Author.

Politics and law

*Hubert Vo - Texas state representative [ [http://www.hubertvo.com/] "Hubert Vo: First Vietnamese American State Legislator in Texas"]
*Janet Nguyen - Orange County Board of Supervisors.
*John Quoc Duong - As President George W. Bush's appointee, he served as the Executive Director of The White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. [ [http://www.ailf.org/awards/benefit2005/vietnamese_essay.shtml] "Another notable Vietnamese American dedicated to public service is John Quoc Duong, who serves under President George W. Bush, as executive director of the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders."]
*John Tran - First Vietnamese-American Mayor in US, Mayor of Rosemead, California [ [http://news.asianweek.com/news/view_article.html?article_id=5bd99c1fd550a7cedf47e8b1363c7048&this_category_id=170 AsianWeek.com ] ]
*Kok Ksor - president of the Montagnard Foundation, Inc. [ [http://hrw.org/reports/2002/vietnam/viet0402-10.htm] "...led by Jarai-American Kok Ksor..."]
*Lan Cao - law professor, novelist. [ [http://www.mtholyoke.edu/offices/comm/csj/981120/4lancaotospeakofbridgin.html] "It is the first novel by a Vietnamese-American about the war experience and its aftermath..."]
* Mina Nguyen - Deputy Assistant Secretary for Business Affairs and Public Liaison at the Treasury Department [http://www.treas.gov/press/releases/hp259.htm] .
*Huu Chanh Nguyen - founder and former Prime Minister of the Government of Free Vietnam
*Phuc Buu Chanh Nguyen - president of the Vietnamese Constitutional Monarchist League, member of Vietnam's Nguyễn Dynasty [ [http://www.asianamerican.net/bios/Prince_Buu_Chanh.html Biography of Prince Buu Chanh ] ]
*Tony Lam - the first Vietnamese-American elected official. Former Westminster city council.
*Van Tran - California State Assemblyman [ [http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2004/11/05/BAG2L9M32L1.DTL] "Orange County voters made Van Tran the highest-ranking Vietnamese American public official in the country this week when they elected him to the state Assembly."]
*Viet D. Dinh - former United States Assistant Attorney General who drafted the USA Patriot Act [ [http://www.asianam.org/viet%20dinh.htm] "Like many Vietnamese immigrants, Dinh's emotional experience in his homeland steered him toward the Republican Party..."]

cience and education

*Bui Tuong Phong - computer graphics pioneer.
*Duy-Loan Le - prominent Texas Instruments engineer.
*Eugene H. Trinh - NASA astronaut, the first Vietnamese-American to travel into outer space [Trinh - [http://www.ncvaonline.org/vaylc/biographies2004.htm] ]
*Hau Thai-Tang - Chief engineer for the Ford Motors Company. [ [http://bnmagazine.com/article_detail.php?art_id=76 Hau Thai-Tang: Engineer of the New Ford Mustang - BN Magazine ] ]
* Hồ Thành Việt, founder of VNI Software Co., California.
*Jane Luu - astronomer [ [http://www.bookrags.com/biography-jane-x-luu-scit-0712345/index.html] "Vietnamese-American astronomer"]
* Nguyễn Tiến Hưng - former minister of Republic of Vietnam, author, professor of Economics at Howard University
*Xuan Vinh Nguyen - professor of Aerospace Engineering, University of Michigan. The first Vietnamese to receive the Dirk Brouwer award (2007)
*Anh Duong Nguyet - led a team of scientists and engineers to develop the payload for the thermobaric bomb
*Tran Huu Dung - professor of economics at Wright State University.
* Trịnh Xuân Thuận - author, astrophysicist and professor of astronomy at the University of Virginia.
* Tuan Vo-Dinh - inventor, professor and Director of the Fitzpatrick Institute for Photonics of Duke University [Vo-Dinh has been ranked No. 43 on a list of "the world's top 100 living geniuses" in a survey conducted by Creators Synectics, a global consultants firm cite news |url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1567544/Top-100-living-geniuses.html |title=Top 100 living geniuses |work=Telegraph.co.uk |date=2007-10-31 |accessdate=2008-06-19]
*Xuong Nguyen-Huu - biology professor, University of California. Pioneer in AIDS research. Invented the X-ray Multiwire Area Detector.

ports

*Amy Tran - hockey player.
*Catherine Mai Lan Fox - Olympic swimmer with two gold medals.
*Chau Giang - professional poker
*Cung Le - san shou champion and coach [ [http://www.cungle.com/cungle/about.html] "Growing up as a skinny Vietnamese refuge, Cung Le was an easy target for bullies..."]
*Danny Graves - MLB baseball player [ [http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/mariners/2002746043_peep18.html] "Graves, the only Vietnamese-born player in the major leagues, left Saigon when he was only 14 months old."]
*Dat Nguyen - NFL football player [ [http://news.asianweek.com/news/view_article.html?article_id=803a4311088964684a8f0ffce5813f87] "Nguyen and 10 other Vietnamese boys were segregated to one team..."] , Dallas Cowboys assistant linebackers and defensive quality control coach
*David Pham - professional poker player [ [http://www.homepokergames.com/pham.php] "Like other Vietnamese players..."]
*Howard Bach - badminton player - former world champion (2005)
*J.C. Tran - professional poker [ [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._C._Tran]
*Jim Parque - In 1996 he was the only left-handed pitcher on the Olympics baseball team that won a bronze medal in Atlanta.
*Lee Nguyen - professional soccer player
*Men Nguyen - professional poker player [ [http://www.launchpoker.com/players/poker_players/-men-nguyen-/] "Men Nguyen was born in Vietnam. At age 13 he quit school and began working as a bus driver. In 1978, when he was 24, he and other 87 Vietnamese people escaped from their native country by boat."]
*Mimi Tran - professional poker player [ [http://www.cigaraficionado.com/Cigar/CA_Archives/CA_Show_Article/0,2322,1618,00.html] "Such is already the case with Mimi Tran, a Vietnamese émigré..."]
*Nam Phan-MMA fighter/Caged fullcontact fighter [ [http://www.sherdog.com/fightfinder/fightfinder.asp?fighterID=5778 Fight Finder - Nam Phan's Mixed Martial Arts Statistics ] ]
*Paul Truong - chess coach
*Scotty Nguyen - professional poker player [ [http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/gate/archive/2005/10/27/apop.DTL Asian Pop All In ] ]

References