At the tender age of eight, in the year 1979, a young Vietnamese-born actress, along with her seven-year-old sister, was abruptly separated from their parents and left their central Vietnamese village as boat people. Their father and older brother had made the perilous journey the year prior, while their mother remained behind with their younger siblings. The sisters were then relocated to refugee camps in Hong Kong, where they spent three months before being reunited with their father. Subsequently, they emigrated to California, United States, and were eventually reunited with their five other siblings. It wasn't until four years later that their mother finally joined the family.
This young actress, whose name is Hiep, was a pre-med student at U.C. Davis, majoring in physiology, when she attended an open casting call for the Oliver Stone film "Heaven & Earth" (1993) held at San Jose State University. Her sisters had also attended the casting call, and Hiep joined them out of curiosity, as several of her friends were participating for fun. Among the 16,000 Vietnamese-Americans who auditioned, Hiep was one of the few selected to play the starring role of Le Ly Hayslip. Notably, she had no prior acting experience, yet she managed to secure the role after six callbacks, ultimately portraying the character from the ages of 13 to 38.
Since her breakout role, Hiep has appeared in numerous films and has since graduated from college. In addition to her acting career, she is also the owner and operator of the China Beach Vietnamese Bistro in Venice, California.
