This is a list of notable Vietnamese Americans who have made significant contributions to the American culture or society either politically, artistically, or scientifically.
Arts and entertainment
- Angela Melini - Playboy Playmate, model, Internet entrepreneur.
- Betty Nguyen - CNN anchor.[1]
- Cardin - singer, composer and former member of group Asia 4[2]
- Cao Boi - from Survivor.
- Cat Tien - singer[3]
- Chloe Dao - fashion designer/"Project Runway" winner[4]
- Cuong Vu - jazz trumpeter and vocalist[5]
- Da Nhat Yen - singer
- Dat Phan - comedian, winner of first Last Comic Standing[6]
- Dinh Q. Le - fine arts photographer.
- Don Duong - actor.
- Don Ho - singer.
- Dustin Nguyen- actor[7]
- Elyzabeth Pham - Miss Wisconsin USA, 1999.
- Ham Tran - movie director
- Jonathan Ke Quan - actor and stuntman[8]
- Johnny Tri Nguyen - actor
- Katie Luong - actress and model[9]
- Kieu Chinh - actress
- Kristine Sa - poet, songwriter and singer.
- Ky Duyen Cao Nguyen - co-host of Paris by Night[10]
- Maggie Q. - actress and model. [11]
- Tony Bui - movie director.
- Tuan Nguyen - sculptor.
- Thuy Li - model.
- Thuy Thu Le - actress.[12]
- Thuy Trang - actress[13]
- Tila Nguyen - model.[14]
- Tom Vu - info-mercial icon, professional poker player and real estate investor.
- Trish Thuy Trang - singer/songwriter[15]
Business
- Frank Jao - pioneer of Little Saigon in Orange County, California[16]
- Tran Dinh Truong - hotel owner.
- Trung Dung - entrepreneur, millionaire
Literature and Journalism
- Aimee Phan - author[17]
- Andrew Lam - journalist and short story writer, editor of the Pacific News Service[18]
- Andrew X. Pham - author.
- Chau Nguyen - news anchor. First Vietnamese-American to be awarded a regional Emmy-award.
- Diem Thuy Thi Le - poet
- 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.
- Linh Dinh - poet.
- Lucy Noland - American Journalist; currently an anchor at the Fox News Channel in New York City
- Mong-Lan - writer, poet, visual artist, educator[19]
- Monique Truong- author [20]
- Nguyen Chi Thien - dissident poet
- Phong Bui - publisher of the Brooklyn Rail
- Phung Le Ly Hayslip - memoirist and humanitarian[21]
- Quang X. Pham - author.
- 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
Politics and law
- Andy T. Quach - Mayor Pro Tem Westminster city council [38]
- Hubert Vo - Texas state representative[22]
- John Quoc Duong - A President George W. Bush's appointee, he served as the Executive Director of The White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. [23]
- Huu Chanh Nguyen - founder and former Prime Minister of the Government of Free Vietnam
- Kok Ksor - president of the Montagnard Foundation, Inc.[24]
- Lan Cao - law professor, novelist.[25]
- Phuc Buu Chanh Nguyen - president of the Vietnamese Constitutional Monarchist League, member of Vietnam's Nguyễn Dynasty[26]
- Van Tran - California State Assemblyman[27]
- Viet D. Dinh - former United States Assistant Attorney General who drafted the USA Patriot Act[28]
- Wendy Duong - law professor, first Vietnamese American judge in the US.
Science & Education
- Anh Duong Nguyet - led a team of scientists and engineers to develop the payload for the thermobaric bomb
- 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[29]
- Hau Thai-Tang - Chief engineer for the Ford Motors Company.[30]
- Jane Luu - astronomer[31]
- Tran Huu Dung - professor of economics at Wright State University.
- Xuan Vinh Nguyen - professor of Aerospace Engineering, University of Michigan. The first Vietnamese to receive the Dirk Brouwer award (2007)
- Xuong Nguyen-Huu - biology professor, University of California. Pioneer in AIDS research. Invented the X-ray Multiwire Area Detector.
Sports
- 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[32]
- Danny Graves - MLB baseball player[33]
- Dat Nguyen - NFL football player[34], Dallas Cowboys assistant linebackers and defensive quality control coach
- David Pham - professional poker player[35]
- Howard Bach - badminton player - former world champion (2005)
- Jim Parque - In 1996 he was the only left-handed pitcher on the Olympics baseball team that won a bronze medal in Atlanta.
- Khoa Nguyen - table tennis player. Member of the 2000 and 2004 Olympic Table Tennis Team
- Lee Nguyen - professional soccer player
- Men Nguyen - professional poker player[36]
- Mimi Tran - professional poker player[37]
- Paul Truong - chess coach
- Scotty Nguyen - professional poker player[38]
Other
- Ngo Quang Truong - Former general of ARVN. Author.
- Tran Quoc Binh - the first U.S. Army Vietnamese-American killed in Operation Iraqi Freedom, Baghdad, Iraq[39]
- Caroline An Quan - Former Flight Attendant of Tower Air Airline
References
Footnotes
- ^ [1] "Like most Vietnamese-Americans, I was going to pursue a career that’s often regarded as bringing honor to the family..."
- ^ [http://www.vietshowbiz.com/index.php? name=News&file=article&sid=57]
- ^ [http://asianfanatics.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=6845
- ^ [2] "That is, after all, how the 34-year-old Vietnamese-American refugee became a successful..."
- ^ [3] "CUONG VU is a Vietnamese born jazz trumpeter"
- ^ [4] "Dat Phan is actually my real name. It's actually derived from China, even though I'm Vietnamese"
- ^ [5] "I was only the first Vietnamese kid in the state..."
- ^ [6] "Vietnamese newcomer Ke Huy Quan makes a shrill debut..."
- ^ [7] "...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..."
- ^ [8]
- ^ [9] "She’s a gorgeous, Hawaiian born, Vietnamese/American actress, a model gone action star in films in Japan and China..."
- ^ Le - [10] "Vietnamese actress Thuy Thu Le"
- ^ [11] "Vietnamese-American actress, and was born in Saigon, South Vietnam."
- ^ [12] "this Vietnamese vixen beauty really knows how to put on a show..."
- ^ [13]
- ^ [14] "Vietnamese American entrepreneurs—like Mr. Frank Jao"
- ^ [15] "Aimee Phan offers her observations as a Vietnamese American..."
- ^ [16]
- ^ [17]
- ^ [18]
- ^ [19] "She is Vietnamese and a survivor of the Viet Nam war."
- ^ [20] "Hubert Vo: First Vietnamese American State Legislator in Texas"
- ^ [21] "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."
- ^ [22] "...led by Jarai-American Kok Ksor..."
- ^ [23] "It is the first novel by a Vietnamese-American about the war experience and its aftermath..."
- ^ [24]
- ^ [25] "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."
- ^ [26] "Like many Vietnamese immigrants, Dinh's emotional experience in his homeland steered him toward the Republican Party..."
- ^ Trinh - [27]
- ^ [28]
- ^ [29] "Vietnamese-American astronomer"
- ^ [30] "Growing up as a skinny Vietnamese refuge, Cung Le was an easy target for bullies..."
- ^ [31] "Graves, the only Vietnamese-born player in the major leagues, left Saigon when he was only 14 months old."
- ^ [32] "Nguyen and 10 other Vietnamese boys were segregated to one team..."
- ^ [33] "Like other Vietnamese players..."
- ^ [34] "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."
- ^ [35] "Such is already the case with Mimi Tran, a Vietnamese émigré..."
- ^ [36]
- ^ [37]