List of Vietnamese Americans

This is a list of notable Vietnamese Americans.

To be included in this list, the person must have a Wikipedia article showing they are Vietnamese American, or must have independent reliable source references showing they are Vietnamese American and are notable.

Arts and entertainment

Actors and actresses

Dustin Nguyen

Maggie Q

• James Duval – actor, mother is of Vietnamese-French descent
• Lance Krall – actor and star of FREE RADIO on VH1
• Hiep Thi Le – actress known for role in Heaven & Earth, third film in director Oliver Stone's Vietnam trilogy
• Jeannie Mai – makeup artist, fashion expert, actress, TV personality and model
• Dustin Nguyen – actor^[1]
• Maggie Q – former model and actress in Mission Impossible III^[2]
• Jonathan Ke Quan – former child actor in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom and The Goonies^[3]
• Nguyen Stanton - actress, model, known for role in Zero Charisma
• Rosie Tran – writer, actress, and comedian
• Thuy Trang – actress known for role as the Yellow Power Ranger in the series Power Rangers^[4]
• Kathy Uyen – actress, producer, and writer
• Kieu Chinh – actress, producer, and writer
• Xanthe Huynh - anime English voice actress
• Lana Condor - American actress

Anchors and reporters

• Betty Nguyen – CBS Early Morning News anchor, former CNN anchor^[5]
• Mary Nguyen – Award-winning reporter; first Asian-American Miss Teenage America^[6][7]
• Leyna Nguyen – Emmy Award-winning anchor^[8]
• Thuy Vu – Emmy award-winning anchor and reporter for CBS-5 Television in San Francisco

Directors

• Doan Hoang – director and producer of the PBS documentary film about a family in the Vietnam War, Oh, Saigon
• Steve Nguyen – director and film producer
• Linh Nga – director and film producer^[9]

Dance groups

• Jabbawockeez
  • Jeff "Phi" Nguyen
• Poreotics – America's Best Dance Crew season 5 champions
  • Matthew "Dumbo" Vinh Quoc Nguyen
  • Charles Viet Nguyen
  • Can Trong "Candy" Nguyen

Musicians

• Chau-Giang Thi Nguyen – concert pianist and artist^{[10][11][12][13]}
• Cuong Vu – Grammy award winning jazz trumpeter and vocalist^[14]
• Tyga – Vietnamese and Jamaican rapper signed to Young Money and Cash Money Records

Artists and others

• Chloe Dao – fashion designer/winner of television show Project Runway^[15]
• Dat Phan – comedian, winner of first Last Comic Standing^[16]
• Jonas Bevacqua – adopted Vietnamese American fashion designer, creator of urbanwear LRG
• Michelle Phan – YouTube beauty guru
• Vampy Bit Me – cosplayer and model
• Hung Huynh – chef, Top Chef season 3 winner
• Tom Vu – info-mercial icon, professional poker player and real estate investor
• Tila Tequila – was the most popular woman on MySpace; had her own MTV show; appeared in FHM magazine
• Christine Ha – the first blind contestant on MasterChef and the winner of its third season in 2012
• John Eklund – time-lapse photographer known for the video Purely Pacific Northwest
• Phong Bui – artist, writer, independent curator; co-founder, editor-in-chief, and publisher of The Brooklyn Rail, a monthly arts, culture, and politics journal in New York^[17]
• Karrueche Tran - American model and actress

Business

• Trung Dung – engineer, who sold his OnDisplay to Vignette Corporation in 2000 for $1.8 billion
• Frank Jao – pioneer behind Little Saigon, Westminster, California, and the Asian Garden Mall
• Bill Nguyen – founder of onebox.com and lala.com, sold for $850 million and $80 million respectively^[18]
• David Tran – founder of Huy Fong Foods, maker of Sriracha Chili Sauce
• Thuan Pham – CTO of Technology startup Uber^[19]
• Kieu Hoang – pharmaceutical billionaire, CEO of RAAS, Inc (USA) and Vice Chairman of Shanghai RAAS Blood Products, China ^[20]

Literature and journalism

Nhuan Xuan Le

• Aimee Phan – author of We Should Never Meet^[21]
• Andrew X. Pham – author of Catfish and Mandala: A Two-Wheeled Voyage Through the Landscape and Memory of Vietnam (1999)
• Chau Nguyen – news anchor; first Vietnamese-American to be awarded a regional Emmy Award
• Đoàn Văn Toại – author of The Vietnamese Gulag
• Huỳnh Sanh Thông – author known for An Anthology of Vietnamese Poems: From the Eleventh through the Twentieth Centuries
• Kien Nguyen – author of The Unwanted, a Memoir of Childhood
• Lan Cao – former attorney and current law professor, author of Monkey Bridge
• Le Ly Hayslip – author of When Heaven and Earth Changed Places, which was turned into a motion picture (Heaven & Earth) directed by Oliver Stone
• Le Thi Diem Thuy – award winning-author of the novel The Gangster We Are All Looking For
• Mong-Lan – college professor and author of Song of the Cicadas^[22]
• Monique Truong – author of The Book of Salt^[23]
• Nguyễn Chí Thiện – poet and winner of international poetry award in 1985
• Nguyen Do – poet, editor and translator; co-author of Black Dog, Black Night Contemporary Vietnamese Poetry (2008) and Beyond the Court Gate: Selected Poems of Nguyen Trai (2010)
• Nguyen Qui Duc – essayist and radio producer and author of Where the Ashes Are: The Odyssey of a Vietnamese Family
• Lê Xuân Nhuận – author of Vietnamese poems; human rights activist; author of Poems by Selected Vietnamese^[24]
• Ocean Vuong - poet and 2016 Whiting Award Winner
• Quang X. Pham – author; founder of Lathian Systems, a pharmaceutical promotions company
• Stephanie Trong – Jane executive editor
• Trinh T. Minh-ha – author, post-colonial scholar, and filmmaker
• Ut Huynh Cong – photographer; first Vietnamese American to win the Pulitzer Prize for Spot News Photography (1973) and the World Press Award
• Viet Thanh Nguyen – author of The Sympathizer, the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction
• Vu Tran - author of Dragonfish: A Novel

Military

Captain James Văn Thạch and General Viet X. Luong

• Viet Xuan Luong – Brigadier General, first Vietnamese American to command a brigade in the US Army^{[25][26][27][28]}
• Lapthe Flora – first Vietnamese American to be promoted to Brigadier General in the Virginia National Guard^[29]
• Lê Bá Hùng – first Vietnamese-American Navy captain; commands USS Lassen (DDG 82) missile-guided destroyer^[30]
• Nguyễn Ngọc Loan – Brigadier General, ARVN; subject of Eddie Adam's photograph
• Nguyễn Văn Kiệt – Petty Officer Third Class in the Republic of Vietnam Navy; recipient of the US Navy Cross
• Nguyễn Qúy An – Major in the Republic of Vietnam Air Force; recipient of the United States Distinguished Flying Cross
• Quang X. Pham – first Vietnamese American to earn naval aviator's wings in the US Marine Corps; author and politician
• James Văn Thạch – only Vietnamese American to coordinate and complete a US military base named Combat Outpost Shocker in Iraq^[31][32]
• Ngô Quang Trưởng – former Lieutenant General of ARVN; author
• Lê Minh Đảo – former Major General of ARVN
• Trần Quang Khôi – former Brigadier General of ARVN

Politics and law

Jacqueline H. Nguyen

Viet D. Dinh

• Hubert Vo – Texas state representative^[33]
• Janet Nguyen – Orange County Board of Supervisors, California State Senator
• John Quoc Duong – President George W. Bush's appointee as Executive Director of the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders^[34]
• John Tran – First Vietnamese-American Mayor in US, Mayor of Rosemead, California^[35]
• Joseph Cao – first Vietnamese-American Congressman representing Louisiana's 2nd congressional district
• Kok Ksor – president of the Montagnard Foundation, Inc.^[36]
• Lan Cao – law professor, novelist^[37]
• Jacqueline H. Nguyen – US circuit judge; first Vietnamese-American federal judge;^[38] first Asian-American woman to sit on the federal appellate court^[39]
• Madison Nguyen – San Jose City Council member and Vice Mayor of City of San Jose, California
• Mina Nguyen – Deputy Assistant Secretary for Business Affairs and Public Liaison at the US Treasury Department^[40]
• 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^[41]
• Stephanie Murphy – first Vietnamese-American Congresswoman representing Florida's 7th congressional district ^[42]
• Tony Lam – first Vietnamese-American elected official; former Westminster, California city council
• Tri Ta - first Vietnamese-American elected Mayor, Westminster, California
• Van Tran – California State Assemblyman^[43]
• Viet D. Dinh – former United States Assistant Attorney General; drafted the USA Patriot Act^[44]

Science and education

Eugene H. Trinh

Han Dinh

• Han T. Dinh – Director of Vehicle Engineering, United States Postal Service; winner of 2006 White House "Closing of Circle Award"^[45][46][47]
• Bui Tuong Phong – computer graphics pioneer; inventor of Phong reflection model and Phong shading interpolation method
• Duy-Loan Le – prominent Texas Instruments engineer
• Eugene H. Trinh – NASA astronaut, first Vietnamese-American to travel into outer space^[48]
• Hồ Thành Việt, founder of VNI Software Co., California
• Tue Nguyen – scholar, earned seven degrees from MIT^[49][50]
• Jane Luu – astronomer, co-discoverer of Kuiper Belt and many asteroids^[51]
• Nguyễn Xuân Vinh – professor of aerospace engineering, University of Michigan; first Vietnamese to receive the Dirk Brouwer Award (2006); author of Pilot's Life
• Anh Duong Nguyet – responsible for the creation of the thermobaric weapon
• Trịnh Xuân Thuận – author of The Birth of the Universe; astrophysicist; professor of astronomy at the University of Virginia
• Tuan Vo-Dinh – inventor, professor and Director of the Fitzpatrick Institute for Photonics of Duke University; ranked No. 43 on a list of the world's top 100 living geniuses^[52]
• Xuong Nguyen-Huu – biology professor, University of California; pioneer in AIDS research; invented the x-ray multiwire area detector
• Đàm Thanh Sơn - theoretical physicist, University Professor at University of Chicago, member of National Academy of Sciences
• Van H. Vu - Professor of Mathematics at Yale University
• Ngô Bảo Châu - Professor of Mathematics at University of Chicago; Fields Medal winner
• SonBinh Nguyen - Professor of Chemistry at Northwestern University; Highly Cited Researcher ^[53]
• Thuc-Quyen Nguyen - Professor of Chemistry at University of California, Santa Barbara; Highly Cited Researcher ^[54]
• Nghi Q. Lam - Former Senior Scientist at Argonne National Laboratory; former editor-in-chief of Applied Physics Letters published by American Institute of Physics ^[55]
• Liem X. Dang - Scientist at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory; elected fellow of American Physical Society; elected fellow of American Association for the Advancement of Science^[56]

Sports

Cung Le

Leta Lindley

Baseball

• Danny Graves – MLB baseball player^[57]
• Jim Parque – the only left-handed pitcher on the Olympics baseball team that won a bronze medal in Atlanta in 1996
• Tommy Pham – MLB baseball player

Fighting sports

• Cung Le – kickboxer and MMA fighter; undefeated San Shou champion; former Strikeforce champion and coach^[58]
• Dat Nguyen – professional boxer^[59]
• Nam Phan – MMA fighter in the UFC^[60]
• Ben Nguyen – MMA fighter, currently fighting in the UFC

Poker

• Men Nguyen – professional poker player; as of 2010, his total live tournament winnings exceeded $9,700,000^[61]
• Scotty Nguyen – professional poker player^[62]
• David Pham – professional poker, won two World Series of Poker bracelets and has made seven final tables at the World Poker Tour^[63]
• J.C. Tran – professional poker player; as of 2010, his total live tournament winnings amounted to $7,996,635
• Mimi Tran – professional poker player; as of 2008, her total live tournament winnings exceeded $1,400,000^[64]

Other sports

• Howard Bach – badminton player, former world champion (2005)
• Catherine Mai Lan Fox – Olympic swimmer with two gold medals
• Leta Lindley – LPGA Tour golfer
• Lee Nguyen – Major League Soccer soccer player, currently plays for the New England Revolution
• Dat Nguyen – NFL football player,^[65] Dallas Cowboys assistant linebackers and defensive quality control coach
• Don Nguyen – pro skateboarder
• Minh Thai – first world Rubik's Cube champion (1982) at 22.95 seconds; author of the book The Winning Solution
• Amy Tran – field hockey player

Religion

• Luong Kim Dinh, Catholic priest, scholar and philosopher
• Dominic Mai Thanh Lương, auxiliary bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange

References

1. "I was only the first Vietnamese kid in the state..."
2. "She’s a gorgeous, Hawaiian born, Vietnamese/American actress, a model gone action star in films in Japan and China"
3. "Vietnamese newcomer Ke Huy Quan makes a shrill debut..."
4. "Vietnamese-American actress, and was born in Saigon, South Vietnam."
5. "Like most Vietnamese-Americans, I was going to pursue a career that’s often regarded as bringing honor to the family..."
6. "Mary Nguyen". wftv.com.
7. LE, PHUONG (1993-02-21). "Teen Pageant Winner Is as Asian-American as Apple Pie : Heritage: Mary Nguyen, the new Miss Teenage America, is the daughter of Vietnamese refugees. This 'girl next door' is a straight-A student and a cheerleader.". Los Angeles Times. ISSN 0458-3035. Retrieved 2016-03-27.
8. cbs2.com – CBS 2 KCAL 9 News Team Archived October 25, 2007, at the Wayback Machine.
9. "Mối tình của đại gia tiêu 1 tỷ/ngày với nàng thơ xinh đẹp". nguoiduatin.vn. 21: 99. 2015.
10. Cindy Adams (April 26, 2013). "Chau-Giang Thi Nguyen, former fiancee of Brian Grazer, unveils her new paintings in SoHo with chef Laurent Tourondel". New York Post. Retrieved May 2, 2013.
11. "Brian Grazer's ex-fiancee still sports his diamond ring". New York Post. September 29, 2012. Retrieved January 5, 2013.
12. "Married Eric Schmidt dating concert pianist Chau-Giang Nguyen". New York Post. September 3, 2012. Retrieved January 5, 2013.
13. "Chau-Giang Thi Nguyen, Piano – Tuesday, October 23, 2012". Carnegie Hall. Retrieved January 5, 2013.
14. "CUONG VU is a Vietnamese born jazz trumpeter"
15. "That is, after all, how the 34-year-old Vietnamese-American refugee became a successful..."
16. "Dat Phan is actually my real name. It's actually derived from China, even though I'm Vietnamese"
17. The Brooklyn Rail
18. "Nguyen parlayed his ascending reputation and Onebox.com's buzz into an $850 million merger with Phone.com"
19. https://www.techinasia.com/refugee-from-vietnam-to-uber-cto-thuan-pham
20. http://www.forbes.com/profile/kieu-hoang/
21. "Aimee Phan offers her observations as a Vietnamese American..."
22. UMass Amherst: University of Massachusetts Press
23. "Monique Truong". Houghton Mifflin. Retrieved January 5, 2013.
24. "Thanh Thanh". Lexuannhuan.tripod.com. Retrieved March 4, 2014.
25. ".". Army Times. Retrieved May 2, 2013.
26. Spc. Chris McKenna, 3rd Brigade Combat Team. "Rakkasans welcome incoming leadership". The Fort Campbell Courier. Retrieved May 2, 2013.
27. "Military Operations in Afghanistan". C-SPAN Video Library. December 28, 2010. Retrieved May 2, 2013.
28. Vanden, Tom (December 28, 2010). "Coalition attacks sap key insurgents in Afghanistan". Usatoday.Com. Retrieved May 2, 2013.
29. "PN684 - 64 nominees for Army, 114th Congress (2015-2016)". www.congress.gov. 2015-08-05. Retrieved 2015-11-10.
30. "First Vietnamese-American Navy Captain, Commander H.B. Le, Returns to Vietnam - ABC News". ABC News.
31. "Vietnamese-American Army Captain Builds Military Base in Iraq". Prweb.com. Retrieved May 2, 2013.
32. "Captain James Van Thach: An American Hero". The Epoch Times. March 16, 2014.
33. "Hubert Vo: First Vietnamese American State Legislator in Texas"
34. "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."
35. ".". AsianWeek.com. Archived from the original on October 17, 2007. Retrieved January 5, 2013.
36. "...led by Jarai-American Kok Ksor..."
37. "It is the first novel by a Vietnamese-American about the war experience and its aftermath..."
38. "Jacqueline H. Nguyen of L.A. confirmed to U.S. 9th Circuit Court," Los Angeles Times. May 7, 2012
39. "Onetime Vietnam refugee confirmed to be a federal appeals judge". latimes.com. May 8, 2012. Retrieved January 5, 2013.
40. "." (Press release). www.treas.gov. Archived from the original on November 23, 2010. Retrieved January 5, 2013.
41. "Biography of Prince Buu Chanh". Asianamerican.net. Retrieved January 5, 2013.
42. http://www.nbcnews.com/news/asian-america/5-things-know-about-stephanie-murphy-first-vietnamese-american-woman-n680771
43. "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."
44. "Like many Vietnamese immigrants, Dinh's emotional experience in his homeland steered him toward the Republican Party..."
45. "Biography of Han Dinh". Asianamerican.net. April 21, 1993. Retrieved March 4, 2014.
46. "Postal Service Honored With White House Closing the Circle Awards for Biodiesel Fuel...". Prnewswire.com. Retrieved March 4, 2014.
47. "Phỏng vấn kỹ sư Đinh Trường Hân, người quản lý kỹ thuật của hơn 200,000 xe hơi của bưu điện Mỹ". Voatiengviet.com. September 11, 2006. Retrieved March 4, 2014.
48. Trinh - Archived December 24, 2005, at the Wayback Machine.
49. "He Engineered a Record at MIT". Los Angeles Times.
50. "VIET SCHOLAR EARNS 7 DEGREES FROM MIT". DeseretNews.com. November 17, 1988.
51. "Vietnamese-American astronomer"
52. 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 "Top 100 living geniuses". Telegraph.co.uk. London. October 31, 2007. Retrieved June 19, 2008.
53. "Highly Cited Researchers - Thomson Reuters"
54. "2015 Thomson Reuters Highly Cited Researchers affiliated with the UC System"
55. "Applied Physics Letters Editors"
56. "Pacific Northwest National Laboratory staff information"
57. "Graves, the only Vietnamese-born player in the major leagues, left Saigon when he was only 14 months old."
58. "Growing up as a skinny Vietnamese refuge, Cung Le was an easy target for bullies..."
59. "New School Pick of the Week: Dat Nguyen – Boxing News". Boxingscene.com. November 9, 2009. Retrieved January 5, 2013.
60. "Fight Finder – Nam Phan's Mixed Martial Arts Statistics". Sherdog.com. March 13, 1983. Retrieved January 5, 2013.
61. "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."
62. Yang, Jeff (October 27, 2005). "ASIAN POP All In". The San Francisco Chronicle.
63. "Like other Vietnamese players..."
64. "Such is already the case with Mimi Tran, a Vietnamese émigré..."
65. "Nguyen and 10 other Vietnamese boys were segregated to one team..."