Do Thi Hai Yen

Do Thi Hai Yen (born 1 October 1982) is a Vietnamese actress. She rose to international fame for her role in Academy Award-nominated film The Quiet American by Phillip Noyce, which made her the first Asian actress to be nominated for a Satellite Award. For her breakthrough performance in the drama film Story of Pao (2005), Hai Yen won Best Actress awards at the 4th Vietnam Cinema Association's Golden Kite Awards and 15th Vietnam Film Festival. She gained further acclaim for her performances in Adrift (2009), The Floating Lives (2010) and Big Father, Small Father and Other Stories (2015). Early life Hải Yến was born on October 1, 1982, in Bac Ninh Province, Vietnam. She grew up in Hanoi where she graduated from the Vietnamese Ballet School (now Vietnam Academy of Dance) after 7 years of study.

In 2000, Hai Yen appeared again in the film Song of the Stork (Vũ khúc con cò), a co-production between Vietnam and Singapore, directed by Nguyễn Phan Quang Bình (Vietnam) and Jonathan Foo (Singapore). The film had its world premiere at the 26th Montreal World Film Festival during the World Cinema section. It received the "Best Feature Film" award at the Milan Film Festival in 2002 and was nominated for Grand Prix award at the Paris Film Festival in 2003.

In 2001, Hai Yen became a leading actress in Vietnam when she was selected in a competition attended by more than 2,000 candidates in Vietnam and overseas to play the main female character next to two world-famous actors, Sir Michael Caine and Brendan Fraser, in The Quiet American directed by Phillip Noyce. It was the first time in Vietnam's history that a Vietnamese actress was selected as a main English-speaking character in a Hollywood film. Hai Yen was nominated for the "Best Actress in a Supporting Role – Drama" at Golden Satellite Award in 2002 for her role in The Quiet American. The film was premiered at various film festivals, including the 30th Montreal World Film Festival (First Film World Competition), the Pusan International Film Festival in 2006 (A Window on Asian Cinema & Curtain Call Stars section), the 17th Cinequest Film Festival (Maverick Narrative Competition), and the Bangkok International Film Festival in 2007 (ASEAN Film Competition). Story of Pao was also Hai Yen's first movie as a producer, taking care of the film's marketing and distribution. In 2006, Do Thi Hai Yen was one of 19 promising Asian actors and actresses to get to introduce during the summit of "Star Summit Asia - Curtain Call" when Story of Pao was premiered at Busan International Film Festival. It was Vietnam's official submission to the Best Foreign Language Film at the Oscars 2007. At the 15th Vietnam Film Festival in 2007, the film was awarded the Silver Lotus and the Best Actress Award for Hai Yen.

In 2008, Hai Yen was the leading actress in the film Adrift (Chơi vơi), a co-production between Vietnam and France, directed by Bùi Thạc Chuyên. In September 2009, the film was released at the 66th Venice International Film Festival, where it won FIPRESCI award. The film subsequently premiered at the 2009 Toronto International Film Festival, 53rd BFI London Film Festival, 2009 Vancouver International Film Festival, 2009 Cinemanila International Film Festival, 2010 Fribourg International Film Festival, 2010 Melbourne International Film Festival and 2010 International Film Festival Rotterdam. For her admirable performance in this film, she received Best Actress nomination at the 2009 Golden Kite Awards. directed by Nguyen Phan Quang Binh. The film was based on Nguyen Ngoc Tu's best selling short story "Boundless Rice Field", winner of the best short story prize from the Vietnam Writer's Association in 2007 and the Asean Literature Award recently. The film was premiered in the 15th Busan International Film Festival in the New Currents category. The film won the Silver Lotus Prize at the Vietnam Cinema Association's Golden Kite Awards and earned her the Best Actress award at the Viet Film Fest in 2010.

In 2015, Hai Yen starred in the film Big Father, Small Father and Other Stories (Cha và con và...) directed by Phan Dang Di, which became the first film by a Vietnamese director to enter the main competition section for the Golden Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival. Thus, she became the first and only Vietnamese actress to star in films competing at all three of the world's most prestigious film festivals, including The Vertical Ray of the Sun (Cannes), Adrift (Venezia) and Big Father, Small Father and Other Stories (Berlin).

Endorsements and fashion Hai Yen is a brand ambassador in Vietnam for several brands including Motorola V8Luxury and Escada. She also became a guest at many events of luxury brands such as Louis Vuitton, Chopard and Dior. In August 2024, she was selected to become the ambassador in Vietnam for the Menard Embellir product line from Japanese luxury skincare brand Menard.

Filmography Film Year Title RoleNotes 2000 The Vertical Ray of the Sun Quoc's concubine 2002 Song of the Stork Hoai The Quiet American Phuong 2006 Story of Pao Pao 2009 Adrift Duyen 2010 The Floating Lives Suong 2015 Big Father, Small Father and Other Stories Van 2025 Ky Nam Inn Kỳ Nam

Awards Nominated - Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actress - Motion Picture in 2002 for her role in The Quiet American. Nominated - Golden Ochna Award for Favourite Female Film Actress in 2010 for her role in The Floating Lives. Viet Film Fest – Best Actress Award for her role in The Floating Lives, 2010. Member of the International Jury for the Featured film Competition "EurAsia" in Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival. Member of the International Jury for the Featured Film Competition at Meridian Film Festival. Member of the Jury for the Featured Film Competition at Vietnam Cinema Association's Golden Kite Awards.