Paing Phyo Thu

Paing Phyo Thu (; born 5 April 1990) is a Myanmar Academy Award winning film actress from Myanmar. Regarded as one of the leading actors in contemporary Myanmar cinema, she won Best Supporting Actress at the 2017 Myanmar Motion Picture Academy Awards for her role in the film, 3Girls. She is also widely known for her performances in Mi, Now & Ever (2019) and What Happened to the Wolf? (2021).

Early Life and Education Paing Phyo Thu was born on 5 April 1990 in Yangon, Myanmar. She completed her secondary education at TTC Yangon in 2006 and later graduated from the University of Medicine 1, Yangon. In 2018, she served as a Health Ambassador (Yangon Division) for Ministry of Health and Sports.

Career Paing Phyo Thu began her career as a child actor in 1999 and later transitioned to lead roles in mainstream Myanmar cinema. In 2017, she was cast as a titular character in Mi, an adaption of the novel by prominent Myanmar novelists, Kyi Aye. Her performance as Mi was well received by the audience. The film's release generated public debate over her portrayal of Mi, a heavy smoker. In response to the criticism, she resigned from her role as Health Ambassador to maintain her artistic integrity regarding the character's depiction.

For her performance in Mi, she won Best Actress at the Star Awards (2018) and was nominated Best Actress at the ASEAN International Film Festival and Awards (2019). She later received a nomination for Best Performance (Seymour Cassel Award) for What Happened to the Wolf? at Oldenburg International Film Festival (2021).

On 1 January 2019, she married Myanmar filmmaker Na Gyi. In 2024, she received the Honorary Tribute Award at the Oldenburg International Film Festival.

Activism and Exile Following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, Paing Phyo Thu actively participated in anti-coup movements, attending rallies and publicly joining the "We Want Justice" three-finger salute movement. She utilized her significant social media platform to denounce the military junta.

On 2 April 2021, State Administration Council issued a warrant for her arrest under Section 505 (A) of the Myanmar Penal Code. She was targeted for speaking out against the military coup, encouraging participation in the Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM) and supporting the Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw. To evade capture, she and her husband were forced into hiding and subsequently fled into exile.

Filmography

Film (cinema) Angel of Eden (2016) Nay Win Ate Tan Tat (2017) 3Girls (2017) Mi (2018) Lay Par Kyawt Shein Warazain (2019) Sponsor (2019) Now and Ever (2019) Bo Nay Toe (2019) Confession of a Woman (2020) Longing with Love (2020) Lady Danger (2020) What Happened to the Wolf? (2021) Our Lost Nation (2022) Our Turn (2023) Guilt (2024)

Television series Battle of 2 Flowers (2017)

Awards and Nominations