Do Thi Hai Yen (born 1 October 1982) is a Vietnamese actress. She rose to international fame for her role in
Academy Award
The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...
Hải Yến was born on October 1, 1982, in Bac Ninh Province, Vietnam. She grew up in
Hanoi
Hanoi ( ; ; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Vietnam, second-most populous city of Vietnam. The name "Hanoi" translates to "inside the river" (Hanoi is bordered by the Red River (Asia), Red and Black River (Asia), Black Riv ...
where she graduated from the Vietnamese Ballet School (now Vietnam Academy of Dance) after 7 years of study.
Career
In 1999, director Tran Anh Hung invited Hai Yen, only 17 at that time, to play a role in the film '' The Vertical Ray of the Sun'' (Vietnam/France).
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
The Montreal World Film Festival (), commonly abbreviated MWFF in English or FFM in French, was an annual film festival in Montreal, Quebec, Canada from 1977 to 2019.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
Sir Michael Caine (born Maurice Joseph Micklewhite, 14 March 1933) is a retired English actor. Known for his distinct Cockney accent, he has appeared in more than 160 films over Michael Caine filmography, a career that spanned eight decades an ...
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''.
In 2005, Hai Yen was the leading actress in '' Story of Pao'' (''Chuyện của Pao'') directed by her ex-husband Ngo Quang Hai. This is the first Vietnamese film she starred as the leading actress. It received the Vietnam Cinema Association's Golden Kite Awards for "Best Feature Film", "Best Actress" (for Hai Yen), "Best Supporting Actress", and "Best Director of Photography", as well as the "Special Jury Award" at the 51st Asia Pacific Film Festival. The film was premiered at various film festivals, including the 30th
FIPRESCI
The International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI, short for ''Fédération Internationale de la Presse Cinématographique'') is an association of national organizations of professional film critics and film journalists from around the wor ...
Vancouver International Film Festival
The Vancouver International Film Festival (VIFF) is an annual film festival held in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, for two weeks in late September and early October.
The festival is operated by the Greater Vancouver International Film Festi ...
Melbourne International Film Festival
The Melbourne International Film Festival (MIFF) is an annual film festival held over three weeks in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It was founded in 1952 and is one of the oldest film festivals in the world following the founding of the Venic ...
and 2010
International Film Festival Rotterdam
International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) is an annual film festival held at the end of January in various locations in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, focused on independent and experimental films. The inaugural festival took place in June 1972, ...
. For her admirable performance in this film, she received Best Actress nomination at the 2009 Golden Kite Awards.
In 2010, Hai Yen starred in film '' The Floating Lives'' (''Cánh đồng bất tận''), 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
The Golden Bear () is the highest prize awarded for the best film at the Berlin International Film Festival and is, along with the Palme d'Or and the Golden Lion, the most important international film festival award. The bear is the heraldic an ...
at the
Berlin International Film Festival
The Berlin International Film Festival (), usually called the Berlinale (), is an annual film festival held in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the festival has been held every February since 1978 and is one of Europ ...
Hai Yen is a brand ambassador in Vietnam for several brands including
Motorola
Motorola, Inc. () was an American multinational telecommunications company based in Schaumburg, Illinois. It was founded by brothers Paul and Joseph Galvin in 1928 and had been named Motorola since 1947. Many of Motorola's products had been ...
V8Luxury and Escada. She also became a guest at many events of luxury brands such as Louis Vuitton, Chopard hay 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.