Thanh Lan (born March 1, 1948) is a Vietnamese American singer and actress. She is one of the rare artists who has been successful in all three fields of music, cinema and theatre. Thanh Lan is famous for her French songs, and is one of the representative faces of the early period of youth music in Saigon. In cinema, she has participated in many famous films such as Tiếng hát há»Âc trò and Ván bài láºÂt ngá»Âa.
Phạm Thái Thanh Lan was born on 1 March 1948 in Nghá» An. Her saint's name is Catherine (which she would later use when registering for her first visa in the United States), but she is known by her stage name, Thanh Lan. Although both of Lan's parents were from Hanoi and Huế, known as a "throat-clear voice area" (the equivalent of received pronunciation in Britain or "standard" Italian or French), she lived in a Northern community in her childhood. This gave her a distinctive singing voice, and her Vietnamese accent is between that of Hanoi (nasal) and Saigon (tongue).
As a high school student, Lan attended the prestigious Lycée Marie Curie. She studied piano at Saint Paul's school, run by the Sisters of Christian Charity, and she remains Roman Catholic. She later studied with Trần Anh ÃÂào (composer Thẩm Oánh's wife), and musician Nghiêm Phú Phi. She majored in French literature at Saigon University, and from childhood she spoke French, Vietnamese and English. She audited classes in tranh, traditional, and reformed music at the Vietnam National Academy of Music.
While in her school years she joined a Vietnamese children's band (ban Viá»Ât Nhi) in order to perform in the and Và ©-ÃÂức-Duy drama bands (ban ká»Âch Và © ÃÂức Duy) on the Vietnam Television Network. She also sang with the Seagull band (ban Hải ÃÂu), and the Life Source band (ca ÃÂoàn Nguá»Ân Sá»Âng).
In the early 1970s, Lan took part in the . She became known for her interpretations of French popular music. She also translated English-language songs into Vietnamese. Such music in its original language, especially French, was considered highbrow, and more for world travelers and academics than common people. Part of her goal in translating into Vietnamese was to make both the words and music and their specific cultural meanings accessible to a much wider audience.
In 1970, Lan starred as a main character in the coming-of-age movie . It was produced by Alpha Films, owned by her maternal uncle Thái Thúc Nha. He was a famous filmmaker in Asia during the 1960-70s, and also president of Vietnam Cinema Society (Tá»Âng-trðá»Âng Hiá»Âp-há»Âi ÃÂiá»Ân-ảnh Viá»Âtnam), which launched and hosted the Vietnam Film Day. "Students Singing" included a nude scene that generated controversy in the Southern press, with several tabloids calling Lan a "sexy bomb," or using the highly euphemistic term "princess of gifted arts." Film critics were more positive, however, and she received the Promising Actress prize at National Award of Literature and Arts ceremony. She often collaborated with NháºÂt Trðá»Âng.
In 1974, Japanese director Norio Osada traveled to Saigon to make the film Number Ten Blues with stars from both Japan and Vietnam. Lan suggested that Osada add a main female character and cast her, because she had been well-known in Tokyo since 1971. She had become even more famous throughout Japan after 1973, when she performed at the Yamaha Music Festival. The film was completed in March 1975 even as the political situation in South Vietnam deteriorated around them. At the Fall of Saigon in April, Lan became stranded during the panic and confusion that concluded the Vietnam War, and she was unable to escape.
The Japanese filmmakers worried when Lan went missing, and even wondered if she had died. They left the film unreleased when the studio disbanded. Later, however, the director was able to release it with the title Goodbye Saigon, to memorialize that historic event.
Thanh Lan was unable to leave Vietnam at the collapse of the Republic of Vietnam in 1975. In 1994, during a sponsored series of concerts in the United States, Vietnamese-American protesters accused her of colluding with the Hanoi government and being a communist sympathizer. Although she had been a beloved singer during the 1970s, in the U.S. she became the subject of forceful protests and even death threats. She canceled all but one of her concerts, gave interviews pleading her case, and finally prevailed in her quest for asylum.
During a "campaign to proscribe corrupt cultural products" under the new regime, Lan was censored for ten years. The censors particularly blocked her the film Students Singing, about South Vietnamese soldiers, but also for pretty much all of her discography. Her name disappeared from official mentions in Vietnamese literature and the arts during these years.
During the Renovation period, Lan performed some songs which the censorship offices accepted. She returned as one of the golden voices on the HTV channel. Though she only starred in a few films, for example, Cards on the Table (with Nguyá» n Chánh TÃÂn) and Behind a Fate (with Trần Quang), most were extremely popular. Northern young audiences particularly admired her character Thùy Dung in Cards on the Table. However, her principal work was as a voice actor and vocalist. During the 1980s her Northern sound became quite popular on Vietnamese television and in movies. Her talent was even praised by some Soviet filmmakers.
From 1991 to 1993, Lan focused on the development of her music. She cooperated with many studios for recordings, and she organized two live shows: Thanh Lan's Singing (1991) and Thanh Lan's Music Night (1992).
In 1993, Thanh Lan planned a tour across the United States. Because she had been unable to leave Vietnam at the fall of Saigon in 1975, this later drew the suspicion of some of her fans that she might be cooperating with the state. During a Congressionally-sponsored series of concerts in the United States in 1994 on a three-month visa, she initially planned a tour, and she registered at the USCIS office as "Catherine Pham," her saint's name at birth (å 大èÂÂç´Ââ¢èÂÂ). However, she soon became the target of protestors who claimed she was a tool of the Hanoi government. Lan's only scheduled performance after the cancellations was in San Jose, and protesters turned out in force. "We are against the Hanoi propaganda scheme. Thanh Lan is only a tool. She would be welcomed back if she shows remorse for what she did and cancels the concert." During radio interviews in San Jose pleading her case, her goal was convince the protestors that she was not an agent of the communist party. She attempted to describe how much she had suffered, but she allegedly made a misstep in the eyes of many former fans when she said that Vietnam paid her well. Despite the controversy, however, she was successful in her quest for asylum, and this calmed much of the rage. Protestors were later re-angered in part by President Bill Clinton's decision to end the trade embargo with Vietnam, but these demonstrations were quieter, and Lan was no longer a target because of her asylum status. Composer Trúc Há» from offered her a contract, and she remained in the United States permanently.
Initially, Lan collaborated with singer Ngá»Âc Lan and some French-speaking amateur vocalists to perform French songs. After Ngá»Âc Lan's death there was also a decline in interest surrounding pop française, so she collaborated again with Trần Thiá»Ân Thanh, focusing on songs of soldiers.
About 2012, an old Number Ten Blues tape was found and restored by NHK's experts. After looking for more information from Vietnamese people who lived in Japan, NHK sent staff to California. They showed Lan the restored version's DVD and invited her to attend the 2013 . In this event, she received the Audience Award for Number Ten Blues and Goodbye Saigon.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Lan often could not fly to shows. However, she did return to Ho Chi Minh City to guest star on the Vietnamese TV show "Happy Memories, Season 2," a program on channel VTV3.
Lan entered a brief marriage at 19. Her husband - Mr. Dà ©ng - was a man from the Long Biên district of Hanoi whose family had settled in Dalat after Operation Passage to Freedom. After an amicable divorce, Thanh Lan and her ex-husband remain close friends.