Biography

Trần Lê Vân (born July 24, 1958 in Hanoi) is a Vietnamese former actress and dancer. Daughter of stage actors Trần Tiến and Lê Mai, and the elder sister of actress Lê Khanh and dancer Lê Vi, she first started out as a dancer for the National Dance Company. She was later discovered by director Phạm Kỳ Nam, and made her first acting debut in his 1978 film “Chom và Sa”. In 1981, she was chosen for the role Mrs. Dậu by Phạm Văn Khoa for his famous film of the same name after a 5-year casting calls effort; Lê Vân earned widespread acclaim for her portrayal of the grief-stricken and tormented titular character would later become typical of her later roles. Three years later, she was invited by Đặng Nhật Minh to take on the role of Duyên in his monumental classic “Bao giờ cho đến tháng Mười” (When the Tenth Month comes), and was awarded Best Actress at 7th Vietnam Film Festival. Lê Vân continued to take on critically acclaimed projects like “Đêm hội Long Trì” or “Thương nhớ đồng quê” until the late 1990s when she decided to retire from acting. In 2006, she published a controversial memoir, and was met with extreme criticism from the Hanoi public - she has ever since retreated from the spotlight.