Hiep Thi Le facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Hiep Thi Le
Born	(1971-02-18)February 18, 1971 Da Nang, Quang Nam, South Vietnam
Died	December 19, 2017(2017-12-19) (aged 46) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Other names	Hiep Le
Education	Oakland High School University of California, Davis
Occupation	Actress restaurateur
Years active	1993–2011 (actress) 2002–2016 (restaurateur)

Hiep Thi Le (Vietnamese: Lê Thị Hiệp; February 18, 1971 – December 19, 2017) was a Vietnamese-American actress and restaurant owner. She was best known for playing the main role of Le Ly in the movie Heaven & Earth (1993).

Early Life and Journey

Hiep Thi Le was born on February 18, 1971, in Da Nang, which was then called South Vietnam. In 1978, her father left Vietnam and became a refugee in Hong Kong. When Hiep was nine years old, she also left Vietnam with her mother and sister.

They traveled with about 60 other refugees. They hid in a secret area behind a kitchen on a fishing boat. Their goal was to sail to Hong Kong to meet up with their father.

Moving to America

Later, Hiep moved to Oakland, California, when she was a child. Her mother worked at a French-Vietnamese restaurant there. Hiep went to Oakland High School and then attended the University of California, Davis. She studied physiology, which is the study of how living things work.

Hiep had planned to finish college in 1993 and work in science. But while she was a college student, she went to an open audition in Northern California. She went "just for fun" with her friends. Surprisingly, she was chosen for the main role in Oliver Stone's movie, Heaven & Earth (1993). This movie was about the difficult times during the Vietnam War.

Acting Career

Starring in Heaven and Earth

Hiep was one of 16,000 Vietnamese-Americans who auditioned for Oliver Stone's movie Heaven & Earth. She was finally picked for the main role of Le Ly Hayslip. She said she didn't know how it happened. Her cousin heard about the auditions, and she just went with a friend to see what it was about. They kept asking her to come back.

Oliver Stone, the director, said that his team saw her and thought she was amazing. They flew her to Los Angeles. He found her very charming. They worked with her for about five months, testing her with other actors like Tommy Lee Jones. She won the role without any acting school because she was a natural.

Even though the movie needed Hiep to play a character who aged over 30 years, and she acted alongside famous American and Asian actors, she received great reviews. People praised her sensitivity and grace as Le Ly Hayslip. A film critic from the Los Angeles Times said she was "nonprofessional but very capable."

Hiep said that she learned a lot from her experience with the film. She felt she had grown so much in those two years. She also said that all the experiences throughout her life helped make her who she was.

Later Acting Roles

After Heaven & Earth, Hiep appeared in other movies. These included Bugis Street (1995) and Dead Man Can't Dance (1997). She also had a role in the 1999 film Bastards.

In 2001, she appeared in Green Dragon. In this movie, she acted alongside famous stars like Patrick Swayze and Forest Whitaker.

Life as a Restaurateur

After working in movies for a while, Hiep Le decided to open her own restaurant. In 2002, she opened The China Beach Bistro. It was a Vietnamese restaurant in Venice, Los Angeles.

After 10 years, she closed China Beach. In 2012, she opened a new restaurant called Le Cellier. This restaurant served French-Vietnamese fusion food on the border of Venice and Marina del Rey. Hiep explained that French-Vietnamese food has a long history, going back to the 1700s. She said this unique cuisine mixes fresh herbs from Vietnamese food with the fine traditions of French cooking. In 2016, she owned Le Cellier with Mark Van Gessel and Bernard Louberssac.

On February 23, 2014, Hiep appeared on the Food Network TV show Chopped. She competed in an episode called "Beer Here!" She did well in the first round, but she was eliminated in the main course round.

Death

Hiep Thi Le passed away on December 19, 2017, in Los Angeles. She was 46 years old. She died from stomach cancer. She was remembered in the "In Memoriam" part of the 90th Academy Awards.

Filmography

See also

In Spanish: Hiep Thi Le para niños