Veronica Ngô Thanh Vân is a Vietnamese actress, singer and model. She is also known as Veronica Ngo or her initials NTV.
Early life and education
Ngo Thanh Van was born on February 26, 1979, in Trà Vinh, Vietnam. She is the youngest child with 3 older brothers. When she was 10, her family put her in a boat to cross the border. In 1990 Ngo Thanh Van became a boat person who arrived in Norway without a family member. In 1999, at the age of 20, Ngo returned to Vietnam where she participated in a beauty pageant organized by the magazine Women's World, and finished as second runner-up. Following this initial success, she launched her modelling career in Vietnam as a model for magazines, calendars, and fashion collections. Soon after, she had her first acting role on the small screen in Huong De, a short TV series on HTV Channel.
Career
Music career
In 2002, Ngo transitioned into the music scene as a pop-dance singer with the help of producer Quoc Bao. She recorded the duet album called Vuon Tinh Nhan with established singer Tuan Hung. One year later, again with the help of producer Quoc Bao, Ngo released her debut solo album, The Gioi Tro Choi , on February 26. This album was a power pop-dance LP with the theme "NTV Virus". Two music videos were filmed for the album; "The Gioi Tro Choi" & "Ngay Tuoi Sang", a cover version of jtL's "A Better Day", which was directed by Jackie Chen. These two videos were the first Vietnamese music videos to feature professional special effects and are listed among the most expensive Vietnamese music videos to date. In 2004, Ngo followed up with her second album, Bi An Vang Trang , which featured a moon theme, on March 15. Three videos were released from this album: "Bi An Vang Trang", the cheerleader-themed "Vuon Toi tam Cao ", and the ballad "Khi Nao Em Buon ", which was later covered by many artists including Mat Ngoc, Minh Thuan and Thanh Thảo. In autumn 2006, after a 2-month break in America, Ngo returned to Vietnam, and started recording her 4th album which she promised would be a dance anthem record. On October 2006, Ngo premiered one of her new songs "I Won't Stop Loving You," a new collaboration with Quốc Bảo, on the final episode of 21st Century Woman on VTV. But due to heavy promotion for The Rebel, the album release was pushed back to the summer of 2007. In May 2007, Ngo announced that the fourth album title would be Studio 68 and claimed that 68 was her lucky number. She released Studio 68 on January 10, 2008. In 2006, Ngo signed a contract to appear in the long-running music and comedy show Van Son, produced by Van Son Entertainment, an overseas Vietnamese music production company. She has since appeared in every Van Son DVD release to date. During the first months of 2008, Ngo began working on her next album Nuoc Mat Thien Than , while Studio 68 was awarded "Most Creative Album" in a monthly "Album Vang" prize.
Acting career
In 2004, Ngo made her first international appearance in Rouge, a 13-part late night television series aired on AZN Television. 'Rouge' was produced by MTV Asia & MediaCorp Singapore and was broadcast widely in Asia and Australia. For the remainder of the year, Ngo was busy with the promotional campaign for Rouge throughout Asia and the recording of her third album. She was chosen as the favourite actress in Rouge on the MTV Asia website. On September 5, 2005, My Way, Ngo's third album, was released. This album was produced by Ngo herself and featured a collaboration with a group of producers called The Dreams. My Way featured multiple genres, from alternative rock to pop, R&B, and hip hop. She remixed the famous Trịnh Công Sơn song "Quynh Huong". After My Way, Ngo engaged herself further in acting, with many starring roles in films such as Saigon Love Story by Ringo Le, 2 in 1 by Dao Duy Phuc, and The Rebel by Charlie Nguyen Chanh Truc with Johnny Trí Nguyễn, the latter becoming Vietnam's highest-grossing film of all time. Ngo's performance was highly praised by both critics and the public, and she was nominated for "Best Actress" at the 'Canh Dieu Vang' awards for the second time. In the spring of 2007, Ngo also starred in a new thriller called Ngoi Nha Bi An , which premiered in Vietnamese cinemas in November 2007. That December, Ngo was awarded the "Best Actress" prize at the 15th Vietnam Film Festival. After her success in The Rebel, Ngo went public about her relationship with Johnny Trí Nguyễn, which ended his marriage with Cathy Viet Thi, a singer on Van Son. 2009 saw Ngo once again starring beside Johnny Trí Nguyễn in a Chanh Phuong action movie Clash. She also opened her own talent agency called VAA. In 2010, Ngo competed as a contestant in the Vietnamese version of Dancing With The Stars. She finished as the victor for season one. After winning, Ngo revealed that she would return to music in 2011. In Autumn, she embarked on a national promotional tour. In 2016, she appeared in and starred in Tam Cam: The Untold Story. In 2017, she played Paige Tico, the older sister to Rose Tico, in . Although her screen time was brief, her character's death was an important act of self-sacrifice that affected the major characters in the film, especially Rose. Later in 2017, she played Tien, an Inferni elf enforcer working for Leilah, the main antagonist in the Netflix film Bright. In 2019, she starred in Vietnamese action film Furie. Hai Phuong later became the highest grossing domestic film of all time in Vietnam. In 2020, she appeared in The Old Guard beside Charlize Theron and in Spike Lee's film Da 5 Bloods with Chadwick Boseman. The same year, Ngo was selected to jury the New York Asian Film Festival.
