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to her throat. Le witnessed it and it scarred her for life. "Tears rolled down her face, but there was no more crying ... I thought her eyes were going to fall out of their sockets", she says. Her sister survived, and when they both reached port, they stayed in a Hong Kong refugee camp. They
296:). "I don't know how I got here ... My cousin heard about these auditions for a movie, and I just went with a friend to see what it was about. They kept calling me back." In the film, she plays a woman who ages from 13 to 38, who is raped and tortured in Vietnam and who becomes an
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Le originally had plans to graduate in June 1993 and pursue a career in science. As a college student, she went to an open casting call in
Northern California "because all my friends were doing it for fun" and ended up being cast in the leading role of
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When Le was asked what she had learned from her experience with the film: "I have grown a lot. I have grown so much in the past two years, but the experiences that I went through throughout my whole life really made me what I am today."
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According to Stone, "Our people saw her, put her on video, thought she was electric, and flew her down to Los
Angeles. I thought she was charismatic. We worked with her, put her on video with other actors, introduced her to
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Sometime during the night, just as we arrived at a
Vietnamese checkpoint, my sister woke up and started screaming for our momma ... Everyone thought we were going to die", she says. That night, a fishing boat
316:, and then we put her on film. We tested her out for about five months, continuously, and she won the role. I didn't send her to any acting school. I didn't feel that it was necessary; she was a natural."
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We were told by my mom that we had to go look for Dad, and that he had gone to someplace called 'America', which we interpreted was the city across the river, since it had lights.
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849:"One Among Thousands : First-time actress Hiep Thi Le, who beat out 16,000 hopefuls for the lead in 'Heaven and Earth', draws lessons from her fellow refugees"
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eventually reunited with her father in Hong Kong. Le's entire family – her parents and five children – were eventually reunited in
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border in 2012. "Although it's not easy to find out here, French-Vietnamese food dates back to the 18th century ... This unique
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Although the film required Le to age over 30 years and cast her opposite a number of accomplished
American and
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in 2002. After 10 years at that location, Hiep closed China Beach and opened Le
Cellier, a French-Vietnamese
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1163:"New look of Asian American films/Festival opens with edgy 'Better Luck Tomorrow', honors 'Chan Is Missing'"
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422:", Le said. As of 2016, she owned the restaurant Le Cellier with Mark Van Gessel and Bernard Louberssac.
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After her career in the film industry, Le opened up The China Beach Bistro, a
Vietnamese restaurant in
141:; February 18, 1971 – December 19, 2017) was an American actress. She is known for her portrayal of
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884:"Looking for a Laugh/"Bugis Street's Le stumbled into acting and really wants to do comedy""
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as a child, where her mother worked at a French-Vietnamese restaurant. She graduated from
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Along with approximately 60 other refugees, hid in a secret compartment behind a
359:(1995, released in the United States in 1997) and co-starred in the little-seen
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1024:"Gay Film Festival Mixes It All Up/Tickets on sale Friday for expanded series"
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actors, the untrained actress received excellent reviews citing her
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Hiep Thi Le Dies: Star Of Oliver Stone's 'Heaven And Earth' Was 46
825:"Hiep Thi Le, Vietnamese Refugee Who Became Film Star, Dies at 46"
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915:"Venice Restaurateurs' Gastropub Pairs Filet Mignon with Jazz"
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772:"Hiep Le Obituary – Peek Funeral Home – Westminster CA"
1191:"Real Gossip TV: Chopped "Beer Here" Recap (2/23/14)"
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described her as "nonprofessional but very capable."
205:sailing to Hong Kong to reunite with their father.
443:Le died on December 19, 2017, in Los Angeles from
300:, mother, and businesswoman in the United States.
214:grabbed her screaming 7-year-old sister and put a
969:"MOVIE REVIEW: Stone's 'Earth': Larger Than Life"
292:and was finally chosen for the starring role (of
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995:Whaley, Donald M.; Welsh, James Michael (2013).
365:(1997). Le made an appearance in the 1999 film
447:at the age of 46. She was acknowledged in the
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794:"OLIVER STONE CONCLUDES HIS VIETNAM TRILOGY"
1210:, deadline.com; accessed December 20, 2017.
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1323:Vietnamese emigrants to the United States
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425:On February 23, 2014, Le appeared on the
1308:Deaths from stomach cancer in California
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1298:Businesspeople from Oakland, California
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331:as Hayslip. In his review of the film,
1318:University of California, Davis alumni
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823:Genzlinger, Neil (December 23, 2017).
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1108:"A Look Back at a Time of Beginnings"
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967:Turan, Kenneth (December 25, 1993).
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261:(1993), set amid the turmoil of the
1268:21st-century American businesswomen
1080:"Asian American film fest: Yes, no"
1078:Johnson, G. Allen (July 23, 1999).
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1273:Actresses from Oakland, California
939:Ehrman, Mark (December 20, 1993).
847:Mathews, Jack (January 17, 1993).
792:Ebert, Roger (December 26, 1993).
418:with the fine heritage of country
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1134:Curiel, Jonathan (July 5, 2002).
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237:University of California, Davis
174:. In 1978, her father became a
105:University of California, Davis
1161:Meyer, Carla (March 3, 2002).
1051:"NEW MOVIES Opening This Week"
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913:Chavez, Paul (June 29, 2012).
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1106:Thomas, Kevin (May 1, 2002).
1022:Stack, Peter (May 21, 1997).
998:The Oliver Stone Encyclopedia
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79:Los Angeles, California, U.S.
1293:American women restaurateurs
1195:realgossiptv.blogspot.com.au
1189:B, Kat (February 23, 2014).
1001:. Rowman & Littlefield.
353:Le subsequently appeared in
18:American actress (1971–2017)
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284:seen by casting scouts for
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776:obits.dignitymemorial.com
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831:– via NYTimes.com.
670:The Princess of Nebraska
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227:Eventually, Le moved to
1283:American film actresses
941:"'Heaven' Packs 'Em In"
255:'s third Vietnam film,
1288:American restaurateurs
721:Sympathy for Delicious
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280:Le was one of 16,000
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564:Episode: "Marriage"
540:Dead Men Can't Dance
362:Dead Man Can't Dance
282:Vietnamese-Americans
1313:People from Da Nang
637:Return to Pontianak
453:90th Academy Awards
410:combines the fresh
396:Venice, Los Angeles
235:. She attended the
233:Oakland High School
229:Oakland, California
221:Northern California
1168:San Francisco Gate
1140:San Francisco Gate
1085:San Francisco Gate
1059:. October 20, 1997
1056:San Francisco Gate
1029:San Francisco Gate
889:San Francisco Gate
658:McDuff's Secretary
556:Tracey Takes On...
529:Arnold's Christmas
485:Heaven & Earth
402:on the Venice and
378:in 2001, opposite
290:Heaven & Earth
258:Heaven & Earth
155:Heaven & Earth
1113:Los Angeles Times
974:Los Angeles Times
946:Los Angeles Times
854:Los Angeles Times
799:Chicago Sun-Times
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653:National Security
641:Charity Yamaguchi
605:Shark in a Bottle
544:Sgt. Mia Yan Chun
527:Voice, Episode: "
400:fusion restaurant
334:Los Angeles Times
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119:Years active
72:December 19, 2017
50:February 18, 1971
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427:Food Network
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390:Restaurateur
375:Green Dragon
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356:Bugis Street
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349:Later career
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337:film critic
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327:and actorly
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286:Oliver Stone
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253:Oliver Stone
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203:fishing boat
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147:Oliver Stone
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74:(2017-12-19)
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1248:2017 deaths
1243:1971 births
1224:Hiep Thi Le
919:Patch Media
744:Final role
519:Hey Arnold!
459:Filmography
449:In Memoriam
325:sensitivity
263:Vietnam War
138:Lê Thị Hiệp
129:Hiep Thi Le
85:Nationality
25:Hiep Thi Le
1237:Categories
751:References
429:game show
245:physiology
162:Early life
133:Vietnamese
111:Occupation
46:1971-02-18
609:The Tutor
524:Mai Hyunh
310:Joan Chen
184:Hong Kong
122:1993–2011
58:Quảng Nam
1174:July 18,
1146:July 18,
1119:March 1,
1091:July 18,
1063:July 18,
1035:July 18,
980:July 17,
952:July 17,
924:March 1,
895:July 18,
860:March 1,
805:July 18,
626:Thuy Hoa
590:Bastards
367:Bastards
180:defected
158:(1993).
88:American
579:Mai-Lee
432:Chopped
408:cuisine
239:with a
212:captain
176:refugee
168:Da Nang
114:Actress
96:Hiep Le
54:Da Nang
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741:Mother
475:Notes
469:Title
199:pantry
196:galley
150:'s
737:Touch
709:Nurse
692:Kitty
687:Julia
561:Milou
490:Le Ly
472:Role
466:Year
439:Death
412:herbs
329:grace
321:Asian
241:major
216:knife
201:on a
143:Le Ly
1228:IMDb
1176:2015
1148:2015
1121:2015
1093:2015
1065:2015
1037:2015
1003:ISBN
982:2015
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507:Lian
497:1995
480:1993
382:and
312:and
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178:who
69:Died
40:Born
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