Tiana Alexandra

Tiana Alexandra-Silliphant (born Du Thi Thanh Nga; August 11, 1956) is a Vietnamese-American actress, filmmaker, and activist. She is known for her 1992 documentary From Hollywood to Hanoi,[1] the first American feature documentary filmed in Vietnam by a Vietnamese-American, which examines the aftermath of the Vietnam War and themes of reconciliation.[2] She and Christopher Hampton are co-directors of Hampton-Silliphant Productions.

Early life

Alexandra was born in Saigon, Vietnam, in 1956. Her father, Du Phước Long, known as Patrick Du Phuoc Long, was a Vietnamese politician who served as Director of Press and Cultural Attaché in Washington, DC, under President Ngô Đình Diệm.[3] After Diệm’s assassination in 1963, the family moved to Fairfax, Virginia, in 1966. Her father later worked for the Voice of America and wrote The Dream Shattered: Vietnamese Gangs in America.[4]

She attended Thomas Jefferson Junior High School in Arlington, Virginia, where she reportedly experienced racial discrimination. She studied martial arts under Bruce Lee and later trained with Jhoon Rhee.[5] On July 4, 1974, she married producer Stirling Silliphant at Chasen's Restaurant in West Hollywood.[6] Media reports noted that the event was attended by, among others, Robert Wagner, Natalie Wood, William Holden, and Henry Mancini.

Career

Hollywood career

Her film debut was in Sam Peckinpah's The Killer Elite (1975), co-written by her husband, screenwriter Stirling Silliphant. Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, she appeared in films and TV, including Pearl (1978) and Fly Away Home (1981), which explored the human cost of the Vietnam War. She starred in Catch the Heat (1987) and co-produced Karatexercise, combining dance and martial arts. She was among the first Vietnamese-American actresses to join the Screen Actors Guild (SAG).

Music career

During the early 1980s, she produced pop songs and videos under the management of Bill Wyman of The Rolling Stones. Her tracks, including "Feel the Heat", were showcased on MTV. Her Bruce Lee tribute video, "Feel The Heat", was featured for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' 40th anniversary of Enter the Dragon.[7]

From Hollywood to Hanoi

In 1992, Alexandra wrote, directed, and produced From Hollywood to Hanoi, which examines her perspective as a Vietnamese refugee and the long-term impacts of the Vietnam War in Vietnam and the United States. Executive produced by Oliver Stone, the film screened at the Sundance Film Festival and other venues.[1][2][8] The documentary includes interviews with Vietnamese leaders, including General Võ Nguyên Giáp, and examines issues like Amerasian children and Agent Orange.[9]

She has lectured at institutions including Bennington College, Bryn Mawr College, Harvard, Columbia, Notre Dame, USC, UC Berkeley, UC Santa Barbara, and Stanford. She was a panelist at "My Lai 25 Years After" at Tulane University and a Visiting Assistant Professor at Dartmouth College in 1993.[5][3]

Ongoing projects

Since 1998, Alexandra has produced projects such as The Bomb Art Project and Bombs Away about unexploded ordnance in Laos and has documented Agent Orange victims, raising awareness of their plight. She worked with Christopher Hampton on A Dangerous Method (2011), Appomattox (2012), and the TV mini-series The Singapore Grip (2020).[10][11]

Filmography

As actress

  • 1975: The Killer Elite – Tommie
  • 1978: Pearl (TV Mini-Series) – Holly Nagata
  • 1981: Fly Away Home (TV Movie) – Mai
  • 1987: Catch the Heat – Checkers Goldberg
  • 1987: The Three Kings (TV Movie) – Jan DuLong

As director

  • 1992: From Hollywood to Hanoi
  • 2017: The General and Me
  • 2020: The Singapore Grip: Behind the Scenes

As producer

  • 1992: From Hollywood to Hanoi
  • 2011: A Dangerous Method

Other performances

  • 1986: Karatex
  • 1992: From Hollywood to Hanoi

Nominations

  • 1993: Nominated for the "Grand Jury Prize" (Documentary) at the Sundance Film Festival for From Hollywood to Hanoi.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b c Clarke Fountain (2013). "From Hollywood to Hanoi (1992)", nytimes.com. Accessed July 7, 2025. Archived from the original on October 17, 2013.
  2. ^ a b \"Movie Review: From Hollywood to Hanoi: A Journey of Reconciliation\". Los Angeles Times. 1995-04-28.
  3. ^ a b "Patrick Du Phuoc Long Rebuts McNamara's 'In Retrospect' on CNN", CNN via YouTube. Accessed July 7, 2025.
  4. ^ Du Phuoc Long, Patrick (1997). The Dream Shattered: Vietnamese Gangs in America. UPNE; ISBN 978-1-55553-314-4.
  5. ^ a b Gross, Terry (July 22, 1993). "Tiana Alexandra", Fresh Air, NPR via YouTube.
  6. ^ "Tiana & Stirling Silliphant Married at Chasen's Restaurant", YouTube.com,. Accessed July 7, 2025.
  7. ^ "Bruce Lee & Me: Karate in Beverly Hills", Tiana Alexandra official website. Retrieved 2025-03-31.
  8. ^ Anne Midgette (2015-11-15). "Appomattox: A superb night at the opera". The Washington Post. Accessed July 7, 2025.
  9. ^ Le Skaife, Jane (March 28, 2011). "Vietnam, No Longer an Undeveloped Country", newgeography.com. Retrieved 2019-05-07.
  10. ^ "Christopher Hampton takes on America", TheGuardian.com. 2012-10-22.
  11. ^ HOME, thesingaporegrip.com. Archived from the original on 2022-05-12.
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