Singer and actress Quach An An is famous for her sexy onscreen persona

Her family wanted her to go into business but this feisty young woman was determined to pursue a more creative career.

Her debut album Hua nghe anh (Please promise), released in 2004, was a mix of pop and fast-paced dance music designed to acquaint audiences with her voice and image before she officially took to the stage.

Four years on, An released Q.A., a collection of pop and rock songs, which was launched earlier this month at a sumptuous ceremony at the five-star Park Hyatt Hotel in Ho Chi Minh City.

An recently signed an exclusive contract with Quang Cuong Production to be the agency’s singer and she is looking to hold a live show at the end of this year.

“I aspire to be a successful singer in entertaining music, winning audiences with my voice, appearance and dancing skills,” An said.

“Experts say that I have a good voice and I inject my feelings into my songs. But I haven’t had as much opportunity to shine in singing as in acting,” she said. “I spent more time acting than singing over the past four years but singing is my passion and that’s what I will continue to do.”

Her passion began as a child.

An, who lived with her grandmother for several years after her parents and her four younger sisters and brothers migrated to the US, had her heart set on a musical career.

Her family wanted her to go into business and she did – for a little while. She ran her family’s swimming pool and restaurant in HCMC and saved money to make her debut album.

Sex symbol?

Vietnamese audiences are familiar with An from her appearance in several films.

Her debut in Cam bay (The trap) in 2005, playing a beautiful, rich and selfish girl, won instant praise from viewers.

She won the lead role in the thriller Khach san khong den (The hotel without lights) but the project was dropped.

Though the film was never made, it helped her reputation and landed her later film offers.

She went on to act in the feature Chuong reo la ban (Fire when the bell rings).

The film revolves around a group of close friends, Van, an upcoming singer (played by An), Hong, a gun-toting athlete, Hoa, a reporter and Loan, a computer student.

During one of their outings, Loan spontaneously took pictures with her mobile phone of her three friends skinny dipping in a spring.

One day, Loan’s bag is snatched by two thieves, who later use the nude pictures to blackmail the girls.

The girls react differently to the incident.

Reproached by her friends, Loan commits suicide while the other girls lose their jobs and encounter a series of misfortunes.

An also played the lead in the TV series Xin loi tinh yeu (Sorry, love) and Toi la ngoi sao (I’m a star).

In Trung uy (Lieutenant) directed by Ha Son, which bears some similarities to prize-winning L’amant (The lover) by French director Jean Jacques Annaud, An played Sipha, a pretty and wild ethnic minority girl, who wears a very “sexy” ethnic costume.

Sipha lives a harsh life due to the war and she secretly yearns for love and a blissful married life, which are not easy to find when times are tough.

By a twist of fate, a lieutenant comes to stay in her home and the couple spends many happy moments together.

“I see absolutely nothing wrong in acting in hot scenes as long as they are necessary to the development of the plot,” An said. “Women need to be sexy to a certain extent.”

“Actresses who are reluctant to take off their clothes in front of the camera for art’s sake shouldn’t continue their career,” she added.

However, An said love scenes should be appropriate for Vietnam’s conservative society. “I’m wise and mature enough not to do something that harms my reputation and I always respect moral codes,” she said.

An’s acting skills have won praise from her colleagues.

“An is intelligent, sensitive and not afraid of being ugly in front of the camera,” said Hong Ngan, the director of Xin loi tinh yeu. “She injects strong feelings into the scenes.”

Reported by Do Tuan