Lý Nhã Kỳ

Trần Thị Thanh Nhàn's father, Mr. Trần Ngọc Lý was a North Vietnamese soldier who fought and was posted in Rừng Sác (now part of Cần Giờ District, Ho Chi Minh City) during the Vietnam War. He died in 2005 due to war injuries and was posthumously awarded the title of a Revolutionary Martyr. Her mother is originally from Thái Bình. At 16 with help of relatives she moved to Germany to study.

Aside from her native tongue Vietnamese, Kỳ is also fluent in English, German and Mandarin Chinese.

She stated that "Lý" was taken from her father’s name (who has passed away), ‘Nhã’ comes from her name "Nhàn" in Nhàn Nhã (meaning gentle and refined), and "Kỳ", means something strange and unexpectedly, was chosen by her as she believes that her life sometimes brings unexpected things.^[7]

At the age of 16, she moved to Germany to study with help of relatives. Where she claimed she graduated from ‘Real University’. When fans said there is no such academic institution in Germany. The actress explained that Real is just the nickname and the official name of the school is called Alexander Wiegand University. “We have a slogan: Real People – Real Work – Real Action, so we call it Real for short. Also, Real comes from Alexander where we get the letters ER and AL from,” she said. However, when googling “Alexander Wiegand” or a related word it does not show any valid information. Readers in Germany also said there is no school by this name, except for a training school for pets. In an interview in 2007, the actress also said her father is a Russian who met her mother while he worked as an oil and gas expert in Vũng Tàu. But in her application for the Vietnam’s Tourism Ambassador title, she declared that her father is a Vietnamese was a martyr. Tran Nhat Hoang, Director of the Center for Sports and Tourism Promotion under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, told an online newspaper that Ly Nha Ky’s father is confirmed a martyr. but nonetheless it sparked controversy regarding her false statements.^[8]

She wore a revealing low-cut dress and skirt at a play of Vietnam’s National Hero General Võ Nguyên Giáp and the Điện Biên Symphony, sparking angry backlash of unprofessionalism in Vietnamese media.^[9]

In April 2012, wedding photos and a marriage certificate dated August 18, 2000, surfaced online, showing a marriage between Trần Thị Thanh Nhàn (who shares the same birth name, birth date, and birthplace as her) and Dương Thiết Tâm a Vietnamese-German, leading to speculation that she had been married since the age of 18.^[10]

Suspected of holding a fake university graduation certificate.

• Mercedes-Benz^[11]
• Avon Products^[12]