Le was born in Saigon, South Vietnam,[1] in 1966 or 1967.[2] She fled to the United States with her father and two older brothers during the Fall of Saigon in 1975.[1][2] Her mother arrived in the US in 1979; however, they weren't reunited until 1985.[1] Le speaks Vietnamese, English, and French. She majored in English at the University of Paris.[2]
Le gave her only acting performance in Brian De Palma's 1989 war drama film Casualties of War. In the film, she played two roles: a Vietnamese peasant girl who was kidnapped, raped, and murdered by a group of American soldiers (her character was based on real-life victim Phan Thi Mao); and an Asian student whom Private First Class Max Eriksson (Michael J. Fox) meets years after the incident aboard a transit line in San Francisco. Le has stated that she auditioned for the part because De Palma's The Untouchables (1987) is one of her favorite films.[1][2]
In 1989 Le had married a Vietnamese-French[1] medical student and was living in Paris[2] with her family.[1] In a Los Angeles Times article she was quoted that acting was a "one-shot deal" for her, as she had no aspirations to become a full-time actress, despite support from De Palma.[2]
