The most gentle mother on Vietnamese screen: 92 years old, drives a motorbike to perform, doesn't care about salary

Artist Phi Dieu’s real name is Nguyen Thi Phi Phi, born in 1932, from An Giang. She has been involved in the arts since she was 14 years old. As an actress, artist Phi Dieu is widely known to audiences for her roles as hard-working, patient, and industrious women. Many people call her “the nation’s grandmother”, “the most kind mother on Vietnamese screens”…

Talking to reporters, artist Phi Dieu said that despite her old age, she still participates in acting, advertising, illustrating music videos, and even being a judge for fashion contests... all stemming from her passion for art and her desire to be a useful person to society.

Returning to art at retirement age

In 1954, she moved from the South to the North with a reformed opera troupe. At that time, her husband, the late musician Phan Nhan, was also active in the troupe. When she returned to Hanoi, her children were preparing to go to school. Realizing that her children needed someone to stay home and take care of them, while both husband and wife had to travel all the time for their artistic activities, she decided to quit her job.

Then she learned that Voice of Vietnam was looking for a Southern accent announcer. As an experienced actress in the art troupe, she took the exam and was hired right away.

After liberation, her family returned to Ho Chi Minh City. She transferred to work at Ho Chi Minh City Voice Radio as a radio announcer.

In 2000, when she retired and was no longer tied down to work at the Radio Station, artist Phi Dieu began to participate in artistic activities again. Before becoming a radio announcer, she was a member of the art troupe, attended singing and dancing classes, then switched to drama, reformed opera... so it was not difficult for her to return to acting.

“When I was still working in the Cai Luong troupe, I was trained in singing, dancing, acting, hosting, etc., so when I returned to the arts, I could do everything. In terms of acting, I don’t have any secrets, only experience gained through each project, after observing everyone perform.”, artist Phi Dieu shared.

With her gentle face, she was trusted by directors and assigned the roles of kind, patient, and hard-working mothers. Her notable films in the role of a mother include:Thuy Khuc, White Blouse, Love Flower Basket, Red Leaves on the Roadside... After these roles, she was remembered by the audience as "the most gentle mother on Vietnamese screens".

Like to ride motorbike to perform, take shows by himself

At the end of 2023, Meritorious Artist Phi Dieu received the awardBest Actressat the Closing and Award Ceremony of the 2023 Ho Chi Minh City Short Film Festival for the role of Ngoc in the filmWho killed the cake?. It is known that she was the oldest actress at the festival. At that time, she was 91 years old.

With this award and many years of active artistic activities, many audiences are looking forward to the day when artist Phi Dieu receives the title of People's Artist. However, when asked about this, she affirmed that because she is satisfied with the present, she will not apply for review.

Over 90 years old, she still rides her motorbike to work without wanting to bother her children and colleagues. She said:"I like to ride a motorbike to maintain my alertness and finish work early for comfort. Riding a motorbike helps me be more proactive and clear-headed."

She said her children had modified her bike to fit her, and that it was not as fast as the original. In addition, she drove slowly and very carefully.

However, unfortunate incidents did not go unnoticed. She had several accidents, the most serious of which was when a car pulled her over and ran over her arm. That time, she had to stay in the hospital for several months.

After the accidents, she still rides a motorbike normally and is not "timid" as people think. She said:"I'm very stubborn, I let things happen. I drive properly and carefully, I don't change lanes or go the wrong way... Just stay normal, drive the right way, if anything happens, no one can blame me."

Because he was worried about his mother's health, one time her son insisted on hiding his motorbike and refused to let her drive to work. However,,Her persistence forced me to return the car.

Artist Phi Dieu said that she herself knows her health condition, her mind is still clear so she still wants to be proactive in everything at work. Because for her, driving also helps her maintain her health as well as stay alert in all situations.

Many audiences and young colleagues expressed concern about her being old but working on her own without support from her family. She said this was her choice and decision.“My children and grandchildren are all busy, how can I make them wait for me for hours? It's hard for family members to follow me. I have two children, but they are both old and have families. So I take care of everything myself, everyone does their own thing."

Work hard but not for "food and clothing"

At the age of 92, artist Phi Dieu not only drives her motorbike to work, she also takes her own performance schedule, she does all the work herself without asking anyone for help.

She revealed that she has a small notebook that she made herself to keep a work schedule for 2 months.

“Every time I have a work schedule, I write it down in this small notebook. If anyone calls, I will look at it and notify them right away, so that they don’t have to wait too long. I serve the public, if I don’t do this, I will do that, as long as it’s related to art. I’m lucky that from the age of 14 or 15 until now, I have not done anything other than art, from singing and dancing, musicals, opera, cinema, and radio.”

Her life at this age is very comfortable both financially and mentally because she has a monthly pension. In the family, her children and grandchildren take care of food and living. She performs because of her love and the desire to contribute and support artistic activities, not for the sake of "food and clothing". All of her children have stable careers.

Another special thing that few people know is that when she accepts a show, she never asks for a fee. She accepts whatever people pay her. She doesn't even ask if people don't pay her. Every time she receives an invitation, what she cares about is how meaningful her participation is for that program, if it meets the standards, she will accept.

"I value the character and ethics of the producers and directors I work with. Every time the crew asks about my salary, I usually tell them to base it on my level of contribution to the project, and then proactively set an appropriate level, so that I don't suffer a loss and the crew is not in a difficult position. Even when many film crews don't pay, I have never asked for it."

Not only active in the arts, after retirement, she continued to work hard as Chairwoman of the Ward Front Committee for two terms. Artist Phi Dieu shared that she participated in this work with the desire to provide some spiritual and economic support to women with difficult lives and circumstances.

"Now I just hope to have good health, a clear mind, enough to take on roles so that the audience can see my dedication. I will perform until my health allows. If I feel I no longer have the strength, I will proactively step back and not force myself to make my children and grandchildren suffer.", artist Phi Dieu shared.