The beauty queen of comedy was once criticized for being ugly, but for the first time, she directed a film that earned hundreds of billions in revenue.

Thu Trang, a talented comedian, has just had a big turning point in her career when she tried her hand at directing for the first time with the filmBillionaire Kiss.Not only that, she also takes on the role of producer and main actress in this project.

Thu Trang's decision to "play big" has reaped resounding success.Billionaire Kisscreated a box office fever and received many compliments from the audience.

I once felt so miserable that I wanted to quit my job because the audience said I was ugly.

Born in 1984, Thu Trang began her comedy career in 2002, when she was a student at the Ho Chi Minh City College of Theater and Cinema. When she first graduated, she had difficulty finding roles because she did not have the advantage of appearance. Thu Trang made a good impression on others thanks to her bright face and cheerful personality, but her body was quite thin, so it was difficult to coordinate clothes, and she was picky about hairstyles and makeup. Therefore, she was often assigned supporting roles.

Thu Trang said that when she first started performing, the audience criticized her for being "like a salted fish". Once, when she stepped onto the stage from backstage, the actress heard many people chasing her away: "This girl is so ugly and rude, come in".

"Many times, I feel so miserable that I want to quit my job.", she confided.

After much thought and consideration, Thu Trang decided to switch to comedy. Unlike many young colleagues with outstanding looks, she wanted to choose her own path, exploiting her unique "ugly" features to leave an impression on the audience.

It is this difference that has helped Thu Trang gradually assert her talent on stage. She transforms into a variety of roles, from middle-aged single women to ladies who love young men, bringing hearty laughter to the audience.

In 2005, Thu Trang's name began to be noticed when she participated in the programLaughter Gala, a playground that gathers many talented comedy groups from all over the country. In the skitSuper marketing,Thu Trang demonstrated her ability to improvise flexibly and respond gracefully with her senior, Tiet Cuong, leaving a deep impression on the audience.

In the early 2010s, Thu Trang became a new phenomenon in the Southern drama scene when she joined the Young World stage. With her forte in horror-psychological comedy, she was like a "fish in water", continuously appearing in a series of popular plays such as:Ghost Painting, Holiday of Horror, Secret of the Morgue, Well of Ghosts...

Talking about the nickname "beauty queen of comedy", Thu Trang said that many audiences disagreed because they thought the two words "beauty queen" were not suitable for her:“Many people object because they don’t understand what the term ‘comedy queen’ means. They think that a beauty queen must be crowned, must be voted for, must have long legs, and a beautiful face to be a beauty queen… but they don’t think that this is actually just a nickname, and that I’m not really competing in a beauty pageant!”

Not only successful in the comedy field, Thu Trang also conquered cinema and achieved significant success. She impressed through many blockbuster movies such asWin the Lottery, You Are My Grandma, Blood Moon Party...Especially, the role of Thu Quynh inBlood Moon Partyhelped Thu Trang receive many compliments and affirm her diverse acting talent.

Not only affirming her acting talent, Thu Trang is also a talented film producer. Projects she co-produced include:Sister Thirteen: Three Days of Life and Death, Super Easy JobandThe Loquat Looking for a Husbandwere all commercially successful, consolidating Thu Trang's position in the Vietnamese cinema industry.

The role of Nhot inThe Loquat Looking for a Husbandalso brought Thu Trang the awardBest Actress in a Motion Pictureat the Golden Kite Awards 2023.

Along with her career success, Thu Trang's beauty has also improved. More and more audiences praise her beauty, her face and body are increasingly attractive.

She said that she used to take care of her beauty with cosmetic procedures to become more confident, this is also a way to respect the audience and the people around her. However, the actress only injected fat into her face and did not dare to "touch the knife".

First time director was successful

2024 marked a major turning point in Thu Trang's career when she decided to become a director with the filmBillionaire Kiss,simultaneously taking on 3 most important roles: Director, producer, main actress. Thu Trang shared that she is a person who likes to play it safe but at this time she needs to take a risk to try a new role.

Billionaire Kissrevolves around the story of two sisters Thuy Kieu (Thu Trang) and Thuy Van (Thien An) and the troubles related to love. The film has a gentle, emotional but also subtle storytelling style, bringing the audience moments of relaxation and laughter.

In particular, the idea of ​​creating 2 endings and randomly showing them in all cinemas nationwide helpedBillionaire Kisscreated a big fever. Many audiences expressed surprise and also sent compliments to Thu Trang for her creativity and trend-setting.

Talking about being a director, Thu Trang said: “Trang wanted to create a film with her own personality. Trang thought a lot about how to create an impressive ending for 'Billion Dollar Kiss'. Initially, Trang only intended to leave the ending open; because she couldn't decide who to pair Van with, Trang filmed two endings. When it came time to edit the film, Trang and her crew decided to show the film with two endings.

This is something that probably no Vietnamese director has done before, Trang thought it was an interesting idea so she took the risk to do it. Unexpectedly, everyone loved it so much. In the past few days, Trang has received many compliments and comments about the film, which is the motivation for Trang to continue to go all the way with cinema. Trang is completely serious about her role as a director."

Thu Trang also expressed her joy when the movie was released.Billionaire Kisswas given an increased screening time. When it first came out,Billionaire KissThere were only over 1,500 screenings. After 5 days of ticket sales, thanks to the love and support of the audience, the film was extended by 1,500 more screenings. When the film was first released, she was a bit worried because there weren't many screenings. However, the female artist still believes that if she makes a decent, decent film, the audience will love her.

According to Box Office Vietnam data on the morning of February 7, the movieBillionaire Kisshas reached the 100 billion VND mark in revenue. The film led the revenue on February 6, surpassing the workThe Guardian QuartetTran Thanh's film. Despite fewer screenings, Thu Trang's film still "surpassed" Tran Thanh's film in both important indicators: ticket sales and revenue.

Thu Trang's comeback in the Tet film race surprised many people, because in recent years, the Tet film market seems to be Tran Thanh's "private playground".

The movieThe Guardian Quartetstarring and co-produced by Tran Thanh, when it was first released, it continuously set many impressive box office records. However, after a week, the film's appeal gradually "cooled down".

Previously, when asked about "collision" with Tran Thanh at the Tet film race, Thu Trang said:"Tran Thanh is a friend, a good colleague. As a progressive person, I need to learn a lot from Tran Thanh. The box office battle during Tet needs many choices for the audience, so I think the more movies released in theaters, the more attractive it will be.".