Meritorious Artist Le Vi confided: “My mother was born in Hai Phong but almost her whole life she was attached to Hanoi. So much so that many people “nailed” her, calling her a “Hanoi girl” but she never “claimed it”.
On the contrary, my mother was always proud of her origins, thanks to being born into a famous family in Hai Phong with her father being a teacher, poet, playwright Le Dai Thanh and her mother Dinh Ngoc Anh coming from a bourgeois family, a famous talented actress at that time… (Mrs. Dinh Ngoc Anh used to be an actress in the Gio Bien drama troupe of her husband – Le Dai Thanh).
Meritorious Artist Le Mai sat quietly looking at the chaotic streets after the storm. Photo: FBNV
Mom went to Hanoi to pursue a career in theater when she was only 17 years old, in the 1950s. She fell in love and married my father (a native Hanoian) when she was in her twenties and has been attached to Hanoi ever since.
Perhaps it was due to such circumstances that she was born with the qualities of a strong and kind woman, always living honestly, uprightly, and never bowing her head. Fate favored her to inherit at the same time the quintessence of two lands closely associated with her life.
Mom’s life has gone through many storms, but she is still here, standing firm as a historical symbol of Hanoi. Mom is still attached to Phan Dinh Phung Street with three rows of ancient trees standing proudly, facing the storm. Outside, the storm has just passed, leaving behind chaos and devastation…
My mother still sits here quietly, witnessing the ups and downs of Hanoi as if watching a movie of her life, both sad and proud… Out there, although many trees were uprooted, there are still very resilient old trees, standing firm after the extremely fierce storm. Hanoi exists in me and is associated with the image of my mother – A kind mother!”.
Artist Le Vi often visits her mother, two sisters and relatives. Photo: FBNV
Meritorious Artist Le Mai used to work in the Central Drama Troupe, then worked at the Hanoi Drama Troupe (now the Hanoi Drama Theater). She participated in the plays: “The Story of the Guerrillas”, “The Sugarcane Field”, “July Night”, “Hanoi in the Beginning of 1946”, “The Frontline Calls”… She appeared in the films: “Grandma Doesn’t Like to Eat Pizza”, “House Rules”… She retired in 1982 and was awarded the title of Meritorious Artist in 2023.
Meritorious Artist Le Mai met and fell in love with People’s Artist Tran Tien when they worked together at the Central Drama Troupe. They had three daughters together, all of whom are famous artists: Meritorious Artist Le Van, People’s Artist Le Khanh and Meritorious Artist Le Vi. Because life during the subsidy period was difficult, the economic burden weighed heavily on their shoulders, causing the couple’s feelings to gradually fade. In 1970, the couple divorced, when Meritorious Artist Le Mai was just over 30 years old and her youngest daughter Le Vi was only 3 years old.
Meritorious Artist Le Vi always misses her mother and misses Hanoi.
Le Vi showed artistic talent from a young age. The female artist is attached to the arts of dance and music. In addition, Artist Le Vi also made his mark with 4 films: “Fairy Tales for 17-year-olds”, “Unknown Eucalyptus Tree”, “Yellow Light” and “Two Sides of the Horizon”.
Meritorious Artist Le Vi loves dance and devotes all her love to this art form. Even after getting married, Le Vi still devoted herself to dance. Love came to Le Vi very gently, the female artist married the person who rented her parents’ house.
Cyril Lapointe – Le Vi’s husband came to Hanoi to study painting and work at the French Institute of the Far East. He was the “Western man” who rented the house of Meritorious Artist Le Van’s family that Le Van mentioned in her autobiography “Le Van, love and live”.
Three sisters Le Van, Le Khanh, Le Vi. Photo: FBNV
While in Vietnam, Cyril Lapointe opened an art gallery but business was not going well. When Le Vi was pregnant with their second child, they decided to move to France. He found a stable job working in real estate, building a 250m2 villa in a tourist area of France, the city of Amboise, about 200km from Paris.
Since having their own house, Le Vi and her husband have welcomed artist Le Mai over every year. After returning from a long trip, Meritorious Artist Le Mai always praised her son-in-law. In her eyes, Cyril Lapointe is a kind person, respects his wife’s family and loves his wife and children very much.
Meritorious Artist Le Vi still occasionally returns home to visit her family, friends, and colleagues. Previously, she still had a house in Vietnam – the place that holds all the beautiful memories of her and her husband’s career. That home is still owned by her mother – Meritorious Artist Le Mai hire a good housekeeper