Cambodian-American celebrities
Celebrities with Cambodian ancestry.
List activity
156 views
• 1 this weekCreate a new list
List your movie, TV & celebrity picks.
14 people
- Actor
- Art Department
François Chau was born on 26 October 1959 in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. He is an actor, known for Rescue Dawn (2006), Lost (2004) and The Tick (2016).- The Asian-American actor Kam Fong, best known for his co-starring role as Chin Ho in the original Hawaii Five-O (1968) TV series, was born Kam Tong Chun on May 27, 1918 in Kalihi, Hawaii. (The name Fong was the result of a teacher incorrectly teaching him how to write his name. The name stuck and he later took it as his legal name.) After graduating from high school, he worked as a boiler-maker in the Pearl Harbor shipyard and was there on December 7, 1941, when the Japanese attack on the naval base brought America into World War II.
He joined the police force in 1944, serving as cop for 16 years. While still on the force, he made his feature film debut in the B-movie Ghost of the China Sea (1958) (1958), following it up with a bit part in The Lost Missile (1958) (1958). After his retirement from the police department in 1960, he acted in community theater while working as a disc jockey and a real estate agent.
Other bit parts followed in the early '60s, but it was "Hawaii Five-O" that made him part of TV history. He appeared on the show for 10 of its 12 seasons, as well as in the 1997 Hawaii Five-O (1997) TV movie that reunited the original cast, despite Kam Fong having been killed off in season 10. His son Dennis Chun has appeared intermittently in the 2010 Hawaii Five-0 (2010) revival as SGT Duke Lukela.
Suffering from lung cancer, Kam Fong died on October 18, 2002 in Honolulu. He was 84 years old. - Cinematographer
- Producer
- Director
Kalyanee Mam is known for A River Changes Course (2013), Lost World (2018) and Cries of Our Ancestors (2020).- Haing S. Ngor was a native of Cambodia. Before the war, he was a physician & medical officer in the Cambodian army. He became a captive of the Khmer Rouge. He was imprisoned & tortured. In order to escape execution, he denied being a doctor or having an education. He moved to the U.S. as a refugee in 1980. Though he had no formal acting experience, he was chosen to portray photographer Dith Pran in The Killing Fields (1984) & won an Academy Award. He went on to a modestly distinguished acting career while continuing to work w/ human rights organizations in Cambodia on improving the conditions in resettlement camps as well as attempting to bring the perpetrators of the Cambodian massacre to justice. OnFebruary 25, 1996, he was found shot to death in the garage of his apartment building in L.A. Relatives & friends speculated that the killing was revenge for his opposition to the Khmer Rouge.
- Actress
- Producer
- Writer
Courtney Lin was born in San Diego, California, USA. She is an actress and producer, known for Monster High (2022), Rainbow High (2020) and Scott Pilgrim Takes Off (2023).- Actor
- Producer
- Writer
Osric Chau was born in Vancouver, Canada, to a father from Hong Kong and a mother from Malaysia. He had spent years training martial arts with aspirations to work in stunts when he landed his first leading role alongside the late David Carradine in Kung Fu Killer (2008) that was shot in Hengdian, China.
The following year Osric played Nima, the Tibetan monk, in Roland Emmerich's 2012 (2009), working with veteran actors John Cusack and Thandiwe Newton, that grossed over $760 million worldwide. That success brought Osric back to China where he worked on the Chinese Remake of What Women Want (2012) alongside Andy Lau and Gong Li and The Man with the Iron Fists (2012) with Russell Crowe, Lucy Liu and director, writer, actor and rap musician RZA.
In 2011 Osric landed another leading role in Paramount's Fun Size (2012) with Victoria Justice, Thomas Mann and Jane Levy. The Halloween comedy also includes Chelsea Handler, Josh Pence and Johnny Knoxville.
In 2012 Osric started work on Supernatural (2005) as genius high school student pulled into the role of prophet, Kevin Tran, a character he played on the show over 16 episodes in seasons 7-9 and 11. This work got him noticed and his acting roles have become more prolific since his appearance in the series.
In the process Osric has more than found a passion for acting and filmmaking. He still enjoys stunts, and has enormous appreciation of the skill and sacrifices involved but he'll settle with doing as many of his own stunts as a production will allow..- Chrissie Chau was born on 22 May 1985 in Chaozhou, Guangdong, China. She is an actress, known for 29 + 1 (2017), City Under Siege (2010) and Death Notice: A Serial Killer Leaving Notes (2023).
- Pisay Pao is a Cambodian American actress best known for playing Cassandra on the Syfy series "Z Nation." She was born in Thailand after her parents escaped Cambodia at the end of their country's civil war. Pisay's family were eventually sponsored to the US and settled in Seattle, Washington. Here, she attempted to balance her parents' traditional expectations with her love for the performing arts. At the suggestion of a classmate Pisay auditioned for and booked her first feature film. This lead to her first agent and additional film and TV roles in Seattle. Upon moving to Los Angeles in 2011 Pisay booked her first job, working with Oscar Winning Director Alejandro Gonzales Innaritu. This was followed by a series regular role and guest star roles working alongside Scott Bakula, Sir Timonthy Dalton, and Renee Russo.
- Additional Crew
Dith Pran was born on 23 September 1942 in Siem Reap, Cambodia. He is known for Omnibus (1967), Hier is... Adriaan van Dis (1983) and Primetime (1989). He died on 30 March 2008 in New Brunswick, New Jersey, USA.- Writer
- Producer
- Director
- Actress
- Stunts
Christina Ros was born in Boston, Massachusetts and raised in Southern California. Her heritage background is Cambodian and Chinese. Christina's mother immigrated to the United States as a refugee having survived the horrific concentrates camps and genocide by the Khmer Rogue regime in Cambodia. Hearing first hand accounts from her mom and other older relatives about the war, in addition to Christina's personal experience of a challenging childhood, have all served to strengthen her and infuse her with a sense of great empathy and compassion for all people. She is a true believer in equality for all, and is also a huge animal lover. She resides in Los Angeles, California with her family, where she has spent a number of years studying various acting techniques, and is continuously training to enhance her craft. Her work ranges from films, TV, to commercials and print modeling. Her motto in life is to "Dream Big, Be Happy, and Live to Love".- Actor
- Additional Crew
- Casting Department
Darit Phoung Brown was born on 4 July 1980 in Aranyaprathet, Thailand. He is an actor, known for The Crazies (2010), Dead Awake (2010) and Haunting Villisca (2006).- Actor
- Stunts
- Producer
Japanom Yeerum was born on February 5, 1976, in the northeastern province of Surin, Thailand. His parents were elephant herders. Jaa watched martial arts films as a young kid and began to emulate some of his idols, from Bruce Lee to Jackie Chan to Jet Li. Jaa studied martial arts at the local temple school and later under a scholarship at the Physical Education College in Khon Kaen, Thailand where he continued to study Muay Boran, Muay Thai, Wushu, Judo and Tae-Kwan-Do. Jaa later did some stunt for in a film for 'Panna Rittikrai', This resulted in Jaa being seen and getting work, doubling for Robin Shou and James Remar in Mortal Kombat: Annihilation (1997), and when his demo reel was seen by director Prachya Pinkaew, the film Ong-Bak: The Thai Warrior (2003) was created for Jaa. He adopted the English name Tony Jaa. In 2013, after ending his association with Sahamongkol Film, Jaa was contracted by Universal Studio's for a role in Fast and Furious 7. Jaa now has starring roles in several international films being filmed in 2014 and is concentrating his efforts more towards international audiences.- Actress
- Producer
- Writer
Ellen Wong was born in Scarborough, Ontario, Canada. Her first role was on the award winning television series "This Is Wonderland". She is best known for her role as Knives Chau in "Scott Pilgrim vs. The World", starring alongside Michael Cera, Mary Elizabeth Winstead and Jason Schwartzman. She auditioned against many hopefuls through an international talent search to fill the role of Knives Chau. Edgar Wright wanted to work with Ellen as she was able to showcase herself as a unique actress, with the ability to also take on intense fight choreography. During training for "Scott Pilgrim vs. The World", the on-set trainer nicknamed Ellen, The Ellen-nator.