How Vietnamese Activist Amanda Nguyen and Actor Kieu Chinh Inspire Each Other

Where I'm From: Now and Gen features in-conversation pieces between generations — like a younger woman and her grandmother — discussing a topic like beauty rituals, finances, or marriage. For our latest installment, we spoke with two icons in the Vietnamese community: Amanda Nguyen, an activist and astronaut, and Kieu Chinh, a philanthropist and actor known for her roles in "The Joy Luck Club" and, more recently, "The Sympathizer." Read their inspirational conversation below.

Civil-rights activist Amanda Nguyen always aspired to be an astronaut. But after she was raped in college and faced an unfair justice system, she put her dreams on hold. She decided to pen her own rights into existence and founded Rise, a nonprofit that advocates for survivors of sexual violence. While working persistently to pass more than 80 laws to protect survivors' rights, she never gave up on her mission to go to space. Now, she'll soon become the first Vietnamese and south Asian woman to go — and she'll be rocking her signature red lip.

"I've always worn makeup in these high pressure moments, when I'm testifying in front of the United Nations and the United States Senate," she says. "But also, I was really deliberate when I wore red lipstick for my astronaut photo. It's because I want women to know that you can be both. You don't have to choose." That perspective is what led her to partner with e.l.f. Beauty for an episode of the brand's purpose-driven documentary series, "Show Your(s)e.l.f." to empower young women in STEM. "I know that so many women in STEM are expected to either be a scientist or engineer, but they also like fashion and wear makeup. We're often put into these labels and I want to break those boundaries down. Because you can absolutely be a scientist and wear lipstick," she says.

While Nguyen's activism has made her a role model to many, she's also taken inspiration from her own mentors, like Vietnamese icon Kieu Chinh. "I feel like Kieu Chinh is the symbolic mother to so many Vietnamese and Asian American women in my generation," Nguyen says.

Though Chinh and Nguyen only met in person a few weeks prior to this chat, they've long been supportive of and uplifted one another. Chinh initially met Nguyen's parents in a social setting, which sparked a social-media relationship between the two. "I admired her so much from what I know of her story," Chinh says. "But when we finally met each other, it was like we had known each other for a long time," despite their 50-plus-year age difference.

Ahead, the two women discuss the importance of sharing their stories, how they've inspired each other, and how their Vietnamese heritage influences their activism and advocacy in their respective fields.

On Honoring Vietnamese History

Amanda Nguyen: I'm so grateful and honored to be the first Vietnamese woman and first Southeast Asian woman in space. And although I will be the first, I definitely don't want to be the last. I want to bring my community with me. Part of the reason I fell in love with the stars is because it's part of my family history. My mom and her family studied the star and used celestial navigation to find their way to freedom. My dad is an aerospace engineer. Both of them are engineers and they actually have often joked at home that they turned to coding because it was easier to learn than English in America. So when I grew up in that household, I knew of their resilience, but also that the stars symbolized freedom. That's what led me to study astrophysics and take this journey. They came on boats, and now we're on spaceships. I want the world to know that we belong. That's why I'm so intentional about what I will look like when I fly.

I recently went back to Vietnam last year and retraced my mother's boat refugee journey. I'll be flying the shells from her Malaysian refugee island into space. Between the United States State Department and the Vietnam National Space Center, I'm also conducting an experiment that will collaborate between the two nations that make up who I am. It's the 50th year anniversary since the Vietnam War, and this flight will be a symbol of peace and reconciliation between two parts of me. I'm really proud to be able to conduct that experiment and show how science can be a tool of peace.

Kieu Chinh: Oh my God, I've got goosebumps, Amanda. Honestly. You are awesome.

AN: I feel the same way about you.

KC: 2025 marks 50 years since the end of the Vietnam War and 50 years of the Vietnamese community in the United States. I want to thank my sponsor, actress Tippi Hedren, who sponsored me into this country, and America for opening the door to make our home on this land. The young generation like Amanda is the future. In my generation, the women were always behind men, but nowadays, I see women like Amanda and I don't see that anymore. If men can go to the moon, women can go to the moon, too. And Amanda is going to. I can't wait for that to happen. I really think that her life should be made into a film to show young women that if you really want to do something, if you really go for it, you will make it.

It's not like my generation. I have been through so much. I am like a living witness of the history of Vietnam. I was born in the north and left in 1954, when the French War in Indochina ended and divided our country into two parts. I left for the south at the age of 15 by myself, so I became a refugee within my own country. I have to admit that I was strong, too. I believe that whatever you got, you give back to your community. Therefore, I founded a charity organization with my two co-founders, journalist Terry Anderson and former Vietnam vet and Pulitzer Prize winner Lewis Puller, Jr. The three of us formed the Vietnam Children's Fund. We aim to build schools for the children in Vietnam, in the villages that were damaged during wartime. So far, we've built 52 schools around the country, and each year, our school has enough seats for 50,000 children.

On Sharing Their Stories

AN: A lot of people ask me, "Where did you get the strength to take on the United States government?" And I often say, "If my mom went through a whole refugee exodus, what's emailing a senator?" I certainly pull my strength and courage when I look at people like you and what they have gone through, the sacrifices and journeys they've taken to be where they are. With the history of resilience that they've had to build through tragedy, I certainly can afford to exercise the rights I've been given in this country, which is to speak up for my freedom and make this country into a more perfect union.

KC: I had to keep going, keep moving. I learned from young when I became a refugee that to be able to survive and to be what you want to be, I had to work hard. I worked very hard and I saw that there were so many opportunities out there, especially after coming to America. I cannot imagine that us, the immigrants, the refugees, would have a young lady on the cover of Time Magazine and going to space soon.

After the Vietnam War, there were so many books written about Vietnam by outsiders. And so many movies have been made about Vietnam, but none of the women characters are comfortable in the story. I wish for more movies and books about Vietnamese women. I don't want to say like me . . .

AN: I'll say it. Like you! I'd watch that movie.

KC: I have written my memoir. My memoir is a witness of the history of what I have went through. I wish that there were movies like that kind of story, like your story, that show more than the books that others have written about our country, about our women. There are women like you, Amanda. There are women like me, and that's what I want to see more of: different perspectives of women about Vietnam, our society, our culture. Our country was in war for so long. But even so, we still have love, family, culture to talk about that I would like to share to the world. The more I talk about this, the more I want to see your movie, Amanda.

AN: I want to see yours. What you shared was so powerful.

On Inspiring Each Other

KC: I'm very proud of Amanda for what she has been through, and she's still resilient and so strong. She makes us women, even me, look up to her. She gives me so much hope for the future of the young generation.

AN: I want to thank you for paving the pathway for so many of us to see ourselves reflected. Your talent in storytelling touched so many people. I know that you have represented to our community so much beyond representation. So thank you for existing and for being in these spaces and showing the world that we deserve to be on the screen.

KC: Thank you so much. I have to say thanks to somebody up there, too, helping me. At this age, I'm still very active and still working. I have never been busy like this before in my life.

AN: That's so inspirational. I think so many women feel pressured. There's this awful stereotype that once you hit 30, you're done. And to see that your career is only blooming and you are what, 80 years young? It's so incredible and so inspiring.

Yerin Kim is the features editor at POPSUGAR, where she helps shape the vision for special features and packages across the network. A graduate of Syracuse University's Newhouse School, she has over five years of experience in the pop culture and women's lifestyle spaces. She's passionate about spreading cultural sensitivity through the lenses of lifestyle, entertainment, and style.