Kathleen Luong (November 13, 1974 – October 28, 2020) was a

Vietnamese American Vietnamese Americans () are Americans of Vietnamese ancestry. They constitute a major part of all overseas Vietnamese. As of 2023, over 2.3 million people of Vietnamese descent live in the United States, making them the fourth largest Asian Ame ...

actress and model. She is usually credited as Katie Luong. Luong was born in

Saigon Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) ('','' TP.HCM; ), commonly known as Saigon (; ), is the most populous city in Vietnam with a population of around 14 million in 2025. The city's geography is defined by rivers and canals, of which the largest is Saigo ...

South Vietnam South Vietnam, officially the Republic of Vietnam (RVN; , VNCH), was a country in Southeast Asia that existed from 1955 to 1975. It first garnered Diplomatic recognition, international recognition in 1949 as the State of Vietnam within the ...

. In 1979 her family left

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

, and sailed to

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

. They immigrated to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

and eventually settled in

Orange County, CA Orange County (officially the County of Orange; often initialized O.C.) is a county located in the Los Angeles metropolitan area in Southern California, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 3,186,989, making ...

where Katie was raised. Luong's first work in television was during her high school years when she was offered a job to appear in a Vietnamese karaoke video. After starring in a few music videos, she fell in love with acting and being in front of the camera. Her first of 15 television and film credits was a 1996 appearance in an episode of the television series ''

Baywatch ''Baywatch'' is an American Drama (film and television), drama television series about lifeguards who patrol the beaches of Los Angeles County, California, and Hawaii, starring David Hasselhoff. It was created by Michael Berk, Douglas Schwartz ...

'', followed by one-off appearances in '' 2 Days in the Valley'', '' JAG'', ''

The Magnificent Seven ''The Magnificent Seven'' is a 1960 American Western film directed by John Sturges. The screenplay, credited to William Roberts, is a remake – in an Old West-style – of Akira Kurosawa's 1954 Japanese film '' Seven Samurai'' (itself init ...

'' and '' Threat Matrix'', along with film roles in '' Green Dragon'', ''

Hunger In politics, humanitarian aid, and the social sciences, hunger is defined as a condition in which a person does not have the physical or financial capability to eat sufficient food to meet basic nutritional needs for a sustained period. In t ...

'', ''Missing Brendan'' and '' In Search of a Midnight Kiss'' (2007), her last credited role. In her later years, Katie opened Katie's Munchies in Westminster, CA serving mostly local high school students. Luong died of cancer on October 28, 2020. She was 45 years old.

References

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* 1975 births 2020 deaths Actresses from Ho Chi Minh City Models from Ho Chi Minh City 20th-century Vietnamese actresses Vietnamese emigrants to the United States American film actresses Vietnamese film actresses {{US-tv-actor-1970s-stub