May Thu Aung (; born 2 May 1991), known professionally as simply May (), is a Burmese actress, singer, and model. May won the Best Theme Song Award at the 2018 Star Awards for her work in the film ''Chu Si''.

Early life and education

May was born on 2 May 1991 in

Yangon Yangon, formerly romanized as Rangoon, is the capital of the Yangon Region and the largest city of Myanmar. Yangon was the List of capitals of Myanmar, capital of Myanmar until 2005 and served as such until 2006, when the State Peace and Dev ...

, Myanmar. She is the middle child among three siblings, having an older brother and younger sister. She attended high school at Basic Education High School No. 2 Lanmadaw. She graduated from

University of Distance Education, Yangon The University of Distance Education, Yangon ( ), located in Yangon, is one of two universities under the University of Distance Education system in Myanmar. With over 500,000 students mostly studying liberal arts and economics, the UDE system is ...

with a degree in English in 2011.

Career

2007–2010: Pageantry and acting debut

In December 2007, May competed in the Miss Now How 2007 pageant and placed as the 1st runner-up. In 2008, she competed in the Miss Kose 2008 pageant and became the 1st runner-up and won the tile Miss People 2008. In 2009, she entered the film industry and debuted as an actress in the film ''Tain Tway Thwar Tae Lan'' alongside senior actors Ye Deight,

Htun Eaindra Bo Htun Eaindra Bo (, ; also Htun Aeindra Bo; born 1 May 1966) is a three-time Myanmar Academy Award winning actress and singer. The Mogok native began her film career in 1991, and has achieved fame and success as an actor and singer. Now in her 50 ...

and May Thinzar Oo in 2010. She then starred in the film ''Lu Zaw'', alongside Ye Deight,

Zin Wine Zin Wyne (, also spelt Zin Wine; born 1959, Htay Lwin) is a Burmese film actor. He won the Myanmar Motion Picture Academy Awards two times and served as the chairperson of the Myanmar Motion Picture Organization twice as well. Career Zin Wyne e ...

, Soe Myat Thuzar and Sandy Myint Lwin.

2011–2017: Breaking into the big screen and recognition

She then made her big-screen debut in the film ''Daddy Ka Main Ka Lay'' where she played the main role with

Min Maw Kun Min Maw Kun (, born Kyaw Kyaw Htay Lwin, 26 February 1979) is a former Burmese actor, singer, and revolutionary. He received the Myanmar Academy Awards for Best Actor in 2001 for his performance in '' Good Hearted-Stupid Person''. Throughout h ...

, Hat Kat, and

Phway Phway Phway Phway (, ; born Shwe Yee Ko Oo on 9 August 1988) is a three-time Myanmar Academy Award winning Burmese film actress. She is the third highest-paid actress of Myanmar according to records . Phway won her first Myanmar Academy Award in 201 ...

, which screened in Myanmar cinemas in 2011. From 2011 to 2013, she has temporary retirement from the entertainment industry due to health problems. In 2015, she played a supporting role in comedy film ''Bhone Ka Nyar Hna Par'', which screened in Myanmar cinemas on 21 July 2017. After this film, she starred in comedy film ''Zoot Kyar'' where she played the main role with Kyaw Ye Aung,

Myint Myat Myint Myat (; born 7 August 1986) is a Myanmar Motion Picture Academy Awards-winning Burmese actor. He began his career in June 2006. Selected filmography Film (Cinema) *'' Kyauk Sat Yay'' (2009) *'' Ko Tint Toh Super Yat Kwat'' (2014) *'' C ...

Moe Aung Yin Moe Aung Yin (; born 13 August 1987) is a Burmese actor. He is best known for his leading role in Burmese films ''Allann Za Yar'' and ''Gay A Htar''. Early life and education Moe Aung Yin was born on 28 June 1987 in Yangon, the first son of B ...

Ye Lay Ye Lay (; born Ye Htun Min on 11 January 1984) is a Burmese hip hop singer-songwriter, musician, actor and model. He is one of the stars of the Burmese entertainment industry. In 2011, he was the subject of a hoax that claimed he had been stabb ...

, Htet Aung Shine,

Khine Thin Kyi Khine Thin Kyi (; born 27 September 1971) is a two-time Myanmar Academy Award winning Myanmar, Burmese film actress. She is considered one of the most commercially successful actresses in Burmese cinema. Early life and education Khine Thin Ky ...

, Thandar Bo and

Patricia Patricia is a feminine given name of Latin language, Latin origin. Derived from the Latin word ''Patrician (ancient Rome), patrician'', meaning 'noble', it is the feminine form of the masculine given name Patrick (given name), Patrick. Another we ...

, which screened in Myanmar cinemas on 29 September 2017 and processed huge hit and successes.

2018–present: Rising popularity

In 2018, she portrayed one of the female leads in the film ''Chu Si'' alongside

Kyaw Htet Aung Kyaw Htet Aung (; born 14 September 1985) is a Burmese television host, MC, actor and Model (person), model. He is best known for hosting in the televised singing competition show Myanmar Idol, which propelled him to fame in Myanmar. Early life ...

Melody A melody (), also tune, voice, or line, is a linear succession of musical tones that the listener perceives as a single entity. In its most literal sense, a melody is a combination of Pitch (music), pitch and rhythm, while more figurativel ...

, Ei Chaw Po,

Aye Myat Thu Aye Myat Thu (; born 14 September 1986) is a Myanmar Academy Award winning Burmese actress and model, who has acted in videos, movies and television series throughout her career. She entered the entertainment industry through modeling and beauty ...

, and Nan Su Oo, which premiered in Myanmar cinemas on 14 September 2018. The same year, she co-starred with A Linn Yaung and

in the horror film Tadotamee (The Bride), which premiered in Myanmar cinemas on 28 December 2018 and was a commercial success. Her portrayal of the character earned praised by fans for her acting performance and character interpretation, and experienced a resurgence of popularity.

Music career

May started singing in 2009 and participated in

thingyan Thingyan (/sɛŋkəmɑ/ ; , Old Mon language, Old Mon: သင်ကြာန် ), also known as the Myanmar New Year, is a festival that usually occurs in middle of April. Thingyan marks the transition from the old year to the new one, based on ...

group album "April Queens". A song from that album, "Ar Koe Mal Naw" which became one of the all-time hit in her career. She released her debut solo album "Marry Me?" on 23 February 2017 which was officially distributed to all parts of Myanmar. She made the theme song "Myat Nar Phone Myar" (The Masks) for the film ''Chu Si'' together with May Kyi, which won the Best Theme Song Award at the 2018 Star Awards. May released a lot of single songs "Min Ko Chit Loh" in 2018, "Kyal" (Star), and "Lost" in 2019, "Good Bye" in 2020.

Political activities

Following the

2021 Myanmar coup d'état A coup d'état in Myanmar began on the morning of 1 February 2021, when Elections in Myanmar, democratically elected members of the country's ruling party, the National League for Democracy (NLD), were deposed by the Tatmadaw, Myanmar's milita ...

, May was active in the anti-coup movement both in person at rallies and through social media. Denouncing the military coup, she has taken part in protests since February. She joined the "We Want Justice"

three-finger salute Three-finger salute may refer to: *Three-finger salute (Serbian), a salute used by Serbs * Three-finger salute (Sicilian), a salute used by Sicilian nationalists and separatists * Three-finger salute (pro-democracy), a gesture originally from the H ...

movement. The movement was launched on social media, and many celebrities have joined the movement. On 4 April 2021, warrants for her arrest were issued under section 505 (a) of the penal code by the

State Administration Council The State Administration Council (; abbreviated SAC or နစက) is the military junta currently governing Myanmar, established by Commander-in-Chief of Defence Services Min Aung Hlaing following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, February 2021 c ...

for speaking out against the military coup. Along with several other celebrities, she was charged with calling for participation in the

Civil Disobedience Movement Civil disobedience is the active and professed refusal of a citizen to obey certain laws, demands, orders, or commands of a government (or any other authority). By some definitions, civil disobedience has to be nonviolent to be called "civil". ...

(CDM) and damaging the state's ability to govern, with supporting the

Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw The Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw (; abbreviated CRPH) is a Burmese legislative body in exile, representing a group of National League for Democracy lawmakers and members of parliament ousted in the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état. T ...

, and with generally inciting the people to disturb the peace and stability of the nation.

Filmography

Film

* ''Tain Tway Thwar Tae Lan'' (တိမ်တွေသွားတဲ့လမ်း) (2010) * ''Lu Zaw'' (လူဇော်) (2010)

Film (Cinema)

Discography

Solo album

*''Marry Me'' (2017)

Singles

*''Min Ko Chit Loh'' (2018) *''Kyal'' (2019) *''Lost'' (2019) *''Good Bye'' (2020) *''Phyay Par Baby'' (2020) *''A Tate Mae Yaw Gar'' (2021) *''A Yan Lwan Nay P''(2022)

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:May 1991 births Living people 21st-century Burmese actresses 21st-century Burmese women singers Actresses from Yangon