Vietnamese-born actress Le Thi Hiep, who starred in the war-themed movie “Heaven & Earth” directed by Oliver Stone, died in Los Angeles, U.S. on December 19 at the age of 46 due to stomach cancer, local media reports.

Le Thi Hiep in "Heaven & Earth"

Born in 1971 in the central city of Danang, Hiep defeated thousands of candidates to become main actress in “Heaven & Earth”, the final movie of Oliver Stone when she was still a student majoring in psychology at the University of California.

Following the success of the “Heaven & Earth” movie, the ill-fated Vietnamese actress went on to have roles in a series of films such as Cruel Intentions (1999), Green Dragon (2001) and National Security (2003).

According to Deadline.com, an online magazine founded by Nikki Finke in 2006 to break up-to-the-minute entertainment, Hollywood and media news, Hiep is one of the first Asian actresses to make a public appearance in the American movie industry.

In addition, she also developed her career in the food industry as she served as a chef at the China Beach Bistro Restaurant in Venice, California before moving on to become an owner of Le Cellier, a French-Vietnamese restaurant in Marina Del Rey, just south of Venice.

SGT