Mai Duong Kieu

Acting

Biography

Mai Duong Kieu (born February 1987 in Bắc Ninh, Vietnam) is a German-Vietnamese actress. Kieu was born in the Vietnamese provincial capital of Bắc Ninh and moved to Chemnitz with her mother in 1992, where her father was already living. Her father is a master of Shaolin Kung Fu; consequently, she began learning martial arts at an early age. She was discovered by a talent agency via the social networking platform Myspace. She gained her first stage experience in various productions, including an adaptation of *Faust*. From 2005 to 2007, she studied Performing Arts in Leipzig, followed by acting training at the *Theaterfabrik Leipzig*. She received further training in Nice in 2012. In 2014, she was a member of the main cast of the US reality show *The Quest* on the ABC network. That same year, she appeared in the series *Binny und der Geist* as well as in the feature film drama *Wir sind jung. Wir sind stark.* In 2015, she landed her first leading television role in the film *Mein Schwiegervater, der Stinkstiefel*. Kieu garnered international attention for her role in the ZDF series *Bad Banks*, which premiered at the Berlinale in 2018. In the series—directed by Christian Schwochow—she played a continuous leading role. From 2020 to 2025, she portrayed neurosurgeon Dr. Lilly Phan in the hospital drama series *In aller Freundschaft*. In 2026, she returned to the series for guest appearances. Mai Duong Kieu has a daughter.