The Fascinating Story Behind Why So Many Nail Technicians Are Vietnamese

Celeste Hoang
"Many got their start in the field thanks to Hollywood star Tippi Hedren."

Photos added by TD

"Most Americans recognize Tippi Hedren for her starring role in Alfred Hitchcock’s horror film The Birds—but among the Vietnamese American community, her reputation is for something a little more serious: being a cornerstone of the immigrant community's economy.

"Forty years ago, the Hollywood actor traveled to Hope Village, a Vietnamese refugee camp near Sacramento, California, to meet with a group of women who had recently fled the takeover of South Vietnam by the armed forces of Communist leader Ho Chi Minh. Hedren was aware of the difficulties the refugees had faced and had been trying before her visit to think of a skill or trade she could help the women learn so they could support themselves in their adopted country. When she met with the group, she was surprised to find they were enamored with her manicure.

“We were trying to find vocations for them. I brought in seamstresses and typists—any way for them to learn something,” she told the BBC. “And they loved my fingernails.' ” . . .More. . . 

Tippi Hedren with the first Vietnamese manicure class receiving
 their cosmetology licenses in 1975. (Photo: Thuan Le)

Hat tip to Sue Fulton Robinson; Garibaldi, Oregon