Topzle Topzle

Thuy Trang

Updated: 12/10/2025, 5:29:17 PM Wikipedia source

Thuy Trang (14 December 1973 – 3 September 2001) was a Vietnamese-born American actress. She was known for portraying Trini Kwan, the first Yellow Ranger, on the original cast of the television series Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. She appeared in 80 episodes from 1993 to 1994, which included the entire first season, and the first twenty episodes of the second. Trang's father was a South Vietnamese army officer who fled the country in 1975 after the fall of Saigon, leaving his family behind. When Trang was six, she and her mother and brothers boarded a cargo ship bound for Hong Kong, a difficult journey during which Trang became very ill. They reunited with Trang's father in the United States in 1980 and settled in California. She enrolled at the University of California, Irvine to study civil engineering, but switched her focus to acting after a talent scout spotted her. Trang was chosen for Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, her first major role, after participating in an audition process that included about 500 actresses. Like the other cast members, Trang mostly portrayed her character in scenes when she was out of her Power Rangers uniform; the in-costume fight scenes were footage adapted from the long-running Japanese television series Super Sentai, with Trang's voice dubbed over the action. She performed many of her own stunts, and was repeatedly hurt on the set. Trang left Mighty Morphin Power Rangers in the middle of the second season, along with fellow cast members Austin St. John and Walter Emanuel Jones, due to contractual and payment disputes and was replaced by Karan Ashley as a new Yellow Ranger named Aisha Campbell. She had a brief appearance in the film Spy Hard and played a lead villain in the film The Crow: City of Angels, both in 1996. Trang had planned to appear in several films along with St. John and Jones, but none were ultimately made. Trang died in a car crash at the age of 27.

Infobox

Born
(1973-12-14)14 December 1973Saigon, South Vietnam(present day Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam)
Died
3 September 2001(2001-09-03) (aged 27)Bakersfield, California, U.S.
Resting place
Rose Hills Memorial Park, Whittier, California
Occupation
Actress
Years active
1993–2001

Tables

· Filmography
1994
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers[better source needed]
Role(s)
Video game; Voice
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Alpha's Magical Christmas
Role(s)
Video short (archival footage)
Walter Jones Hip Hop Dance Video
Role(s)
Herself
1995
Austin St John's Martial Art's Video
Role(s)
Herself
Encyclopedia of Martial Arts: Hollywood Stars
Role(s)
Herself
1996
Spy Hard
Role(s)
Manicurist
The Crow: City of Angels
Role(s)
Kali
Notes
(final film role)
2023
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Once & Always
Role(s)
Trini Kwan
Notes
(posthumous role; archival audio)
Year
Title
Role
Notes
1993–1994
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers
Trini Kwan
Lead role; 80 episodes
1994
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers[better source needed]
Video game; Voice
1994
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Alpha's Magical Christmas
Video short (archival footage)
1994
Walter Jones Hip Hop Dance Video
Herself
1995
Austin St John's Martial Art's Video
Herself
1995
Encyclopedia of Martial Arts: Hollywood Stars
Herself
1996
Spy Hard
Manicurist
The Crow: City of Angels
Kali
(final film role)
2023
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Once & Always
Trini Kwan
(posthumous role; archival audio)

References

  1. Orange County Register
  2. Notimex
  3. Orange County Register
    https://web.archive.org/web/20220131155807/https://orangecountyregister.newspaperarchive.com/santa-ana-orange-county-register/1993-11-26/page-145/
  4. Trang 1995, 13:16–13:24 "My father was in the Southern Army. So right after the fall of Saigon, he left and he came here
  5. Orange County Register
  6. Fort Worth Star-Telegram
  7. Daily Press
  8. Louisville Eccentric Observer
  9. Trang 1995, 13:33–13:41 "It was a very, very tough journey, actually. We were on the boat for eight or nine months. A fe
  10. Trang 1995, 13:50–14:32 "For days I didn't eat and everybody thought I was dead. And they wanted to throw me overboard.
  11. Trang 1995, 13:25–13:30 "My family, my mother, and my siblings, we didn't come over until 1980."
  12. Trang 1995, 15:32–15:45 "To all the people out there, just live out your dreams. If you dream something, just pursue it
  13. Trang 1995, 15:02–15:31 "I study kung fu with Shaolin. It's really good because it builds a lot of character and it make
  14. Orange County Register
  15. The Age
  16. International Business Times
    https://www.ibtimes.co.uk/what-happened-original-power-rangers-heres-what-red-ranger-co-are-doing-now-1612919
  17. Mighty Morphin Power Rangers
    https://ew.com/tv/2018/11/20/original-mighty-morphin-power-rangers-untold-stories-25-years-later/
  18. Trang 1995, 14:33–15:01 "My agent in Hollywood sent me out on the audition and it was like about 500 people were there f
  19. Zahed & Revenson 2018, p. 20
  20. Entertainment Weekly
    https://ew.com/tv/2018/12/03/yellow-power-ranger-thuy-trang-dead-remembered-cast/
  21. Complex Media
    https://www.complex.com/pop-culture/2018/12/original-power-rangers-remember-late-thuy-trang
  22. The Huffington Post
    https://www.huffpost.com/entry/power-rangers-interview_n_6004472
  23. Johnson 2012, 10:06–10:12 "Then they ended up replacing Audri with Trang. So, that was the only shift within the group."
  24. The Salt Lake Tribune
  25. Fort Worth Star-Telegram
  26. Toronto Sun
  27. "7 Surprising Things You Never Knew About The 'Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers'"
    https://www.etonline.com/tv/152144_7_surprising_things_you_never_knew_about_the_mighty_morphin_power_rangers
  28. NPR
  29. San Francisco Chronicle
  30. Orange County Register
  31. Houston Chronicle
  32. The Philadelphia Inquirer
  33. Johnson 2012, 33:20–33:28 "We got really close at a certain point in our life where we were sleeping over each other's h
  34. "Whatever happened to the original Power Rangers?"
    https://www.denofgeek.com/tv/power-rangers/35691/whatever-happened-to-the-original-power-rangers
  35. Zahed & Revenson 2018, p. 40
  36. The Dallas Morning News
  37. Chicago Sun-Times
  38. The Star-Ledger
  39. Johnson 2012, 33:20–33:28 "In hindsight, I wonder if we all banded together. I wonder what would have happened. I wonder
  40. Fort Worth Star-Telegram
  41. Austin American-Statesman
  42. Orange County Register
  43. The Tampa Tribune
  44. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
  45. Charleston Gazette
  46. Trang 1995, 15:32–15:45 "The show was great, it gave me a lot of experience; but it's time to move on, and I'm focusing
  47. The Washington Times
  48. Orange County Register
  49. The Patriot-News
  50. Boston Herald
  51. South Bend Tribune
  52. Houston Chronicle
  53. The Recorder and Times
  54. Willis & Monush 2000, p. 60
  55. "Original 'Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers' debuted 25 years ago today"
    https://www.nbc4i.com/news/u-s-world/original-mighty-morphin-power-rangers-debuted-25-years-ago-today/
  56. The New York Times
    https://www.nytimes.com/1996/08/31/movies/of-winged-justice-and-revenge-through-pecking.html
  57. Everberg 2001, 16:12–16:19 "This is a custom illustration for Kali, who also was not cast until the very last minute."
  58. The Canberra Times
  59. Deseret News
    https://www.deseret.com/1996/9/5/19263994/crow-sequel-is-bird-of-another-feather/
  60. The Advocate
  61. The Santa Fe New Mexican
  62. Sun-Sentinel
  63. Trang 1995, 15:46–16:03 "There are a few projects that are on the way, and hopefully we'll start production on one of th
  64. Tampa Bay Times
  65. The San Francisco Examiner
  66. The Sunday Mail
  67. YouTube
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bBvigm6rZyU
  68. Fox 11 News
  69. Johnson 2012, 27:13–27:22 "And then I got that phone call from Walter. Then me and David went down to her funeral and...
  70. Theweek
  71. Tweed Daily News
  72. Daily Star (United Kingdom)
    https://www.dailystar.co.uk/showbiz-tv/hot-tv/547486/Power-Rangers-movie-jokes-about-Thuy-Trang-car-crash-death-new-promo-Becky-G
  73. Daily Mirror
    https://www.mirror.co.uk/tv/tv-news/power-rangers-movie-faces-backlash-8889175
  74. "Why Are Fans So Angry Over This Power Rangers Poster?"
    https://movieweb.com/power-rangers-poster-angry-fans-thuy-trang-death/
  75. EW.com
    https://ew.com/tv/power-rangers-once-and-always-netflix-reunion-special-honors-yellow-green-ranger-song/
  76. Screen Rant
    https://screenrant.com/mighty-morphin-power-rangers-once-always-interview/
  77. "Mighty Morphin Power Rangers (1994)"
    https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0183515/
Image
Source: —
Tip: Wheel or +/− to zoom, drag to pan, Esc to close.