Artist Ngoc Dang, born in 1927, is one of the veteran names of Vietnamese Cai Luong stage. After many decades of dedication, she is currently the oldest artist living in the artist area of Thi Nghe Nursing Center (HCMC).
Before moving to her new residence, artist Ngoc Dang had many years of attachment to the Artists' Nursing Home. At the end of 2023, when visiting the artists, People's Artist Trinh Kim Chi - Vice President of the Ho Chi Minh City Theater Association - said she was very happy to see artist Ngoc Dang still lucid and chatting happily with colleagues.
According to People's Artist Trinh Kim Chi, although she was the oldest person at the institute at that time, artist Ngoc Dang rarely got sick. She maintained a regular eating habit, focusing on supplementing green vegetables to maintain her health.
However, after a while, artist Ngoc Dang's health changed a lot after an unfortunate accident. She fell in the bathroom, leading to a pelvic fracture and had to be treated for a long time. Due to old age, the recovery process is slow, and mobility has also decreased significantly.
Currently, at the age of 99, artist Ngoc Dang is still being cared for in the artist area of Thi Nghe Nursing Center. She mainly lives in her room and receives regular monitoring from the medical team.
According to artist Phi Phung sharing with reporters, in 2026, when visiting artist Ngoc Dang, although traveling was no longer as convenient as before, she still happily chatted with everyone.
Artist Phi Phung said that after the fall, artist Ngoc Dang still needs time to recover, she limits walking to avoid recurrence of injury.
According to artist Huynh Thanh Tra (also living in a nursing home), her health has clearly declined after the accident, and she must be monitored regularly with artist Mac Can. This is also the period when the nursing home only has a few artists who are healthy enough to live and walk.
Previously, when talking to reporters, she said that she currently chooses a peaceful life in her old age. She hopes for her health. When talking about her love for art, she said that although she is old, she still misses the profession, misses the performance trips...
Artist Ngoc Dang became attached to the stage at the age of 11 when she was admitted to the Hau Tan troupe thanks to her high and bright voice. Her life was associated with many ups and downs of Cai Luong stage. She has performed in a series of famous plays, especially loved by audiences when collaborating with artist Hung Cuong in works such as Snow covering the winter afternoon, Beauty's eyes or Dream of a beautiful moonlit night.
Not only remembered for her voice and acting style, artist Ngoc Dang is also a living witness of many stages of the development of Southern Cai Luong. Nearly nine decades of attachment to the stage have helped her become one of the veteran artists respected by colleagues and audiences.
At the age of 99, artist Ngoc Dang's life no longer has the stage lights or applause as before. Instead, there are peaceful days at the common home of elderly artists.
