Dinh Tra My: "The beauty queen of Northern comedy", a sad life behind the stage lights

Tra My is a comedian of the Thai Binh Opera Troupe. She is loved by the audience through her comedy skits in the program "Meeting at the end of the year". Behind the humor and joy of artist Tra My on stage are a series of ups and downs.

Artist Tra My's full name is Dinh Tra My, born in 1967, is loved by everyone and given the nickname "the beauty queen of the Northern comedy village". Since childhood, she showed her talent and was supported by her mother to pursue art. Before becoming involved in comedy, she worked at the Thai Binh Opera troupe. Here, Tra My had many impressive roles, especially the roles of the female lead who brought tears to the audience.

In the program "Confessions", artist Tra My said that leaving the Thai Binh Opera troupe to form her own troupe to perform was a major turning point in her career. "That was my golden age. My husband and I worked together for several years, then had to stop to seek treatment for infertility, because we couldn't be passionate forever, performing all day without having children. In 1999, I stopped and went to seek treatment with my husband," the female guest recalled.

Artist Tra My recalls that at that time, she and her husband moved from Thai Binh to Hanoi, performing and taking care of children, so their family's life was difficult. However, she and her husband did not mind any difficulties. They did many extra jobs such as acting, reading commercials, singing Chau Van, and even working as "show organizers" for programs in the provinces. After many years of saving, they bought an apartment in Hanoi. Tra My remembers many nights when the couple stayed up all night talking because it rained heavily, the house leaked into the bedroom. The longing for a child kept them from sleeping well at night.

During those 15 years, the female artist had to face a lot of pressure, expectations from her family along with gossip that sometimes made her exhausted. Treatment was not simple, Tra My and her husband - Cai Luong artist Quan Trong Binh - did not hesitate to go to the North and the South for treatment. However, it was so difficult that there were times when Tra My almost wanted to give up. "For more than 10 years of desperately hoping to have a child, we went to all the hospitals from the South to the North, there was even a time when I told my husband, or you, to find another woman, but he advised me to persevere, saying that if it did not work, he would adopt a child. Once, witnessing his wife going through some painful treatments, he said: "Let's just stop, honey, just let us stay together."

Her husband's sincere affection and thoughtfulness moved her and made her love him even more. Her mother and siblings also respected Tra My and did not mention her infertility. However, the pain of a woman who could not become a mother still haunted her. "Many nights, I cried until my eyes were swollen, absent-mindedly like a person who had lost her soul. My husband was the one who lifted my spirits and encouraged me to seek treatment," Tra My recalled.

In 2000, after more than 10 years of waiting, Quan Trong Phuc's son was born. He and his wife named him Phuc to remind him to live virtuously and appreciate life.

After having a child, artist Tra My and her husband had more motivation to work. They saved money from performing for many years to rebuild their family's old apartment building. At the end of 2003, they finished building a spacious four-story house. At this time, thanks to the introduction of Director Khai Hung, Tra My became involved in comedy through a series of skits in the program Meet at the Weekend. Every day, the couple went to work and came home, happily listening to their son's laughter.

In 2004, her husband suffered from gallstones and had to undergo surgery. However, after the surgery, her husband was diagnosed with metastatic cancer. During that time, she felt overwhelmed by all the pressure. The debt after building the house had not been paid off, her husband was seriously ill, and her child was still too young. At that time, she had to perform, take care of her husband, and raise her child alone. During that time, actress Tra My performed while accompanying her husband in fighting the disease.

After 4 years of treatment, artist Tra My had to sadly watch her husband take his last breath with many worries. Artist Tra My's husband regrets not being able to see his son grow up and go to university. As for herself, artist Tra My feels satisfied with her marriage. Although there are many pressures, difficulties, and sometimes she feels tired and stuck, she is always happy because she has a noble and kind husband. She only regrets that her husband cannot accompany her for the rest of her life.

"Those days, I only knew how to perform and go to the hospital, I didn't have time to share with anyone. Before he passed away, he told me and my son a lot. Until now, my son still remembers his father's words," the 6X actor confided.

Artist Tra My said that when her husband passed away, she became both a father and a mother and accompanied her son as he grew up. "I still work on sitcom projects, collaborate with stations to make skits and programs. Besides, I still support my son in studying directing," she said.

When it comes to art, if in the cai luong stage, the female guest works well with her husband, artist Trong Binh, then in comedy, artist Tra My thinks that Quang Teo is her most compatible co-star. "I have been acting with Quang Teo for nearly 20 years now, so I have a lot of memories," the female artist proudly said.

Talking about artist Quang Teo, Tra My recalls an incident on stage that she will never forget. At that time, the script required Quang Teo to faint on stage, but for some reason he burst out laughing. "We just laughed for about 1-2 minutes on stage but couldn't perform. Later, I had to try to hold it in and yell at him to stop laughing and continue performing. After getting off stage, we talked about it again and still laughed," she shared.