Born in Hải Phòng, she was well known in South Vietnam in the 1960s and 1970s for singing the songs of singer-songwriters such as Trịnh Công Sơn and Phạm Duy.

[1][2] She released 24 singles and numerous albums with famous overseas Vietnamese singers like Khánh Ly, Hương Lan and Tuấn Ngọc.

In 1959, while studying French at Les Lauriers School in Tan Dinh, she went to Bong Lai Tea Room to listen to music.

Actually that name was not in my subconscious mind but it suddenly turned out, I don't understand from where After accepting the invitation to collaborate with Bồng Lai, she had to continue on her studies but after a while, she decided to quit school to pursue her music career.

In 1969, Lệ Thu with the program Jo Marcel moved to Ritz on Tran Hung Dao Street.

During the Vietnam War, on April 28, 1975, Lệ decided to escape from her country and attempted to fly to California.

She married journalist Hong Duong, and later divorced but in November 1979, she and her youngest daughter crossed the sea to the refugee camp in Pulau Bidong, Malaysia, then flew to the United States in around the following year.