Origins & Early Life

Haing Somnang Ngor (Khmer: ហាំង សំណាង ង៉ោ; March 22, 1940 – February 25, 1996) was a Cambodian and American actor, physician, and activist. He made his acting debut in the biographical drama film The Killing Fields (1984) as journalist Dith Pran, for which he won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, becoming the first actor of Asian descent to win the award and one of the only two amateur actors to win an Academy Award, following Harold Russell. Ngor practiced as a physician before the start of the Cambodian genocide in 1975. He eventually survived the genocide, immigrating to the United States in 1980.

Pivotal Works & Achievements

There, he became active in humanitarian efforts assisting the Cambodian community. In 1996, Ngor was murdered outside his home in Los Angeles. The case was speculated to be linked to the Khmer Rouge, which remains unconfirmed. Haing Somnang Ngor was born on March 22, 1940, in Samrong Yong, a Cambodian village in the present-day Bati district of Takéo province. At the time, Cambodia was part of French Indochina.

Enduring Legacy & Impact

His mother was Khmer, and his father was of Chinese descent. Ngor trained as a gynecologist and obstetrician. He practiced in Phnom Penh before the capture...

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