Today marks twenty-five years to the day that the world lost Thuy Trang.
Best known for her portrayal of original Yellow Ranger Trini Kwan in the first two seasons of Power Rangers, along with a couple bit parts in other movies, her life was tragically cut short in a car accident. The news of her passing didn’t hit until September 10th… a day before the attack on the World Trade Center.
I never got around to doing a “proper” tribute back in the day because I was still in the midst of figuring this webpage business. I wrote a couple things here and there; most of which never saw the light of day until recently. But I never did a blurb on Thuy’s passing. Truth be told, the news was difficult to process when I first heard about it… and then September 11th happened.
Always a terrible thing to lose a beloved and gentle soul… made even more wretched when that loss becomes an afterthought in light of a much bigger tragedy.
The story of Thuy Trang is that of resilience. Her family fled Vietnam and fought to keep their daughter safe from those who wished to throw the sickly child overboard. Refugees who eventually made their way to the United States, where Thuy learned English and pursued civil engineering as a career before pivoting to acting, where she eventually got the Power Rangers role.
Baring my soul here, while most of you were crushing on Amy Jo Johnson back in the day, I was crushing on Thuy. I don’t know; I had a fondness for the Asian ladies and there was something about her natural beauty that I found particularly attractive. When Thuy was gone and replaced with Karan, young me was unsurprisingly sad and wanted to find out more about her post Power Rangers-life… which basically amounted to a horrible Crow sequel and a bit part in a Leslie Nielson spoof film… and then nothing.
There were a couple headshots that would pop up here and there… but I wouldn’t hear anything regarding Thuy until her passing… and chances are the first time I heard about was after 9/11.
An episode of Time Force was dedicated to her memory; I forget which one, but it involved Circuit. And of course, Once And Always also had a dedication to both her and JDF, who passed away recently.
Wanted to do a brief little blurb on Thuy for a while now… better late than never to say how much we miss her… and how a young talent was taken from us so early in life before it had a chance to blossom. Chances are she would have been thrilled with the current convention scene.
