Chau was born to Vietnamese parents who lived in a refugee camp in Thailand after fleeing Vietnam in the late 1970s. A Vietnamese Catholic church in New Orleans, Louisiana arranged for a family to sponsor Chau and her family. After growing up in New Orleans, Chau majored in film studies at Boston University and pursued an acting career.\n', '

Chau\'s parents were among the Vietnamese boat people who fled Vietnam in 1979. Chau\'s mother was six months pregnant with her: Chau was born in a refugee camp in Thailand later in the year. A Vietnamese Catholic church in New Orleans, Louisiana organized for a local Vietnamese family to sponsor her family. Chau grew up speaking Vietnamese as her first language, and later learned English in school. She was one of three children, and her parents worked in menial labor to ensure that the children could attend college. She said that her family needed public assistance, that she went to public school, and needed lunch assistance. For college tuition, she depended on Pell Grants. Chau said her parents, who speak in heavy Vietnamese accents, were shunned as Asian migrants. She said, "My whole life, I\'ve always felt like I was the more acceptable of my parents, and they were always the people who had to stay in the background, or hide in the broom closet." Chau was raised in the eastern part of New Orleans, where she attended Eleanor McMain Secondary School and Ben Franklin Senior High School. She finished at Louisiana School for Math, Science, and the Arts in Natchitoches, Louisiana.\n', '

Chau attended Boston University in Boston, Massachusetts, where she initially studied creative writing. She changed her major to film studies when her parents requested that she study something more practical. She explored acting to challenge her introvertedness; she acted in other students\' short films and was encouraged to pursue acting. After college, Chau got a job with PBS and anticipated a career in documentaries. She later moved to New York City, where she studied acting. She began acting in film and television in 2006.\n', '

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