While attending high-school in Vietnam, Thanh Van competed and won first prize in a local talent show which showcased young promising artists. In the spring of 1992, Thanh Van and her family left Vietnam and chose San Jose as their new home. Just a week after she arrived, she competed in and won the singing contest at the San Jose's Tet Celebration at the Fairground. This contest was produced by musician Pham Manh Dat. Coincidentally, in the audience that fateful afternoon, Mr. Tran Quang Nam, a very well known musician in the Vietnamese music community was present. He offered to introduce Thanh Van to ATM recording studio, a Trinh Nam Son production. Since then, Thanh Van's career has been on the rise. She has recorded several songs on CD and has appeared in several music videos for May productions.

Thanh Van credits her mother for her new found success. Thanh Van's source of courage and inspiration is derived from her mother's confidence in her. Although Thanh Van's true love is to perform romantic ballads, while touring, she often sings New Wave music partly due to audience demands and partly because she feels that an artist/singer must be multidimensional. Thanh Van's two favorite songs are The Power of Love and I Always Love You. She considers these two songs most suitable for her voice, singing style, and indicative of her inner feelings.

Thanh Van is well known to students in the Bay Area since she routinely appears in their school productions and gatherings. Thanh Van feels that her fan base constitutes mostly of college students and young people.

In term of music videos, Thanh Van collaborated with May productions in several projects. She first appeared in their 5th video and her latest being Hollywood Night, Nguoi Tinh Mua Dong. Thanh Van also collaborated with Y Nhi in Vinh Danh Cac Nhac Si Tinh Cam. On the audio recording front, Thanh Van has collaborated with ATM in the past and she presently has a project with Golden Laser. Her first CD is Tieng Hat Thanh Van.