Hieu Gray is an award-winning creative in the fields of television, food, social media, and journalism. A former CNN senior producer for such shows as Anthony Bourdain Parts Unknown and Larry King Live, Gray now heads her own boutique production and digital agency focused on diverse narratives. Her latest film Quan 13 is currently screening at select film festivals around the world. Her wealth of experience includes roles as diverse as:
Producer - For over a decade, Gray spent the first chapter of her career as an award-winning senior writer/producer spearheading launch campaigns for some of CNN’s biggest shows. Her areas of expertise include working with clients on promotion, marketing, and branding. She considers herself a “one-stop shop” for all things production - from initial concept, to pitching, shooting, editing, and final delivery. She is currently enrolled in UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television’s prestigious Producing Program with several projects in development including a pilot focused on a Vietnamese-American family in the South and a food and travel series exploring different diasporas around the world.
Journalist – Gray has written for CNN, SF Examiner, Feastly and other national outlets. From a chef profile of Bravo TV’s Top Chef David Tu Phu to the intricacies of dim sum, Gray demonstrates her power of the word to entice and entertain, while drawing deeper meaning beyond the plate. She continues to refine her craft with such notable stints at Kundiman’s selective Food Writing Workshop intensive with New York Times food writer Ligaya Mishan and Yale’s Thread@Yale where she joined journalists from all over the world to explore and expand storytelling in modern media.
Filmmaker & Director – Her work has been profiled in NBC News, as well as, numerious other news outlets including a leading Asian-American news site heralding her as the “Next Anthony Bourdain” since her latest documentary, Quan 13, explores culture thru the lens of food. It is currently screening at film festivals around the world including the DC Asian Pacific Film Festival and Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival.
Her short film series “The Moving Words Project” includes collaborations on short poetry films with other poets of color including Cambodian poet Svay Sokunthary on “Aspara in New York” commissioned by the Visible Poetry Project and Nigerian Poet Gbenga Adesina whose work has appeared in the New York times. Her poetry film “How to Love” was screened at Poetry Film Live festival in Great Britain. The series also includes a film noir-esque take on Sylvia Plath’s “Lady Lazarus” which screened at the International Poetry film festival in Athens, Greece and “The Ace Hotel” which screened at the Asian Film Festival of Dallas.
Food Influencer/Social Media Expert - After leaving traditional broadcast to pursue her interest in telling stories through the lens of food, Gray has become a popular social media food personality (@LaPetiteBelle_eats) with over +30k followers chronicling her gastronomic adventures around the world. She also hosts and produces the food and travel series “#StylishlyDelicious” on YOUTUBE where she has shot all around the world from Japan to Italy.
In 2019 she was invited by the tourism board of the Philippines on a cross-cultural culinary tour of the country. She was one of only two social media ambassadors chosen for the program where America’s top Filipino American chefs, including a James Beard nominated chef, rediscovered their culinary roots. The trip was covered by the country’s top media outlets which culminated in a documentary special on CNN Philippines.
Actress – She has appeared in numerous short films, most notablely those she has written and directed, often writing her characters into existence. These include “The Ace Hotel”, “Lady Lazarus”, and her most recent project “What Blood Can Do” conceived at East West Players, the nation’s oldest and most well-respected theater company for Asian American actors. She has studied acting at UCLA, East West Players, and Killian’s Workshop.
Poet – Gray describes her poems as highly visual vignettes in the vein of Beyonce’s Lemonade where the lyrical is brought to life. She considers her poetry fellowship from the Norman Mailer Center at Pepperdine University to be influential to her work. It was during this residency that she worked with the late Meena Alexander and explored shooting short films based on poems. Gray has attended numerous literary conferences including The Home School and the Yale Writers’ conference. Major accomplishments include being selected as a finalist for the Ruth Lilly Poetry Fellowship and Aesthetica Creative Writing Poetry Journal.
Public Speaker – A lifelong introvert, Gray has overcome her challenges to become an in-demand public speaker known for her expertise in food media, personal branding, and social media. She has led food photography workshops and personal branding and social media presentations for business leaders who turn to her to take their social media to the next level. She has also been invited on panels to discuss her vast television career to students at the University of Southern California, Berkeley, among others.
Author – She is currently working on her first book “Meals and Memories in the Time of Coronavirus” which chronicles how food has helped her cope with the pandemic and includes her own illustations. From eating macrobiotic organic wheat bowls in Los Angeles, to the hearty soul food of the Deep South, and the vibrant Vietnamese food of her childhood, the book captures the essence of what perservance in the face of uncertainity looks like. It is a warm comforting bowl of pho surrounded by loved ones. As long as there’s a hot meal made with love, then all is not lost.
Community Advocate - An active member of the Asian-American community in Los Angeles, Gray is the VP of community engagement at AAJA-LA (the Asian-American Journalists Association- LA Chapter). The organization is one of the nation’s most well respected media organizations focused on diversity in journalism. Her responsibilities include outreach, strengthening AAJA-LA’s social media presence and organizing events from film screenings to town halls and unity mixers that bring journalists of color together.
Gray holds an MFA in Creative Writing from NYU with workshops in Paris and a BA in Journalism/Creative Writing from Emory University.