Ý Lan is the daughter of Vietnam's most prolific singer, Thái Thanh. Her father is Vietnam's film star Le Quynh. Although she was born into an artistic family, and as a child, Y Lan loved to sing and perform, she claimed to receive no encouragement from her parents to follow in their footsteps. In fact, Y lan did not start singing professionally until a few years ago. According to Y Lan, she was encouraged to pursue education instead of the arts while growing up in Vietnam.