# Kim Tae-hee

Kim Tae-hee (Korean: 김태희; born 29 March 1980) is a South Korean actress. Considered one of South Korea's most beautiful actresses, she is best known for her roles in television series such as Stairway to Heaven (2003–2004), Love Story in Harvard (2004–2005), Iris (2009), My Princess (2011), Yong-pal (2015), and Hi Bye, Mama! (2020).
Kim is referred to as one of "The Troika" along with Song Hye-kyo and Jun Ji-hyun, collectively known by the acronym "Tae-Hye-Ji".

## Early life and education

Kim Tae-hee was born on 29 March 1980, in Ulsan, South Korea. Her father is Kim Yoo-moon, who established, and is chairman of, Hankook Union Transportation Company in 1984. She is often involved in various charities to help out underserved youths and broken families in the Ulsan area. She has an older sister, Kim Hee-won, and a younger brother, Kim Hyung-soo (stage name Lee Wan); the latter is also an actor. She attended Samshin Elementary School, Daehyun Middle School, and then enrolled at Ulsan Girls' High School.
In 1999, Kim moved to Seoul to attend college at the prestigious Seoul National University, where she became the president of the SNU Women's Ski Club. In 2005, she graduated from SNU with a bachelor's degree in fashion design.

## Career
### 2001–2002: Beginnings

In 2000, an advertising executive saw Kim riding the subway, and offered her a modeling job. Kim appeared in television commercials and print ads, before making her acting debut with a small role in the 2001 melodrama Last Present. In 2002, she starred in the short film Living in New Town and the sitcom Let's Go, followed by Screen and A Problem at My Younger Brother's House in 2003.

### 2003–2006: Rising popularity and film debut

Kim rose to stardom in 2003 via her portrayal of the evil stepsister in the popular SBS TV series Stairway to Heaven. Starting 2004, Kim was cast in leading roles in her succeeding projects, including the supernatural KBS series Forbidden Love and the SBS campus romance Love Story in Harvard. The latter drew solid viewership ratings nationwide throughout its run with a peak viewer rating of 20 percent and won Kim the Most Popular Actress award in TV category at the Baeksang Arts Awards. Love Story in Harvard was also reportedly well-received by Japanese viewers and contributed to Kim's popularity in the country.
Riding the big success of Stairway to Heaven and Love Story in Harvard, Kim became one of the most sought-after faces in the TV commercial industry. She was picked by Korea Broadcast Advertising Corporation as the top advertising model of the year in 2008, earning her title of "CF Queen". However, Kim expressed her desire to be valued properly as an actor, preferring to succeed based on her acting skills rather than her image.
Kim then turned to film, starring in action fantasy epic The Restless (2006), and the romantic comedy Venus and Mars (2007). However, both were unsuccessful at the box office.

### 2009–2014: Iris and rising overseas popularity

Back on the small screen in 2009, Kim played an NIS profiler in the spy action thriller Iris. It was one of the most expensive Korean dramas ever produced and was a critical and commercial success with an average viewership rating of 30%. Kim shed tears at the KBS Drama Awards when she won an Excellence Award in a Mid-length Drama; which was her first acting award, excluding newcomer and popularity awards.
Kim left her then-agency Namoo Actors in January 2010 to join Lua Entertainment, which was founded by her brother-in-law. That year, she also played a horse jockey who dreams of winning the championship in the sports film Grand Prix.
After the success of Iris, she again drew positive reviews in the romantic comedy series My Princess (2011); Kim played an ordinary college student who discovers that she is Korean royalty. Later that year, she starred in her first Japanese television drama Boku to Star no 99 Nichi, where her character is a Korean Wave star who meets an ordinary Japanese bodyguard and he somehow makes her fall head over heels in love with him. The Fuji TV drama, which aired in Japan from October to December 2011, raked in 9 to 10 percent of viewers' ratings on average, launching Kim as a household name in Japan. Kim later encountered backlash from some Japanese netizens for allegedly promoting South Korea's claim in the Liancourt Rocks dispute during her 2005 trip to Switzerland as a goodwill ambassador.
In 2013, Kim starred in her first historical drama Jang Ok-jung, Living by Love as the infamous royal concubine Hui-bin Jang. This was followed by another period role, as the wife of famed Chinese calligrapher Wang Xizhi in the Chinese television drama Saint Wang Xizhi.

### 2015–present: Career resurgence

Kim returned to Korean television in 2015, playing an heiress who recovers from a coma with the help of a doctor-for-hire, the titular Yong-pal. The show garnered strong ratings and Kim won a Top Excellence Acting award from the Korea Drama Awards.
In 2020, Kim returned to television in the family drama series Hi Bye, Mama!.

## Other activities
### Philanthropy

In May 2022, Kim donated 200 million won through Hope Bridge National Disaster Mitigation Association to help neighbors affected by the Uljin forest fire 2022, which devastated the area and then spread to Samcheok, Gangwon Province, South Korea.
On 22 July 2022, Kim donated 1.1 million KF94 masks and face masks to NGO G-Foundation.

## Personal life

In September 2012, Kim started dating South Korean singer-actor Rain. They married on 19 January 2017.
On 23 May 2017, Kim's agency, Lua Entertainment, announced that Kim was pregnant with their first child. She gave birth to a daughter on 25 October 2017. In February 2019, Kim announced she was pregnant again. On 19 September 2019, she gave birth to the couple's second daughter.
Kim is a practicing Catholic. She was one of 30 Catholic celebrities who appeared in the 2014 music video for the digital single "Koinonia" to commemorate Pope Francis's visit to South Korea, the first time in 19 years that an incumbent pope visited South Korea. Her baptismal name is Verda.

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2001 | Last Present | Teenage Park Jung-yeon | |
| 2002 | Living in New Town | Ji-soo | Short film |
| 2006 | The Restless | So-hwa/Yon-hwa | |
| 2007 | Venus and Mars | Yoon Jin-ah | |
| 2010 | Grand Prix | Seo Ju-hee | |
| 2010 | Iris: The Movie | Choi Seung-hee | |

### Television series

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2002 | Let's Go | Tae-hee | |
| 2003 | Screen | Kim So-hyun | |
| 2003–2004 | A Problem at My Younger Brother's House | Park Su-jin | |
| 2003–2004 | Stairway to Heaven | Han Yoo-ri | |
| 2004 | Forbidden Love | Yoon Shi-yeon | |
| 2004–2005 | Love Story in Harvard | Lee Soo-in | |
| 2009 | Iris | Choi Seung-hee | |
| 2011 | My Princess | Lee Seol | |
| 2011 | Boku to Star no 99 Nichi | Han Yoo-na | Japanese drama |
| 2013 | Jang Ok-jung, Living by Love | Jang Ok-jung | |
| 2015 | Yong-pal | Han Yeo-jin | |
| 2020 | Hi Bye, Mama! | Cha Yu-ri | |
| 2023 | Lies Hidden in My Garden | Moon Joo-ran | |
| 2023 | Welcome to Samdal-ri | Herself | Cameo |
| TBA | Butterfly | TBA | |

### Music video appearances

| Year | Title | Artist |
| 2002 | "Letter" | g.o.d |
| 2003 | "Only" | The Jun |
| 2004 | "Don't Go Away" | Park Yong-ha |
| 2014 | "Koinonia" | Various Korean Catholic celebrities |
| 2021 | "I Like You" | Ciipher |

## Awards and nominations

Name of the award ceremony, year presented, category, nominee of the award, and the result of the nomination :
| Award ceremony | Year | Category | Nominee / Work | Result |
| Andre Kim Best Star Awards | 2004 | Female Star Award | Stairway to Heaven | Won |
| Andre Kim Best Star Awards | 2007 | Female Star Award | Kim Tae-hee | Won |
| APAN Star Awards | 2015 | Top Excellence Award, Actress in a Miniseries | Yong-pal | Nominated |
| Baeksang Arts Awards | 2005 | Most Popular Actress – Television | Love Story in Harvard | Won |
| Baeksang Arts Awards | 2007 | Most Popular Actress – Film | The Restless | Won |
| Baeksang Arts Awards | 2010 | Best Actress – Television | Iris | Nominated |
| Blue Dragon Film Awards | 2007 | Popular Star Award | The Restless | Won |
| Blue Dragon Film Awards | 2007 | Best New Actress | The Restless | Nominated |
| Chunsa Film Art Awards | 2007 | Best New Actress | The Restless | Nominated |
| Cosmo Beauty Awards | 2013 | Asia Dream Star | Kim Tae-hee | Won |
| Grand Bell Awards | 2007 | Overseas Popularity Award | The Restless | Won |
| Grand Bell Awards | 2007 | Best New Actress | The Restless | Nominated |
| KBS Drama Awards | 2004 | Best New Actress | Forbidden Love | Won |
| KBS Drama Awards | 2009 | Best Couple Award | Kim Tae-hee (with Lee Byung-hun) Iris | Won |
| KBS Drama Awards | 2009 | Excellence Award, Actress in a Mid-length Drama | Iris | Won |
| KBS Drama Awards | 2009 | Top Excellence Award, Actress | Iris | Nominated |
| Korea Drama Awards | 2010 | Best Actress | Iris | Nominated |
| Korea Drama Awards | 2015 | Top Excellence Award, Actress | Yong-pal | Won |
| Korean Film Awards | 2007 | Best New Actress | The Restless | Nominated |
| MBC Drama Awards | 2011 | Best Couple Award | Kim Tae-hee (with Song Seung-heon) My Princess | Nominated |
| MBC Drama Awards | 2011 | Popularity Award, Actress | My Princess | Nominated |
| MBC Drama Awards | 2011 | Top Excellence Award, Actress in a Miniseries | My Princess | Nominated |
| Pyeongtaek Film Festival | 2007 | New Currents Movie Star - Best New Actress | The Restless | Won |
| SBS Drama Awards | 2003 | New Star Award | Stairway to Heaven | Won |
| SBS Drama Awards | 2004 | Netizen Popularity Award | Love Story in Harvard | Won |
| SBS Drama Awards | 2004 | Top 10 Stars | Love Story in Harvard | Won |
| SBS Drama Awards | 2004 | Excellence Award, Actress in Drama Special | Love Story in Harvard | Nominated |
| SBS Drama Awards | 2004 | Top Excellence Award, Actress | Love Story in Harvard | Nominated |
| SBS Drama Awards | 2013 | Excellence Award, Actress in a Drama Special | Jang Ok-jung, Living by Love | Nominated |
| SBS Drama Awards | 2015 | Best Couple Award | Kim Tae-hee (with Joo Won) Yong-pal | Won |
| SBS Drama Awards | 2015 | Top 10 Stars | Yong-pal | Won |
| SBS Drama Awards | 2015 | Top Excellence Award, Actress in a Miniseries | Yong-pal | Won |
| Seoul International Drama Awards | 2011 | Outstanding Korean Actress | My Princess | Nominated |

### Honors

Name of organization, year given, and the name of the honor :
| Country | Organization | Year | Honor | Ref. |
| South Korea | Newsis K-Expo Cultural Awards | 2023 | Seoul Mayor's Award | |

### Listicles

Name of publisher, year listed, name of listicle, and placement :
| Publisher | Year | Listicle | Placement |
| Forbes | 2009 | Korea Power Celebrity 40 | 10th |
| Forbes | 2010 | Korea Power Celebrity 40 | 23rd |
| Forbes | 2011 | Korea Power Celebrity 40 | 37th |
| Forbes | 2012 | Korea Power Celebrity 40 | 8th |
| Forbes | 2013 | Korea Power Celebrity 40 | 24th |
| Forbes | 2014 | Korea Power Celebrity 40 | 23rd |