Jeon Do-yeon

Jeon Do-yeon(Korean:전도연; born February 11, 1973) is a South Korean actress. She made her film debut withThe Contact(1997), a melodrama that established her as a leading actress. She continued to gain acclaim withA Promise(1998), a romantic tragedy, andThe Harmonium in My Memory(1999).
Her career reached new heights withYou Are My Sunshine(2005). However, it was her role inSecret Sunshine(2007), directed byLee Chang-dong, that cemented her status as one of Korea’s finest actresses. Her portrayal of a grieving mother navigating faith and despair won herBest Actressat the60th Cannes Film Festival, making her the first Korean actor to receive such recognition.
Jeon continued to challenge herself with daring roles, such as the remake ofThe Housemaid(2010),Way Back Home(2013), noir romanceThe Shameless(2015), andBirthday(2019). Jeon is considered a role model for many young actresses in South Korea.
Jeon Do-yeon was born on February 11, 1973, inNamgajwa-dong,Seodaemun District,Seoul, South Korea.She has two older brothers and is the youngest in her family. Born and raised inSeoul, she graduated from Bukgajwa Elementary School, Yeonhee Girls Middle School, Changduk Girls High School and Department of Broadcasting atSeoul Institute of the Arts.
In 1990, Jeon made her debut in the entertainment industry as an advertisement model forJohnson & Johnson. She made her acting debut intelevision seriesOur Heavenin 1992. She then continued to play supporting roles inScent of Love(1994) andGeneral Hospital(1994) andLove is Blue(1995), but struggled to receive any significant attention.In 1995, she gained some recognition after playing the heroine's younger sister inKBS2's hit dramaOur Sunny Days of Youth, which recorded its highest viewership rating of 62.7 percent. The drama's director, Jeon San PD, made a remark stating that Jeon Do-yeon is a "tough and ambitious newcomer".The following years, she played major roles in multiple dramas such asProject,Way StationandUntil We Can Lovein 1996, andStar in My Heartin 1997.Jeon spent five years starring in television dramas before achieving instant star status with her feature film debut acting alongsideHan Suk-kyuin 1997 filmThe Contact, which became the second-highest grossing Korean film of that year. She won numerous awards through the work, including Best New Actress at the 35thGrand Bell Awardsand 18thBlue Dragon Film Awards.
From 1997 after the success ofThe Contact, Jeon emerged as a prominent actress in the Korean film industry and went on to establish a reputation as a "chameleon" who can take on a wide variety of roles, from her performance as a doctor in the hit melodramaA Promise, which won herBest Actressat the 35thBaeksang Arts Awards, to that of a schoolgirl in the 1999 filmThe Harmonium in My Memory, then a wife having an adulterous affair in the 1999 filmHappy End.In 1999 and 2000, she received Best Actress awards at numerous award ceremonies such as the 20thBlue Dragon Film Awardsand the 37thGrand Bell Awardsfor her performance inThe Harmonium in My Memory. She also won Best Actress at the 35thBaeksang Arts Awardsfor her role inA Promiseand several other local film awards for her role inHappy End.
In 2001, she played a bank teller inPark Heung-sik's directorial debutI Wish I Had a Wife.After starring as the tough-talking Soo-jin inRyoo Seung-wan'sNo Blood No Tearsin 2002,Jeon spent time acting in the television seriesShoot for the Stars.In 2003, she found box-office success inE J-yong'sUntold Scandal, an adaptation of the famous French novelDangerous Liaisonsset inJoseon.The following year, she reunited with director Park Heung-sik in adual rolefor the time-bending melodrama filmMy Mother, the Mermaid.
In 2005, Jeon played a prostitute who contractsAIDSinPark Jin-pyo's hard-hitting melodramaYou Are My Sunshine.The film was a box-office hit, and her performance received critical acclaim and won her numerous acting awards.She then returned to the small screen withLovers in Prague, a drama that tells the love story between the president's daughter and an ordinary detective. The drama was a huge success, with average viewership ratings of over 27 percent.For the work, Jeon won the Grand Prize (Daesang) at 2005SBS Drama Awards.Commenting on her successful year,The Korea Heraldnoted, "It is rare for a movie and a drama with the same leading actor or actress to become major hits at the same time. And often, actors and actresses avoid such cases, due to the risk of confusing audiences, but Jeon managed to pull both roles off perfectly without causing any confusion in the audience."
In 2007, Jeon starred inLee Chang-dong's melodramaSecret Sunshine, which propelled her to international recognition. Her fierce and fearless portrayal of a widowed mother who struggles to rearrange her life after the tragic deaths of her husband and son received universal critical acclaim.Although the film itself, which debuted at the60th Cannes Film Festival, evoked widely differing assessments from international critics, Jeon's performance was universally praised, and she was chosen as theBest Actressby theCannes jury, making her the first Korean ever to receive an acting award at Cannes.She also wonBest Performance by an Actressat the1st Asia Pacific Screen Awards.Following the heel of the Cannes' win, Jeon went on to sweep domestic awards, winning Best Actress at multiple film award ceremonies such as the28th Blue Dragon Film Awards. In recognition of her contribution to the development of the Korean film industry, she was honored with theOkgwan Order of Cultural Meritby theMinistry of Culture, Sports and Tourismand the Special Achievement Award at the44th Grand Bell Awards.
Post-Cannes, she starred in 2008 filmMy Dear Enemy, playing an unemployed single woman who reacquaints herself with her ex-boyfriend.After starring inMy Dear Enemy, Jeon gave birth to a daughter and rested for a while.In October 2009, she was honored by the French government with theChevalier des Arts et Lettresmedal for her contribution to the arts.The following year, she returned to star inIm Sang-soo's 2010 controversial remakeThe Housemaid.Jeon came back to Cannes once again as the film was chosen to compete for thePalme d'Orat the63rd Cannes Film Festival.
In 2011, Jeon played a female con artist who risks her life for ten days for a final deal with a cold-hearted debt collector inCountdown.Countdownpremiered at the36th Toronto International Film Festival.
In 2013, after a two-year break, Jeon returned withBang Eun-jin'sWay Back Home, a film based on the true story of a housewife who was imprisoned for two years on the island ofMartiniqueafter being wrongly arrested fordrug smugglingat Paris'sOrly Airportin 2004.
In 2014, she was announced as one of the nine panel members of the main competition jury at the67th Cannes Film Festival, making her the first Korean actor or actress to receive the honor and the second Korean after director Lee Chang-dong in 2009.
In 2015, Jeon starred inThe Shameless, a thriller that explores the unexpected and carnal attraction that develops between a detective and the girlfriend of the murderer that he investigates.The film was selected for theUn Certain Regardsection at the68th Cannes Film Festivaland Jeon returned to Cannes for the fourth time in her career.For her performance in the film, Jeon won Best Actress at the24th Buil Film Awards, the 15thDirector's Cut Awards, and the52nd Baeksang Arts Awardsrespectively. The same year, she played a blind swordswoman in theGoryeo-set revenge period dramaMemories of the Sword, her third collaboration with Park Heung-sik and her second withLee Byung-hun.
This was followed by Jeon's second film with directorLee Yoon-ki,A Man and a Woman, a 2016 film about a forbidden romance that takes place in the snow-swept landscape of Finland.Jeon then made a return to the small screen after twelve years in the 2016Korean remakeof the American legal dramaThe Good Wife.She was praised for displaying a wide range of emotions and agony of a housewife who is forced to become a lawyer again after her husband is mired in a scandal and put behind bars.
After a three-year break, Jeon reunited withSul Kyung-guin drama filmBirthday, marking her second collaboration with Sol eighteen years afterI Wish I Had a Wife. The film, inspired by theSewol ferry disaster, deals with the struggles faced by a couple who lost their son in a tragic accident.The film had its international premiere at the 2019Far East Film FestivalinUdine, Italy.At the festival, Jeon was honored with Golden Mulberry Lifetime Achievement Award.She once again won Best Actress at the56th Baeksang Arts Awards, the 6th Korean Film Producers Association Awards and28th Buil Film Awardsfor her performance in the film.
In early 2020, Jeon starred inBeasts Clawing at Straws, a mystery thriller based on Keisuke Sone's novel, alongsideJung Woo-sung.The film was screened at the 49thInternational Film Festival Rotterdamand won the Special Jury Award in the Tiger Competition.The film failed to turn a profit as local box office sales plummeted due to theCOVID-19 pandemic.
She made her small-screen comeback inHur Jin-ho's first television series projectLostwhich premiered onJTBCin September 2021.In 2022, she reunited withSong Kang-hoandLee Byung-huninHan Jae-rim's disaster action filmEmergency Declaration.
In 2023, Jeon acts oppositeJung Kyung-hointvN-broadcastNetflix-distributed romantic comedy seriesCrash Course in Romancedirected byYoo Je-won, which marked her return to romance genre in 17 years. She played the role of a former national handball player who now runs abanchanshop, raising her high school daughter alone.According to Good Data Corporation,seriesCrash Course in Romanceranked first with a topical share of 23.8% in Top 10 of TV Topicality Ranking in drama division category in four weeks in a row.Jung Kyung-horanked first in the performer category for five consecutive weeks, while Jeon ranked 3rd.
In the same year, Jeon stars in Netflixcrime actionfilmKill Boksoonin the title role, as a professional assassin, oppositeSul Kyung-gu,Esom, andKoo Kyo-hwan. Directed and written by Byun Sung-hyun, it is slated to release onNetflixon March 31, 2023.
Jeon married businessman and professional car racer Kang Shi-kyu, who is nine years her senior, in a private wedding ceremony atShilla Hotelon March 11, 2007.She gave birth to a daughter on January 22, 2009.