Bae was born inJongno District,Seoul, South Korea.[1] Growing up, she accompanied her mother, stage actress Kim Hwa-young, to theater and rehearsal halls, learning lines of dialogue as she went along. This did not initially lead her toward acting, however; she said: "People might say that since my mother is a theater actor, I became an actress. But to me, those experiences probably had the opposite effect. On the contrary, because I saw many great actors working with my mother, I thought this was a job only people with extraordinary talent could do."[6]
As aHanyang University student in 1998, Bae was scouted by a modeling agency in Seoul, leading to her modeling for COOLDOG's catalog among others. In 1999, she switched to acting before completing her studies at university, debuting in the TV dramaSchool.[7] Later that year, Bae appeared asPark Eun-suh inThe Ring Virus, a Korean remake of the Japanese horror filmRing.[8]
In 2000, directorBong Joon-ho cast Bae in the filmBarking Dogs Never Bite for her willingness to do the part without makeup, which other South Korean actresses refused to do.[9][10] She later cited it as the role that pushed her to pursue a serious acting career: "That film made me decide to become an actress—a good actress—and that film thereby changed my whole life."[11] In Kim So-young's documentaryWomen's History Trilogy (2000–2004), Doona expressed her admiration for veteran South Korean actressYoon Jeong-hee. In the same documentary, Bae said her most memorable scene had been being chased by the homeless man throughout the apartment inBarking Dogs Never Bite.[12] That same year, she gave a risque performance (albeit with abody double for the more intense scenes) inPlum Blossom,[13] and started getting more work on television.
In 2003, bothTube andSpring Bears Love disappointed at the box office.[17][18] After completing principal photography onSpring Bears Love, she decided to take time off from film work, saying, "I’ve never really had nothing to do. The moment a film was released, I was almost always already shooting the next one [...] I thought to myself: Now my first cycle is really over. While I rest a little, I wanted to make a fresh start."[6]
During her hiatus from film, she took up photography, examples of which can be seen on her official blog and in her publishedphoto-essay books.[19] She also continued to work on TV, starring inCountry Princess andRosemary.[20][21] She appeared on stage in 2004 in a production ofSunday Seoul (not to be confused with the South Korean movie of the same title), a play co-written byPark Chan-wook.[6]
Bae reunited with Bong Joon-ho in the 2006 filmThe Host, which became the highest-grossing film in South Korean box office history.[26] For her role, she trained in archery for months.[27] She later returned to television, through the seriesSomeday andHow to Meet a Perfect Neighbor.[28][29]
Bae made her English-language Hollywood debut inCloud Atlas, as Sonmi~451, a clone in a dystopian Korea.[46][47][48] She also played the minor roles of Tilda Ewing, the wife of anabolitionist in pre-Civil War America, and a Mexican woman who crosses paths with an assassin. Co-directed byThe Wachowskis andTom Tykwer, theUS$100 million adaptation ofDavid Mitchell'snovel premiered at the2012 Toronto International Film Festival to mixed reviews, though Bae's performance was praised by critics.[49][50] In a 2019 interview, she said of the Wachowskis, "They have become as important as my mother; they have my respect and my trust. When they contacted me to participate inCloud Atlas, I couldn't believe it. We first met on Skype and I made a demo tape that I sent them. They gave me an important role despite my English weaknesses. I believe that a certain understanding developed between us at that time, which pushed me to follow them onSense8. Thanks to them, I have had opportunities that are not given to all actors. Most importantly, it is the passion they bring to their work that has made our collaboration so enjoyable. They made me want to surpass myself and enabled me to overcome fear and limits."[51]
Back in South Korea, Bae next starred in the 2014 filmA Girl at My Door, directed byJuly Jung and produced byLee Chang-dong.[52] Playing a small-town police officer who tries to save a mysterious young girl she suspects is a victim of domestic violence, Bae said she was so fascinated by the story and emotionally challenging role that she decided to star in the movie withoutpay three hours after reading the script.[53][54] The film premiered in theUn Certain Regard section of the2014 Cannes Film Festival,[55] and Bae later wonBest Actress at theAsian Film Awards for her performance.[56][57][58]
In 2015, she again worked with the Wachowskis for theirspace operaJupiter Ascending, in which she played a small supporting role as a bounty hunter.[59][60][61][62][63] This was followed bySense8, an American science fiction series created by the Wachowskis and co-written byJ. Michael Straczynski. Concerning eight strangers from different cultures and parts of the world who share a violent psychic vision and suddenly find themselvestelepathically connected,Sense8 began streaming onNetflix in 2015.[64]
Bae then appeared in a 90-minuteweb film directed by her older brother, commercial director Bae Doo-han. TitledRed Carpet Dream, it is a biopic of how Bae dreamed of becoming an actress when she was young and her subsequent 20-year acting career.[65] Commissioned for the 20th anniversary of theBusan International Film Festival and sponsored byMAC Cosmetics, the film screened at the festival as well as onFacebook and on the cable channel CGV.[66]
Bae returned to Korean TV screens in 2017 with the crime thrillerStranger, playing the passionate and empathetic police officer Lieutenant Han Yeo-jin, contrasting withCho Seung-woo's prosecutor Hwang Si-mok.[70] The series was a huge success and garnered positive reviews for its tight plot, gripping sequences and strong performances.[71][72] The series was renewed for a second season in 2020, with her character promoted to the rank of Senior Inspector.
In June 2018, Bae was one of 14 professionals from the Korean film industry invited to join theAcademy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS).[73] The same year, she starred in crime thrillerThe Drug King.[74][75] She also starred in both seasons of the 2019 Netflix period zombie seriesKingdom,[76] and romance dramaMatrimonial Chaos, a remake of the Japanese television series of the same name.[77]
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