Jun was born inGangnam District,Seoul, South Korea.[1] She has a brother who is five years older.[5] Her mother and her mother's friends all encouraged her to be a model or actress due to her height and slim figure. Her childhood dream was to become aflight attendant, but she changed her mind after a flight. In 1997, at the age of 16, she followed her high school female senior and began her career as a model forEcole Magazine.[6][7] In 1998, she debuted as an actress and adopted thestage name Jun Ji-hyun, at the suggestion of a producer.[8][9]
Jun first became well known as a commercial model and as a TV actress. Although she made her film debut in the little-watchedWhite Valentine in 1999, it was not until later in the year when she was featured in a commercial forSamsung My JetPrinter that she became a popular sensation. The dancing and attitude expressed in the ad made her into an icon for Koreans in their late teens and early twenties.[13][14][15]
The following year, Jun made her first well-publicized film appearance in late 2000 withIl Mare, a handsomely shot melodrama set onGanghwa Island.[16] The film did respectably well at the box office (despite opening on the same day as blockbusterJoint Security Area) and solidified her status as a star.[13] It was later remade in Hollywood under the title 'Lake House[17]' for the first time in a Korean film starringSandra Bullock andKeanu Reeves.[18]
Jun's breakout film was comedyMy Sassy Girl, a tale of a gullible college student and his slightly unhinged girlfriend. Jun's "sassy, loud, and domineering character while also embodying traits of a pure-hearted girl" ran contrary to gender norms in Asia.[19][20] The film became the highest grossing Korean comedy of all time in Korea and also spent two weeks at No. 1 in Hong Kong, launching Jun into pan-Asia stardom as one of the biggestHallyu stars in the Chinese-language market.[21] The huge success ofMy Sassy Girl also solidified Jun's domestic popularity, and she was given the title of the "Nation's First Love".[22] Jun's growing popularity resulted in many companies requesting her endorsement.[23] She also won the Best Actress award at the 2002Grand Bell Awards.
In 2003, Jun starred in the psychological thriller filmThe Uninvited, which was rather well received by critics but failed to catch on with viewers.[24][25] Throughout this time she was a constant presence in TV ads and on billboards in Korea and also in other Asian countries.[13][26][27]
She reunited withKwak Jae-yong, the director ofMy Sassy Girl, in 2004, appearing as a policewoman in romantic comedyWindstruck.[28] However, viewers felt her role was too similar toMy Sassy Girl.[19] There were also signs that her popularity had started to suffer because of overexposure in advertisements.[29][30] Nonetheless,Windstruck became the best-performing Korean film in Japan at the time, whereMy Sassy Girl was not as well known.[13][31][32] In a 2005 survey of influential movie producers, she was ranked among the top ten most bankable stars in Korea.[33]
In late 2006, it was announced that Jun would be making her long-predicted jump to Hollywood as the lead role inBlood: The Last Vampire.[36] She went through three months of hard training to play the sword-wielding martial arts heroine.[36] During the filming and promotions for the movie prior to its 2009 release,[37][38] she adopted the Westernized name Gianna Jun.[39] Jun then launched her own luxury jeans brand in 2008, named "Gianna by True Religion", her first celebrity line. She was reportedly involved in every stage of their production, from design to deciding on fit and wash and their decoration with accessories.[40]
For the filmA Man Who Was Superman, Jun cut off her signature long silky hair to play a cynical documentary producer who meets an odd, Hawaiian-shirt-clad modern-day hero who battles urban apathy and preaches the virtues of lending a hand. Of initially feeling pressured at the opportunity to work with acclaimed actorHwang Jung-min, she said, "Although luck was probably involved, I think it's destiny for an actor to 'meet' new work. On the first day I met him, I realized that I have much to learn from him, not only from his acting, but also as an individual."[41]
In 2010, she acted opposite Chinese actressLi Bingbing in the English-language filmSnow Flower and the Secret Fan, based onLisa See's bestsellingnovel of the same name, which was directed byWayne Wang (The Joy Luck Club). The film, set in remote 19th-century China, features the lifelong friendship between two women, Lily and Snow Flower, and their imprisonment imposed by the strict cultural codes of conduct for women at that time.[42][43][44] She was photographed byAnnie Leibovitz for the July issue of the American edition ofVogue, the first Korean actress to be included in the iconic fashion magazine.[45]
2012–present: Career resurgence and return to television
She next played a translator married to a North Korean intelligence agent in the 2013 spy thrillerThe Berlin File, and directorRyoo Seung-wan praised Jun's action scenes and herNorth Korean dialect.[50] Jun's success on the big screen reaffirmed her status as one of the top actresses in Korea, as well as being one of the biggest box office draw inchungmuro.[51]
14 years afterHappy Together in 1999, Jun made her highly anticipated return to television in fantasy romanceMy Love from the Star,[52] opposite herThe Thieves co-starKim Soo-hyun.[53] Jun plays a present-day top actress who falls in love with an alien who landed on earth 400 years ago during theJoseon period, played by Kim. The series was a ratings success, sparking trends in fashion, make-up and restaurants.[54] Jun won theDaesang (or "Grand Prize"), the highest award for television, at the2014Baeksang Arts Awards and the2014 SBS Drama Awards.[55][56] The drama reestablished Jun as a leader of theHallyu, and she was given the President's Award at the Korean Popular Culture and Arts Awards.[57][58]
In January 2016, Korean entertainment and media companyCJ E&M acquired her agency Culture Depot.[64] The same year, Jun was ranked 8th onForbesKorea Power Celebrity 40. It was her second consecutive year in the top 10, having been ranked 4th in 2015.[65][66][67]
In April 2020, Jun was confirmed to leadtvN mystery thriller dramaJirisan, written byKingdom screenwriterKim Eun-hee, oppositeJu Ji-hoon.[75][unreliable source?] The series premiered on 23 October 2021.[76] Jun's 2021 projects marked her small-screen comeback after nearly 5 years of hiatus.
In May 2022, an official fromCulture Depot said that her agency's contract expires in June 2022.[77] Later, in August Jun has signed with new agency, Ieum Hashtag.[78]
In 2014, Jun donated₩100 million to theKorean Red Cross Society for the victims of theSewol ferry disaster.[79] She continued making donations of₩100 million to the Hope Bridge Disaster Relief Association, to aid efforts for theCOVID-19 pandemic in 2020, and to help victims of the wildfire that had started in Uljin, Gyeongbuk in 2022.[80][81]
Jun is one of the most in-demand celebrity endorsers in South Korea.[82] In 2014, she earned an estimated ₩20 billion from advertising and endorsement fees.[83] Market research in that same year showed that based on the value of real estate holdings, she ranked first among South Korean female celebrities, and fourth out of both male and female.[84] In 2016, Jun earned ₩14 billion for the 14 commercials she has filmed, regaining her position at the top of advertisement rankings.[85]
A lipstick she wore onMy Love from the Star,YSL "Rouge Pur Couture No. 52" sold out worldwide, while the same coat she wore on the show caused a surge in sales of over 2,500 in ShesMiss stores in ten days.[86][87][88]
In 2015, Jun has been selected by Italian luxury fashion houseGucci as the new face for the brand's Asia exclusive Spring/Summer 2015 Accessories Campaign.[89] The campaign shot in minimalistic aesthetic style, features Gucci accessories bearing its icons - the Horsebit, the Interlocking Gs and Gucci Flora and photographs taken bySølve Sundsbø in London.[90]
In September 2023, Jun became the first Brand Ambassador for American super-premium skincare brandLa Mer and starred in its latest "Youth Everlasting" campaign.[103]
On 11 October 2024, French luxury fashion brandLouis Vuitton selected Jun as its House Ambassador.[104]
Jun married Choi Joon-hyuk on 13 April 2012, atShilla Hotel inJangchung-dong, central Seoul, with more than 600 guests, including celebrities, close friends and family attending the wedding.[105][106][107] Choi, a banker, is the grandson of famedhanbok designerLee Young-hee and the son of fashion designer Lee Jung-woo.[108][109] Congratulatory money from the wedding was donated to charity.[110]
She and Choi have two sons together, born in 2016 and 2018.[111][2]
Jun along with six other Korean stars (Jung Woo-sung,Kim Sun-a,Jo In-sung,Ji Jin-hee,Cha Tae-hyun and Yang Jin-woo) sued the monthly movie magazineScreen in 2006 for commercially using their pictures without permission.[112] The Seoul Central District Court ruled in 2007 that the publisher must pay from ₩5 million to ₩15 million to each star for infringing on theirpublicity rights.[113]
In 2009, police discovered that Jun's cell phone had been illegallycloned. Seoul Metropolitan Police arrested a private detective, identified as Kim, who testified that it was ordered bySidusHQ (Jun's then agency of 13 years), for which he was paid ₩6.4 million in cash by the brother of the agency's founder and thenCEO Jung Hoon-tak. Police said Jun's management company used the cloned phone to keep tabs on her in an attempt to exert control over all aspects of her life. SidusHQ denied the allegations.[114][115][116][117] Jung Hoon-tak was later cleared after police could not find any concrete evidence of his direct involvement.[118] Kim was sentenced to one year in prison forinvasion of privacy, Jung's brother received suspended jail terms.[119][120] Because of the scandal, many expected her to leave once her contract expired, but she surprisingly extended her contract with SidusHQ for one more year. Then in 2011 she set up her own management agency, J&Co. Entertainment,[121] before moving toCulture Depot, an agency owned by a close friend, in 2012.[122]
In 2011, SidusHQCEO Jung Hoon-tak was accused of illegally using Jun's bank account to pocket profits from amerger and acquisition. Jung allegedly made ₩200 million after purchasing a stake in the juniorKOSDAQ-listed Stom E&F in 2009 with an account under Jun's name and announcing through a public filing several months later that he would buy Stom E&F. Jung and Stom E&F's formerCEO Kwon Seung-shik were reported for gaining unfair profits by leaking information on the M&A beforehand. In an investigation by the Financial Supervisory Service, Jun testified that she was unaware of such an account existing under her name.[123] Jung issued a denial.[124]
^Yoon, Sung-yeol (30 May 2022).전지현 홀로서기? 문화창고 측 "6월 계약 만료..논의 중" [공식] [Jeon Ji-Hyun Standing Alone? Cultural Depot side "Contract expiration in June.. under discussion" [Official]] (in Korean). MT Star News.Archived from the original on 30 May 2022. Retrieved30 May 2022 – viaNaver.
^Cheon, Yun-hye (10 August 2022).전지현-서지혜-김소현-윤지온, 이음해시태그와 전속계약..대표와 의리[공식] [Jeon Ji-hyun - Seo Ji-hye - Kim So-hyun - Yoon Ji-on, exclusive contract with Ieum hashtag.. Loyalty with the CEO [Official]] (in Korean).Herald POP.Archived from the original on 10 August 2022. Retrieved10 August 2022 – viaNaver.
^Ha Soo-jung (10 March 2022).부동산 재벌' 전지현, 산불 성금 1억 기부 [공식] [Real estate conglomerate' Jeon Ji-hyeon, donates 100 million won for forest fire [Official]] (in Korean).OSEN.Archived from the original on 10 March 2022. Retrieved10 March 2022 – viaNaver.
^'숨37°' 브랜드 새 얼굴은 전지현! [Jun Ji-hyun is the new face of the 'Su:m37°' brand!].Cosmorning (in Korean). 29 February 2020.Archived from the original on 11 September 2022. Retrieved11 September 2022.
^"全智賢驚喜出任Burberry品牌大使！全智賢時髦演繹Burberry知性秋冬穿搭" [Jun Ji-hyun surprises as Burberry brand ambassador! Jun Ji-hyun's fashionably interprets Burberry's intellectual autumn and winter outfits].Harper's Bazaar Taiwan (in Chinese). 7 September 2022.Archived from the original on 7 September 2022. Retrieved7 September 2022.
^Jeong So-ye (11 October 2024).전지현, 루이비통의 이유있는 러브콜! 시대를 초월한 재킷 하의실종 럭셔리룩 [Jeon Ji-hyun, Louis Vuitton's Reasonable Love Call! Timeless Jacket Bottom Missing Luxury Look].FashionN (in Korean).Archived from the original on 11 October 2024. Retrieved11 October 2024.
^Cho, Deuk-jin; Yang, Mi-sun (23 February 2017).박보검·송중기 한국 최고 파워 셀러브리티 [Park Bo-gum·Song Joong-ki Korea's best power celebrity].JoongAng Ilbo (in Korean).Archived from the original on 27 February 2017. Retrieved22 May 2021 – via Joins.
^한국영화 배우 흥행 파워 TOP 배우 하정우 그러나 TOP 10위 안에 여성 배우는 실종...여성 주연 영화 부재가 원인 [Korean movie actor box office power TOP actor Ha Jung-woo but the female actor in the top 10 is missing... Due to the absence of female-starred films].RNX (in Korean). 2 January 2020.Archived from the original on 30 October 2023. Retrieved30 October 2023.
.jpg)
