Lee Tae-ran
Lee in November 2018
Born	(1975-03-25)25 March 1975 (age 50) Seoul, South Korea
Alma mater	Hanyang University
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1997–present
Agent	Star Page Entertainment
Height	1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)
Spouse	Shin Seung-hwan (m. 2014)
Korean name
Hangul	이태란
RR	I Taeran
MR	I T'aeran

Lee Tae-ran (Korean: 이태란; born 25 March 1975) is a South Korean actress. She is best known for her roles inKorean dramas such asYellow Handkerchief,My Rosy Life,Famous Princesses,Wang's Family, andSky Castle.

Lee Tae-ran was born inSeoul on 25 March 1975. She is the second of two daughters. Lee moved toSeoul as a child. After graduating from Haeseong International Convention High School, she worked in a company for three years and supported herself with part-time jobs at a cafe inMyeong-dong or a Japanese restaurant inDaehangno.^[1][2] Lee once expressed her sadness at being a mere high school graduate in a television show. In 2008, she enrolled as a theatre and film student in the College of Art inHanyang University.^[3]

Lee was discovered by an agent while doing part-time jobs. She had a small role in theSBS dramaThe Brothers' River, marking her TV debut.^[1] Lee next entered the 1997SBS Top Talent Competition after a friend's suggestion and won the Grand Prize.^[4] She has since appeared in many television dramas in the late 1990s, such asFascinate My Heart,Goodbye My Love,Days of Delight andSoonpoong Clinic. For her performance inFascinate My Heart andDays of Delight, she was honoured with 1998SBS New Star Award and 1999MBC New Star Award respectively.^[4]

By the early 2000s, Lee's career was gaining momentum. In 2002, she receivedKBS Excellence in Acting Award for her portrayal of the bubbly model Lee Ha-na in the romantic comedyWho's My Love. The following year, she landed a lead role in the well-received dramaYellow Handkerchief, co-starringJo Min-ki. Lee received her firstKBS Top Excellence in Acting Award for her portrayal of Yoon Ja-young, a designer who was dumped by her boyfriend of ten years and raised a child alone.^[4][5]

In 2005, she appeared in the highly popularKBS seriesMy Rosy Life,^[6] written by Moon Young-nam, which also featuredChoi Jin-sil. She earned theKBS Popularity Award for her character of Maeng Young-yi, a successful career woman who didn't believe in love. After the success ofMy Rosy Life, she played the lead in theKBS dramaFamous Princesses, also written by Moon.^[7] The drama recorded high audience rating and garnered several award nominations and wins for its actors.^[8] Lee's portrayal ofDaewi Na Seol-chil has been widely acclaimed, earning her secondKBS Top Excellence in Acting Award and Best Couple Award withPark Hae-jin in 2006.^[9]

Lee next starred in lead role of Jang In-ho inKBS'sMy Precious You alongsideKim Sung-soo in 2008.^[10] In 2010, she appeared inKBS's war dramaLegend of the Patriots, oppositeChoi Soo-jong, in commemoration of the 60th anniversary of theKorean War.^[11] In 2012, Lee starred inJTBC's dramaHow Long I've Kissed, alongsideLee Sung-jae.

In 2013, Lee returned toSBS in the dramaGoddess of Marriage, after a three-year hiatus from major Korean TV networks.^[12] She also played the role of Wang Ho-bak in theKBS weekend dramaWang's Family, which was her third work written by Moon Young-nam.^[13][14]

In 2018, she starred in the hit dramaSky Castle as Lee Soo-im, a novel writer and the humble and loving housewife and stepmother in the Hwang household.^[15]

In conjunction with her success at home, Lee has become one of the most recognised Korean actresses in China.^[16] In 2001, she had a supporting role inCCTV's dramaModern Family, playing a Korean daughter-in-law who married into a Chinese family.^[17] Her worksYellow Handkerchief andMy Rosy Life were shown onCCTV-8. In 2009,Famous Princesses was shown onHunan Television. It became a huge hit nationwide and was voted "Overseas TV Drama of the Year".^[18] In 2010, Lee landed a lead role in the Chinese TV dramaThe Lure of Cloud.^[19] In 2011, she appeared in the Chinese historical dramaDi Jin with Korean actorKangta.^[20] In 2012, she had a lead role in another historical dramaFor the Sake of Beauty withHong Kong actorPatrick Tam.^[21] In 2013, Lee filmed a dramaThe Way We Were, produced byHuayi Brothers, a big-shot Chinese entertainment agency.^[22]

In 1997, Lee made her film debut inStory of A Man, oppositeChoi Min-soo as the film's title character. In 2007, she starred inLove Exposure, the Korean version ofSex and the City, alongsideLee Mi-yeon.^[23] In 2012, she appeared alongsideCha In-pyo in the filmMy Boy, on a pro bono basis and was also involved in the production.^[24] The film made its world premiere at the 18thBusan International Film Festival in October 2013,^[25] and hit Korean theatres on 10 April 2014.^[26]

On 17 February 2014, it was announced that Lee was going to marry businessman Shin Seung-hwan.^[27][28] The couple wed in a private Christian ceremony at Villa de Bailey in Seoul on 1 March 2014.^[29][30]

In May 2008, Lee travelled toNepal with the Seollebal Mountain Club to carry out volunteer work. She joined singer Lee Moon-sae, actorPark Sang-won and film director Han Ji-seung to help reconstruct a school.^[31] Lee's self-portrait, based on a photo taken inNepal, was made public for the first time in Korea Art Summer Festival 2009. She hoped that proceeds from the sale of her painting would go to charity.^[32] In March 2009, alongsideHanyang University celebrity alumniJang Keun-suk,Ha Seok-jin,Park Mi-sun andJung Il-woo, Lee participated in the Blood Donation Festival "Seventy Days of Miracles", an effort to raise money for children with heart disease and other people in dire need.^[33] On 8 July 2011, Lee attended charity-sponsored fashion show and bazaarWello! Africa, withSistar andJo Dong-hyuk, to promote education in Africa. The event was hosted byWorld Vision. In October 2012, Lee travelled toTanzania for the filming ofMBC'sreality show2012KOICA's Dream, alongsideNichkhun,Taecyeon,Park Sung-woong, Kim Hyuk and other volunteers. It's a show where celebrities do community service work in underprivileged countries.^[34]

Lee was named an ambassador at theMapo Happiness Sharing Food Market in 2009. She volunteers at the food market, donates rice, and also visits elderly citizens living alone, people with disabilities, and low-income families at least twice a month. Her service was recognised by theMinistry of Health and Welfare at the 4thFood Bank National Food Sharing Convention in 2010 and the 7thFood Bank National Food Sharing Convention in 2013.^[35][36] On 6 December 2013, she donated 2.76 tonnes offan rice to the Mapo Happiness Sharing Food Market.^[37]

Lee arrived inUganda in April 2014, just one month after her wedding. She travelled to remote villages where many people are suffering fromelephantiasis and found it "heartbreaking".^[38] Her week-long mission was featured in "2014SBS Hope TV", a show designed to raise awareness about the issues that Africans face, and bringing in donations at the same time.^[39]

On February 15, 2023, Lee donated 10 million won to help2023 Turkey–Syria earthquake through Warm Day.^[40]

• Lee Tae-ran onWeibo(in Chinese)(in Korean and Chinese)
• Lee Tae-ran onInstagram(in Korean)
• 이태란 (Lee Tae-ran) onCyworld(in Korean)
• Lee Tae-ran atHanCinema
• Lee Tae-ran at theKorean Movie Database
• Lee Tae-ran atIMDb

• Best New Actress for SBS Drama Awards winners
• 1975 births
• Living people
• South Korean film actresses
• South Korean stage actresses
• South Korean television actresses
• Hanyang University alumni

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