Kim Hee-ae was born inJeju Island, and her family later moved toSeoul.
Kim was a freshman at Hyehwa Girls' High School when she was discovered by the younger sister of one of her teachers; she had been visiting the school by chance and worked for an advertising agency. This led to her firstmodeling job in a commercial for a school uniform brand in 1982.This was actually her debut activity.
In 1983, Kim made her acting debut in the filmThe First Day of the Twentieth Year. While studying atChung-Ang University as a Theater and Film major, she appeared in her firsttelevision drama onKBS in 1986. Over the next decade, she would go on to have a successful career on Korean television, alongside fellow top actressesChae Shi-ra andChoi Jin-sil. Among her most significant dramas during this period wereBeyond the Mountains (1991) andSons and Daughters (1992), for which she won the highest award at theMBC Drama Awards and theBaeksang Arts Awards, called the Daesang ("Grand Prize").
She again drew praise in 2003 for two consecutive hit dramas. InWife, her husband vanishes and reappears years later as an amnesiac with another family, while inPerfect Love (written byKim Soo-hyun), her role as the perfect wife and mother who gets diagnosed with a terminal illness earned her another Daesang from the Baeksang Arts Awards.[3][4] She worked again with Kim a year later inPrecious Family (also known asLetters to My Parents), playing a woman who marries into a rich family who treats her badly after she gives birth to a baby withautism.[5] Kim next starred in the melodramaSnow Flower.[6]
Her third collaboration with Kim Soo-hyun was 2007'sMy Husband's Woman, but unlike her previous saintly characters, this time she wascast against type as a sexy, worldly woman having an affair with her best friend's husband.[7][8] The adultery drama was a hit with a peak viewership rating of 38.7%, and Kim yet again won the Daesang at theKorea Drama Awards and theSBS Drama Awards.[9]
2010–2012: Hiatus and focus on commercials and magazines
Afterwards, Kim went on a brief hiatus, during which she continued to appear in commercials and magazines, gaining a reputation as a style icon for Korean middle-aged women (called "ajumma") by inspiring them to wear younger and edgier clothes.[10] Kim returned to acting four years later withMidas, in the role of a wealthychaebol heiress who fosters greed and ambition in a young lawyer.[11] She then won Best Actress at the Baeksang Arts Awards for her portrayal of a housewife increasingly stifled by her husband's obsession with status who finds herself falling for her son's dentist inHow Long I've Kissed, one of the inaugural dramas in 2012 of new cable channeljTBC.[12][13]
2013–present: Return to the big screen and continued success
In 2014, Kim returned to the big screen after a 21-year absence inThread of Lies, afilm adaptation ofKim Ryeo-ryeong's novelElegant Lies about teen bullying which leads to a young girl's suicide.[17] Kim said she accepted the project because the script was "faultless" and she felt empathy for the characters,[18][19] and one review described her performance as "excellent as the grieving mother [...] understated but somehow believable, touching and honest."[20]
Shortly after, Kim reunited with the writer anddirector ofHow Long I've Kissed inSecret Affair, about an art foundation director who embarks on a passionate affair with a poor but talented pianist 20 years her junior.[21][22]
She next played themuse of real-lifefolk music group Twin Folio in the 2015 filmC'est Si Bon, named after a music lounge located inMyeong-dong which was famous in the 1970s and 1980s for its live performances.[23] She returned to the small screen with the police procedural dramaMrs. Cop, playing a violent crime detective who struggles to become a good mother.[24][25]
Kim then returned to the big screen, starring in the psychological thrillerThe Vanished[28][29] and drama filmHerstory, based on the real story of comfort women.[30][31]
Kim is a Roman Catholic and was one of 50 Catholic celebrities who appeared in the 2014 music video for the digital single "Koinonia" to commemoratePope Francis' visit to South Korea, the first time in 19 years that the pope visited Asia. Her baptismal name is Maria.[34][35][36][37]
^Park, So-young (March 10, 2025).차승원 따라 강남에 있는 키이스트 간다..김희애도 전속계약 체결 (공식) [Following Cha Seung-won to Keyeast in Gangnam... Kim Hee-ae also signs exclusive contract (official)].OSEN (in Korean). RetrievedMarch 10, 2025.
^"뮤직비디오 '코이노니아' 공개".The Catholic Times (가톨릭신문) (in Korean). July 13, 2014.Archived from the original on March 29, 2021. RetrievedMay 30, 2018.
^Jo Ji-young (October 13, 2022)."[공식] 설경구X장동건X김희애X수현, 허진호 감독 신작 '더 디너'로 뭉쳤다...9월 말 크랭크 업" [[Official] Seol Kyung-gu X Jang Dong-gun X Kim Hee-ae X Soo-hyeon, and director Huh Jin-ho's new film 'The Dinner' are teamed up... Crank up at the end of September] (in Korean).Sports Chosun.Archived from the original on October 13, 2022. RetrievedOctober 13, 2022 – viaNaver.
^Park Mi-ae (August 31, 2021)."조진웅·김희애·류혜영, 웨이브 오리지널 영화 '데드맨' 캐스팅" [Jo Jin-woong, Kim Hee-ae, and Ryu Hye-young cast in Wave original movie 'Dead Man'].E-Daily (in Korean).Archived from the original on August 31, 2021. RetrievedAugust 31, 2021 – viaNaver.
^Park Soo-in (November 22, 2021)."김희애 문소리, 넷플릭스 '퀸메이커' 출연 확정 '역대급 워맨스 예고" [Kim Hee-ae and Moon So-ri confirmed to appear on Netflix's 'Queen Maker] (in Korean). Newsen.Archived from the original on November 22, 2021. RetrievedNovember 22, 2021 – viaNaver.
^Kang Min-kyung (March 28, 2023)."[공식] 설경구·김희애, 웰메이드 정치 스릴러 '돌풍' 출연 확정" [[Official] Seol Kyung-gu and Kim Hee-ae confirmed to appear in well-made political thriller 'Storm'] (in Korean). Ten Asia.Archived from the original on March 28, 2023. RetrievedMarch 28, 2023 – viaNaver.
Baek Sung-hoon (November 19, 2021)."김희애·이상엽, '어린이에게 새 생명을' MC 확정" [Kim Hee-ae and Lee Sang-yeop confirmed as MCs for 'Giving Children New Life] (in Korean).iMBC.Archived from the original on November 19, 2021. RetrievedNovember 19, 2021 – viaNaver.
Ahn Jin-young (November 14, 2022)."김희애, 29년째 '어린이에게 새 생명을' 진행…기부 확산 '앞장" [Kim Hee-ae, ‘Giving a new life to children’ for 29 years… Donation spread ‘leading the way].Munhwa Ilbo (in Korean).Archived from the original on November 14, 2022. RetrievedNovember 14, 2022 – viaNaver.
^Woo Da-bin (August 20, 2021)."김희애의 자유로운 여정 '잠적', 9월 2일 첫 방송" [Kim Hee-ae's free journey 'Sleep', first broadcast on September 2].Hankook Ilbo (in Korean).Naver.Archived from the original on August 20, 2021. RetrievedAugust 20, 2021.
^Min, Sung-jin (January 1, 2004)."이병헌, SBS '연기대상 수상'".Newsis (in Korean).Archived from the original on October 22, 2021. RetrievedOctober 22, 2021.
^Yoo, Byung-cheol (November 13, 2018)."'허스토리' 김희애, 여우주연상의 남다른 의미".Naver (in Korean). Hankook Kyungje.Archived from the original on April 22, 2023. RetrievedJune 20, 2020.
^"#BIFF 아시아 스타 어워즈 2018".Marie Clarie Korea (in Korean). October 2018. Archived fromthe original on October 17, 2018. RetrievedOctober 22, 2018.
^Noh Kyu-min (February 9, 2022)."[공식] 제20회 디렉터스컷 어워즈, 24일 개최…'오겜' 'D.P.' '지옥' 노미네이트" [[Official] The 20th Director's Cut Awards, held on the 24th... 'Ogem' 'D.P.' 'Hell' nomination] (in Korean). Ten Asia.Archived from the original on November 12, 2020. RetrievedFebruary 9, 2022 – viaNaver.
^Park, Ji-hyun; Kim, Min-soo; Shin, Yoon-ae (April 23, 2021).2021 포브스코리아 선정 파워 셀럽 40 [2021 Power Celebrity Selected by Forbes Korea 40].JoongAng Ilbo (in Korean).Archived from the original on April 28, 2021. RetrievedMay 21, 2021 – via Joins.
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