KIM TAE HEE

KOREAN STARS

KIM TAE HEE

PROFILE

Name: 김태희 / Kim Tae Hee (Kim Tae Hui)

Nickname: Angel

Profession: Actress and model

Birthdate: 1980-Mar-29

Birthplace: Ulsan, South Korea

Height: 165cm

Weight: 45kg

Star sign: Aries

Blood type: O

Family: Older sister and younger brother/actor Lee Wan

Talent agency: Namoo Actors

Debut: CF Model

Education: Ulsan Women High School, Seoul National University (Bachelor’s

degree in Fashion Design)

Religion: Christian (Roman Catholic)

Kim Tae-Hee was born on March 29, 1980 in Ulsan , South Korea. Her immediate family consists of her

parents, one older sister and one younger brother. Kim Tae-Hee's younger brother Lee Wan is also an actor. Kim Tae-Hee, known for her beauty, actually grew up as a tough young girl. In an interview on

MBC TV variety program "Yoo Jae-seok & Kim Won-Hee's Come to Play," on September 13, 2010, Kim Tae-Hee stated she wasn't talkative as a young child, but fought physically with her younger brother

and other boys in the neighborhood. In another interview on KBS2 TV show "The Park Joong-Hoon Show," Kim Tae-Hee stated she frequently broke glass windows and often beat up her younger brother

Lee Wan as a child.

Even though Kim Tae-Hee grew up as a tough child, she received perfect scores in all of her classes throughout middle school and was also very popular with the male students. MBC cable TV program

"Star Secret" discovered these facts when they pulled up her school records and also learned male students in one of Kim Tae-Hee's high school gym classes would often stand next to the window to see her and scream out her name. In high school, Kim Tae-Hee picked up the quirky nickname "Headbanger". This

nickname came about because she would often study late into the night and in class would nearly drift off into sleep and then quickly snap out of it, resulting in her head making a headbanger motion - popular with heavy metal music fans.

Kim Tae-Hee then entered Seoul National University, often mentioned as South Korea's most prestigious and most difficult to enter university, to major in fashion design. The reason she chose this major was that she admired other people who did creative work. During her college days, she was first asked to model

for an ad designer who spotted her in the subway station. At this time, Kim Tae-Hee wasn't sure what she would do after college so she decided to take up the modeling work as a part-time job. In 2000, when Kim Tae-Hee was 21, she made her debut as an ad model for the product "White" (a brand of maxi-pads). She quickly turned into a CF blue chip.

Kim Tae-Hee would then make her acting debut in the 2001 film " Last Present ". In the movie, Kim Tae-Hee played the middle-school aged version of Lee Young- Ae 's main female character Park Jung-Yeon. One year later, she became popular enough to land leading roles in 2003 SBS TV dramas " Screen ," "Stairway to Heaven " & "A Problem at My Younger Brother's House ." Kim Tae-Hee became known for her beauty and graduating from Seoul National University. Nevertheless, her acting ability drew frequent criticisms from critics and the public. Some considered her to be the top CF star, but not a serious actress.

The criticisms did hurt Kim Tae-Hee personally and made her insecure about her acting abilities. By 2008, Kim Tae-Hee took a one year break from acting. In 2009, Kim Tae-Hee made her return to acting in the KBS2 blockbuster action drama " IRIS ." Initial reaction to her acting was muted, but began getting

better reviews as the series went on. Ratings for " IRIS" averaged 31.9%, tops in South Korea at the time, and the show would go on to become hit across Asia. In an interview with Kim Tae-Hee, she mentioned "IRIS " director Yang Yun-Ho made a comfortable environment for her to act and, through frequent rehearsal, made her understand her character's emotions. Kim Tae-Hee believes " IRIS " marked a turning point in her acting career.

After the drama "IRIS ," director Yang Yun-Ho suggested to her to take the female lead in his next movie "Grand Prix ." Kim Tae-Hee would play a female horse jockey and this served to be a problem, because she was afraid of riding horses. As filming went on, she became to enjoy riding horses. But there was

also other difficulties in the filming process. Lead actor Lee Jun-Ki dropped out of the film, after one month of filming, due to his required military enlistment. Actor Yang Dong-Kun was then selected as his replacement. Commercially at least, " Grand Prix " turned out to be a disappointment. The movie opened

#9 during the busy Chuseok holiday weekend and would go on to sell only 168,576 tickets during its theatrical run.

In the second half of 2010, Kim Tae-Hee chose the part of Lee-Sul in the SBS drama " My Princess".

In an interview with 10 Asiae, she mentioned that she likes childish things and likes to imagine about girlish romantic imagery. This is what drew her to the part of Lee-Sul in " My Princess ." On KBS2 TV show

"The Park Joong-Hoon Show,", Kim Tae-Hee also mentioned about rumors that she would marry the son of a Chaebol family. At first, Kim Tae-Hee ignored the rumors and believed the public would also. But, the rumors became more insistent and exaggerated and eventually caused Kim Tae-Hee's  management company to sue netizens who spread the false rumors.

TV Shows

Boku to Star no 99 Nichi (Fuji TV, 2011)

My Princess (SBS, 2011)

IRIS (KBS2, 2009)

Love Story in Harvard (SBS, 2004)

Nine Tailed Fox (KBS2, 2004)

Stairway to Heaven (SBS, 2003)

A Problem At My Younger Brother's House (SBS, 2003)

Screen (SBS, 2003)

Let's Go (SBS, 2002) sitcom

Mister Q (SBS, 1998)

Movies

Grand Prix | Geurang Peuri (2010)

Iris: The Movie (2010)

Quarrel / Venus And Mars (2007)

The Restless (2006)

New Citizen (2002) short Indie film

Last Present (2001, cameo)

Music Video

Year Song Artist

"Project" Joy

2002 "Letter" G.o.d

2003 "Only" The Jun

2004 "Don't Go Away" Park Yong Ha

Endorsements

LG Cyon (phones)

S-Oil (oil company)

Ohui (cosmetics)

Iriver (electronics)

Vivien (underwear brand)

Crencia

Klasse (appliances)

Coca-cola Fresh Healthy Tea (Japanese Green Tea)

KT

Hera (cosmetics)

Hyundai card - Hyundai capital

SI (clothing brand)

Nestea

Daewoo LCD TV

Zec

Innisfree

Haustory

My House My Root

HBC Bank

Calli Cosmetics

Beans Avenue Coffee

Crown Cookie

Caspi Conus

Jinro

Laneige

Hime

Vince

My Jet

Awards

2009 KBS Drama Awards: Best Couple Award with Lee Byung Hun ( IRIS )

2009 KBS Drama Awards: Excellence Award, Novella Drama - Actress ( IRIS )

2007 44th Grand Bell Awards: Overseas Popularity Award ("The Restless")

2007 43rd Baeksang Awards: Popularity Award ("The Restless")

2005 41st Baeksang Arts Awards: Popularity Award ( Love Story in Harvard)

2004 SBS Drama Awards: Popularity Award ( Love Story in Harvard)

2004 SBS Drama Awards: Top Ten Stars Award ( Love Story in Harvard )

2004 KBS Drama Awards: Best New Actress Award ( Nine Tailed Fox )

2003 SBS Drama Awards: Best New Actress Award (Stairway to Heaven)