Jeon Do-yeon (Hangul: 전도연; born February 11, 1973) is a South Korean actress. She won Best Actress at the 60th Cannes Film Festival, making her the second Korean actress to win an acting award at a prestigious film festival, and Best Performance by an Actress at the 1st Asia Pacific Screen Awards for her performance in Lee Chang-dong's 2007 film Secret Sunshine.[2][3] Although she is not as broadly popular with the audiences as some other stars in South Korea due to her film choices, Jeon is widely respected and celebrated for her acting abilities, and many young actresses have cited her as a role model.[4][5]
Jeon Do-yeon | |
---|---|
Born | (1973-02-11) February 11, 1973 (age 49) Seoul, South Korea |
Nationality | South Korea |
Occupation | Actress |
Years active | 1990–present |
Agent | Management SOOP[1] |
Spouse | Kang Shi-kyu (m. 2007) |
Children | 1 |
Korean name | |
Hangul | |
Hanja | |
Revised Romanization | Jeon Do-yeon |
McCune–Reischauer | Chŏn Toyŏn |
Jeon Do-yeon was born on February 11, 1973. She has two older brothers and is the youngest in her family. Born and raised in Seoul, she graduated from Bukgajwa Elementary School, Yeonhee Girls Middle School, Changduk Girls High School and Department of Broadcasting at Seoul Institute of the Arts.[6][7]
In 1990, Jeon made her debut in the entertainment industry as an advertisement model for Johnson & Johnson. She made her acting debut in television series Our Heaven in 1992. She then continued to play supporting roles in Scent of Love (1994) and General Hospital (1994) and Love is Blue (1995), but struggled to receive any significant attention.[8] In 1995, she gained some recognition after playing the heroine's younger sister in KBS2's hit drama Our Sunny Days of Youth, which recorded its highest viewership rating of 62.7 percent. The drama's director, Jeon San PD, made a remark stating that Jeon Do-yeon is a "tough and ambitious newcomer".[9] The following years, she played major roles in multiple dramas such as Project, Way Station and Until We Can Love in 1996, and Star in My Heart in 1997.[6] Jeon spent five years starring in television dramas before achieving instant star status with her feature film debut acting alongside Han Suk-kyu in 1997 film The Contact, which became the second-highest grossing Korean film of that year. She won numerous awards through the work, including Best New Actress at the 35th Grand Bell Awards and 18th Blue Dragon Film Awards.[10]
From 1997 after the success of The Contact, Jeon emerged as a prominent actress in the Korean film industry and went on to establish a reputation as a "chameleon" who can take on a wide variety of roles, from her performance as a doctor in the hit melodrama A Promise, which won her Best Actress at the 35th Baeksang Arts Awards, to that of a schoolgirl in the 1999 film The Harmonium in My Memory, then a wife having an adulterous affair in the 1999 film Happy End.[11] In 1999 and 2000, she received Best Actress awards at numerous award ceremonies such as the 20th Blue Dragon Film Awards and the 37th Grand Bell Awards for her performance in The Harmonium in My Memory. She also won Best Actress at the 35th Baeksang Arts Awards for her role in A Promise and several other local film awards for her role in Happy End.[3]
In 2001, she played a bank teller in Park Heung-sik's directorial debut I Wish I Had a Wife.[12] After starring as the tough-talking Soo-jin in Ryoo Seung-wan's No Blood No Tears in 2002,[13] Jeon spent time acting in the television series Shoot for the Stars.[3] In 2003, she found box-office success in E J-yong's Untold Scandal, an adaptation of the famous French novel Dangerous Liaisons set in Joseon.[14] The following year, she reunited with director Park Heung-sik in a dual role for the time-bending melodrama film My Mother, the Mermaid.[15]
In 2005, Jeon played a prostitute who contracts AIDS in Park Jin-pyo's hard-hitting melodrama You Are My Sunshine.[16][17][18] The film was a box-office hit, and her performance received critical acclaim and won her numerous acting awards.[3] She then returned to the small screen with Lovers in Prague, a drama that tells the love story between the president's daughter and an ordinary detective. The drama was a huge success, with average viewership ratings of over 27 percent.[19] For the work, Jeon won the Grand Prize (Daesang) at 2005 SBS Drama Awards.[20] Commenting on her successful year, The Korea Herald noted, "It is rare for a movie and a drama with the same leading actor or actress to become major hits at the same time. And often, actors and actresses avoid such cases, due to the risk of confusing audiences, but Jeon managed to pull both roles off perfectly without causing any confusion in the audience."[21]
In 2007, Jeon starred in Lee Chang-dong's melodrama Secret Sunshine, which propelled her to international recognition. Her fierce and fearless portrayal of a widowed mother who struggles to rearrange her life after the tragic deaths of her husband and son received universal critical acclaim.[22][23] Although the film itself, which debuted at the 60th Cannes Film Festival, evoked widely differing assessments from international critics, Jeon's performance was universally praised, and she was chosen as the Best Actress by the Cannes jury, making her the first Korean ever to receive an acting award at Cannes.[24][25][26][27] She also won Best Performance by an Actress at the 1st Asia Pacific Screen Awards.[28] Following the heel of the Cannes' win, Jeon went on to sweep domestic awards, winning Best Actress at multiple film award ceremonies such as the 28th Blue Dragon Film Awards. In recognition of her contribution to the development of the Korean film industry, she was honored with the Okgwan Order of Cultural Merit by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Special Achievement Award at the 44th Grand Bell Awards.[29]
Post-Cannes, she starred in 2008 film My Dear Enemy, playing an unemployed single woman who reacquaints herself with her ex-boyfriend.[30][31] After starring in My Dear Enemy, Jeon gave birth to a daughter and rested for a while.[32][33][34] In October 2009, she was honored by the French government with the Chevalier des Arts et Lettres medal for her contribution to the arts.[35] The following year, she returned to star in Im Sang-soo's 2010 controversial remake The Housemaid.[36] Jeon came back to Cannes once again as the film was chosen to compete for the Palme d'Or at the 63rd Cannes Film Festival.[37]
In 2011, Jeon played a female con artist who risks her life for ten days for a final deal with a cold-hearted debt collector in Countdown.[38][39][40] Countdown premiered at the 36th Toronto International Film Festival.[41]
In 2013, after a two-year break, Jeon returned with Bang Eun-jin's Way Back Home, a film based on the true story of a housewife who was imprisoned for two years on the island of Martinique after being wrongly arrested for drug smuggling at Paris's Orly Airport in 2004.[42][43] In 2014, she was announced as one of the nine panel members of the main competition jury at the 67th Cannes Film Festival, making her the first Korean actor or actress to receive the honor and the second Korean after director Lee Chang-dong in 2009.[44][45][46][47]
In 2015, Jeon starred in The Shameless, a thriller that explores the unexpected and carnal attraction that develops between a detective and the girlfriend of the murderer that he investigates.[48][49] The film was selected for the Un Certain Regard section at the 68th Cannes Film Festival and Jeon returned to Cannes for the fourth time in her career.[50][51] For her performance in the film, Jeon won Best Actress at the 24th Buil Film Awards, the 15th Director's Cut Awards, and the 52nd Baeksang Arts Awards respectively. The same year, she played a blind swordswoman in the Goryeo-set revenge period drama Memories of the Sword, her third collaboration with Park Heung-sik and her second with Lee Byung-hun.[52][53]
This was followed by Jeon's second film with director Lee Yoon-ki, A Man and a Woman, a 2016 film about a forbidden romance that takes place in the snow-swept landscape of Finland.[54][55] Jeon then made a return to the small screen after twelve years in the 2016 Korean remake of the American legal drama The Good Wife.[56] She was praised for displaying a wide range of emotions and agony of a housewife who is forced to become a lawyer again after her husband is mired in a scandal and put behind bars.[57][58]
After a three-year break, Jeon reunited with Sol Kyung-gu in drama film Birthday, marking her second collaboration with Sol eighteen years after I Wish I Had a Wife. The film, inspired by the Sewol ferry disaster, deals with the struggles faced by a couple who lost their son in a tragic accident.[59][60] The film had its international premiere at the 2019 Far East Film Festival in Udine, Italy.[61] At the festival, Jeon was honored with Golden Mulberry Lifetime Achievement Award.[62] She once again won Best Actress at the 56th Baeksang Arts Awards, the 6th Korean Film Producers Association Awards and 28th Buil Film Awards for her performance in the film.
In early 2020, Jeon starred in Beasts Clawing at Straws, a mystery thriller based on Keisuke Sone's novel, alongside Jung Woo-sung.[63][64] The film was screened at the 49th International Film Festival Rotterdam and won the Special Jury Award in the Tiger Competition.[65] The film failed to turn a profit as local box office sales plummeted due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[66]
She is set to reunite with Song Kang-ho and Lee Byung-hun in Han Jae-rim's disaster action film Emergency Declaration.[67] She is also set to make her small-screen comeback in Hur Jin-ho's first television series project Lost.[68]
Jeon married businessman and professional car racer Kang Shi-kyu, who is nine years her senior, in a private wedding ceremony at Shilla Hotel on March 11, 2007.[69][70][71] She gave birth to a daughter on January 22, 2009.[43]
Year | English title | Korean title | Role | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
1997 | The Contact | 접속 | Soo-hyun | [11] |
1998 | A Promise | 약속 | Chae Hee-ju | [11] |
1999 | The Harmonium in My Memory | 내 마음의 풍금 | Yun Hong-yeon | [11] |
Happy End | 해피엔드 | Choi Bo-ra | [11] | |
2001 | I Wish I Had a Wife | 나도 아내가 있었으면 좋겠다 | Jung Won-ju | [12] |
2002 | No Blood No Tears | 피도 눈물도 없이 | Soo-jin | [13] |
2003 | Untold Scandal | 스캔들: 조선남녀상열지사 | Lady Jeong | [14] |
2004 | My Mother, the Mermaid | 인어 공주 | Kim Na-young / Jo Yeon-soon | [15] |
2005 | You Are My Sunshine | 너는 내 운명 | Eun-ha | [16] |
2007 | Secret Sunshine | 밀양 | Lee Shin-ae | [24] |
2008 | My Dear Enemy | 멋진 하루 | Hee-soo | [31] |
2010 | The Housemaid | 하녀 | Eun-yi | [36] |
2011 | Countdown | 카운트다운 | Cha Ha-yeon | [41] |
2013 | Way Back Home | 집으로 가는 길 | Song Jeong-yeon | [42] |
2015 | The Shameless | 무뢰한 | Kim Hye-kyung | [48] |
Memories of the Sword | 협녀, 칼의 기억 | Seol-rang / Wol-so | [52] | |
2016 | A Man and a Woman | 남과 여 | Sang-min | [54] |
2019 | Birthday | 생일 | Soon-nam | [59] |
Ashfall | 백두산 | Sun-hwa (cameo) | [72] | |
2020 | Beasts Clawing at Straws | 지푸라기라도 잡고 싶은 짐승들 | Yeon-hee | [64] |
2022 | Emergency Declaration | 비상선언 [note 1] | Sook-hee | [67][74][75] |
TBA | Gil Bok-soon | 길복순 [note 2] | Gil Bok-soon | [76] |
Year | English title | Korean title | Role | Notes | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1992–1993 | Our Paradise | 우리들의 천국 2기 | Soo-hyun | [6] | |
1994 | Scent of Love | 사랑의 향기 | Hye-jin | ||
General Hospital | 종합병원 | Kang Soon-young | |||
1995 | Love Is Blue | 사랑은 블루 | Na Hye-jin | ||
Drama Game - Six Steps Towards Separation | 드라마게임 - 이별하는 여섯 단계 | Park Joon-young | |||
Our Sunny Days of Youth | 젊은이의 양지 | Im Jong-hee | [6] | ||
1996 | Project | 프로젝트 | Yoo Hyun-jung | ||
Drama Game - Can I Go to the Post Office to Find a Lost Love? | 드라마게임 - 우체국에 가면 잃어버린 사랑을 찾을 수 있을까? | — | |||
Way Station | 간이역 | Choi Kye-soon | |||
Until We Can Love | 사랑할때까지 | Eun-ju | [6] | ||
1997 | Star in My Heart | 별은 내 가슴에 | Yang Soon-ae | ||
Snail | 달팽이 | Yang Sun-ja | |||
1998 | MBC Best Theater - What You Cherish Can Never Be Forgotten | 베스트극장 - 간직한 것은 잊혀지지 않는다 편 | Se-jin | ||
1999 | TV Love Story Movie - Host of Memory | TV영화 러브스토리 - 기억의 주인 편 | — | ||
2002–2003 | Shoot for the Stars | 별을 쏘다 | Han So-ra | [3] | |
2005 | Lovers in Prague | 프라하의 연인 | Yoon Jae-hee | [19] | |
2008 | On Air | 온에어 | Herself | (cameo, episode 2) | [77] |
2016 | The Good Wife | 굿 와이프 | Kim Hye-kyung | [56] | |
2021 | Lost | 인간실격 | Bu-jeong | [68][78] | |
2023 | One Shot Scandal | 일타스캔들 | Nam Haeng-seon | [79][80] | |
Year | Song Title | Artist | Co-stars |
---|---|---|---|
2002 | "The Name" | The Name | Tony Leung Chiu-Wai, Ryoo Seung-bum |
Year | Title | Role |
---|---|---|
1997 | Educating Rita | Rita |
1998 | The Queen of Opera Tears | Shin Jung-ha |
Year | Award | Category | Nominated work | Result | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1995 | KBS Drama Awards | Popularity Award | Our Sunny Days of Youth | Won | |
1997 | 35th Grand Bell Awards | Best New Actress | The Contact | Won | |
18th Blue Dragon Film Awards | Best Leading Actress | Nominated | [6] | ||
Best New Actress | Won | ||||
1998 | 34th Baeksang Arts Awards | Most Popular Actress (Film) | Won | ||
18th Korean Association of Film Critics Awards | Best New Actress | Won | [6] | ||
19th Blue Dragon Film Awards | Best Leading Actress | A Promise | Nominated | ||
1999 | 35th Baeksang Arts Awards | Best Actress (Film) | Won | [6] | |
36th Grand Bell Awards | Best Actress | Nominated | |||
1st Asian Film Critics Association Awards | Won | ||||
22nd Golden Cinematography Awards | Most Popular Actress | Won | |||
Cine 21 Awards | Best Actress | The Harmonium in My Memory, Happy End | Won | ||
20th Blue Dragon Film Awards | Best Leading Actress | The Harmonium in My Memory | Won | [6] | |
Popular Star Award | Won | ||||
2nd Director's Cut Awards | Best Actress | Won | |||
2000 | 37th Grand Bell Awards | Won | [6] | ||
Happy End | Nominated | ||||
8th Chunsa Film Art Awards | Won | [6] | |||
1st Busan Film Critics Awards | Won | [81] | |||
20th Korean Association of Film Critics Awards | Won | [6] | |||
21st Blue Dragon Film Awards | Best Leading Actress | Nominated | |||
Popular Star Award | Won | ||||
2001 | 37th Baeksang Arts Awards | Best Actress (Film) | I Wish I Had a Wife | Won | [6] |
22nd Blue Dragon Film Awards | Best Leading Actress | Nominated | |||
2002 | 23rd Blue Dragon Film Awards | No Blood No Tears | Nominated | [6] | |
Popular Star Award | Won | ||||
1st Korean Film Awards | Best Actress | Nominated | |||
SBS Drama Awards | Top Excellence Award, Actress | Shoot for the Stars | Won | [6] | |
Top 10 Stars | Won | ||||
2003 | 24th Blue Dragon Film Awards | Best Leading Actress | Untold Scandal | Nominated | |
2nd Korean Film Awards | Best Actress | Nominated | |||
2004 | 41st Grand Bell Awards | Nominated | [82] | ||
25th Blue Dragon Film Awards | Best Leading Actress | My Mother, the Mermaid | Nominated | ||
3rd Korean Film Awards | Best Actress | Won | [83] | ||
7th Director's Cut Awards | Won | [6] | |||
Cine 21 Awards | Won | ||||
2005 | 41st Baeksang Arts Awards | Best Actress (Film) | Nominated | ||
13th Chunsa Film Art Awards | Best Actress | Won | |||
42nd Grand Bell Awards | Nominated | [84] | |||
25th Korean Association of Film Critics Awards | You Are My Sunshine | Won | [6] | ||
26th Blue Dragon Film Awards | Best Leading Actress | Nominated | [85] [86] | ||
Best Couple Award (with Hwang Jung-min) | Won | ||||
4th Korean Film Awards | Best Actress | Won | [87] | ||
6th Women in Film Korea Awards | Won | ||||
Cine 21 Awards | Won | ||||
8th Director's Cut Awards | Won | [88] | |||
SBS Drama Awards | Grand Prize (Daesang) | Lovers in Prague | Won | [20] | |
Top Excellence Award, Actress | Nominated | ||||
Top 10 Stars | Won | ||||
2006 | 3rd Max Movie Awards | Best Actress | You Are My Sunshine | Won | [6] |
42nd Baeksang Arts Awards | Best Actress (Film) | Nominated | [89] | ||
43rd Grand Bell Awards | Best Actress | Won | [90] | ||
2007 | 60th Cannes Film Festival | Best Actress | Secret Sunshine | Won | [91] |
2nd Asia-Pacific Producers Network Awards | Asian Movie Artist Award | Won | [92] | ||
44th Grand Bell Awards | Special Achievement Award | Won | [93] | ||
Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism | Okgwan Order of Cultural Merit | Won | [94] | ||
1st Asia Pacific Screen Awards | Best Actress | Won | [95] | ||
28th Blue Dragon Film Awards | Best Leading Actress | Won | [96] | ||
Best Dressed | — | Won | |||
27th Korean Association of Film Critics Awards | Best Actress | Secret Sunshine | Won | [29] | |
7th Proud Korean Awards | Recipient (for Movie category) | Won | |||
6th Korean Film Awards | Best Actress | Won | |||
8th Women in Film Korea Awards | Won | [97] | |||
10th Director's Cut Awards | Won | ||||
Cine 21 Awards | Won | ||||
3rd University Film Festival of Korea | Won | ||||
2008 | 2nd Asian Film Awards | Best Actress | Won | [98] | |
10th Asian Film Critics Association Awards | Best Actress | Won | |||
44th Baeksang Arts Awards | Best Actress (Film) | Nominated | |||
45th Grand Bell Awards | Best Actress | Nominated | |||
2009 | Ordre des Arts et des Lettres | Chevalier des Arts et Lettres | — | Recipient | [35] |
Andre Kim Best Star Awards | Super Artist Award | — | Won | [99] | |
12th Director's Cut Awards | Cinema Angel recipient | — | Recipient | [100] | |
2010 | Village Voice Film Poll | Best Actress | Secret Sunshine | 5th place | |
IndieWire Critics Poll | 7th place | ||||
47th Grand Bell Awards | The Housemaid | Nominated | |||
Cinemanila International Film Festival | Won | ||||
31st Blue Dragon Film Awards | Best Leading Actress | Nominated | |||
8th Korean Film Awards | Best Actress | Nominated | |||
2011 | 2nd Seoul Art and Culture Awards | Won | [101] | ||
31st Fantasporto Director's Week | Won | [102] | |||
5th Asian Film Awards | Best Actress | Nominated | [103] | ||
People's Choice Award for Favorite Actress | Won | ||||
8th International Cinephile Society Awards | Best Actress | Secret Sunshine | Nominated | ||
2014 | 5th KOFRA Film Awards | Way Back Home | Won | [104] | |
9th Max Movie Awards | Won | ||||
19th Chunsa Film Art Awards | Nominated | ||||
50th Baeksang Arts Awards | Best Actress (Film) | Nominated | [105] | ||
23rd Buil Film Awards | Best Actress | Nominated | |||
51st Grand Bell Awards | Nominated | [106] | |||
35th Blue Dragon Film Awards | Best Leading Actress | Nominated | |||
2015 | 36th Blue Dragon Film Awards | The Shameless | Nominated | [107] | |
Jecheon International Music & Film Festival | Best Actress | Won | [108] | ||
17th Asian Film Critics Association Awards | Nominated | ||||
24th Buil Film Awards | Won | [109] | |||
35th Korean Association of Film Critics Awards | Nominated | ||||
15th Director's Cut Awards | Won | [110] | |||
Cine 21 Awards | Won | ||||
2016 | 7th KOFRA Film Awards | Won | [111] | ||
21st Chunsa Film Art Awards | Nominated | ||||
52nd Baeksang Arts Awards | Best Actress (Film) | Won | [112] | ||
1st Asia Artist Awards | Grand Prize (Daesang) | The Good Wife | Nominated | ||
2019 | Far East Film Festival | Lifetime Achievement Award | — | Recipient | [62] |
40th Blue Dragon Film Awards | Best Leading Actress | Birthday | Nominated | [113] | |
19th Director's Cut Awards | Best Actress | Nominated | |||
28th Buil Film Awards | Won | [114] | |||
6th Korean Film Producers Association Awards | Won | [115] | |||
2020 | 56th Grand Bell Awards | Nominated | .[116] | ||
56th Baeksang Arts Awards | Best Actress (Film) | Won | [117] | ||
29th Buil Film Awards | Best Actress | Beasts Clawing at Straws | Nominated | ||
2021 | 41st Blue Dragon Film Awards | Best Leading Actress | Nominated | [118][119][120] | |
26th Chunsa Film Art Awards | Best Actress | Won | [121][122] | ||
2022 | Director's Cut Awards | Best Actress in series | Lost | Nominated | [123] |
31st Buil Film Awards | Best Actress | Emergency Declaration | Pending | [124] | |
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