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South Korean actress From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Lee Na-young (born February 22, 1979) is a South Korean actress. She is best known for her leading roles in television series such as Ruler of Your Own World (2002), Ireland (2004) and Romance Is a Bonus Book (2019), as well as the films Someone Special (2004) and Maundy Thursday (2006). Aside from acting, Lee is also known for appearing in numerous commercials.[1]
Lee Na-young | |
---|---|
Born | |
Education | Shingu University (Majoring in Business) |
Occupation | Actress |
Years active | 1998–present |
Agent | Eden 9 |
Height | 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in) |
Spouse | |
Children | 1 |
Korean name | |
Hangul | 이나영 |
Revised Romanization | Yi Nayeong |
McCune–Reischauer | I Nayŏng |
Website | Official website |
Lee Na-young began her modeling career in a Jambangee Jeans TV commercial in 1998, then made her acting debut that same year.[2] Following supporting roles in 1999 television dramas Did We Really Love?, KAIST,[3] and Queen,[4] Lee starred in the tepidly received 2001 Hong Kong sci-fi action film Dream of A Warrior starring Leon Lai.[5] She also appeared in the 2001 music video for "Catherine's Wheel" by Britpop band Rialto.[6][7]
But Lee rose to fame in 2002 with the critically acclaimed series Ruler of Your Own World.[8] She played an indie rock musician who unexpectedly falls for a terminally ill grifter, and Lee and her fellow cast members were praised for their realistic, nuanced acting.[9] She later reunited with Ruler of Your Own World screenwriter In Jung-ok for Ireland, a 2004 drama about a Korean adoptee who journeys to her homeland, but its reception was less positive.[10]
During this time, Lee had become one of the top-ranked and highest-paid commercial models, endorsing diverse products such as cosmetics (notably Laneige and Lancôme), electronics, clothing lines, beverages, food, telecommunications, and construction companies.[11][12][13] She is considered to have one of the most beautiful and idealized faces in Korea.[14] Lee later became the first Korean to appear on the cover of fashion magazine W Korea, for its November 2009 issue.[15]
But unlike her graceful and glamorous public persona in advertisements, her image in film has been the opposite, with Lee choosing to portray women who are awkward and eccentric.[16] In 2002, she starred in the cyber romance Who R. U.? as an introverted character similar to her role in Ruler of Your Own World.[17][18][19] Lee then played a quirky, English-challenged civil servant in Kim Sung-su's comedy film Please Teach Me English (2003) and the harmless stalker of a struggling baseball player in Jang Jin's romantic comedy Someone Special (2004).[20][21] She won several Best Actress prizes for Someone Special, notably from the prestigious Blue Dragon Film Awards.[22]
Lee again drew praise in 2006, this time for her dramatic chops in Maundy Thursday, Song Hae-sung's film adaptation of Gong Ji-young's novel Our Happy Time about a suicidal rape victim who develops a close bond with a death row inmate.[23] She next played an emotionally tormented sleepwalker in Kim Ki-duk's Dream (2008), and nearly died while filming a scene where her character hangs herself.[24]
In 2010, Lee headlined Lady Daddy, playing a trans woman photographer whose life is disrupted with the sudden arrival of a young boy who claims that she's his biological father.[25][26][27] To promote the film, she made a guest appearance in the sitcom High Kick Through the Roof.[28][29] Lee then returned to television with the big-budget action-mystery series The Fugitive: Plan B, in which she performed her own action scenes without a stunt double.[30][31]
When Lee's contract with talent agency KeyEast expired in 2011 (she had signed with KeyEast in 2006, and with the William Morris Agency in 2009), she joined Eden 9 Entertainment.[32][33][34] In 2012, she starred in Yoo Ha's suspense thriller Howling, about a veteran detective (played by Song Kang-ho) who teams up with a female rookie (Lee) to solve a series of murders involving a mysterious wolfdog.[35][36][37]
In 2013, Lee appeared in a minor role in the two-part Japanese film SPEC: Close. She then played an actress having a secret romance with a boom operator in Sad Scene; it was among the three short films in the omnibus Woman, Man commissioned by W Korea for its 10th anniversary in 2015.[38]
In 2018, Lee returned to the silver screen with the North Korean refugee drama Beautiful Days,[39] which premiered at the 23rd Busan International Film Festival.[40][41][42]
In 2019, Lee returned to the small screen after nine years by starring in the romance comedy drama Romance Is a Bonus Book alongside Lee Jong-suk.[43][44][45] She played a main character named Kang Dan-yi who is a new temporary worker of book publishing company.
Lee married actor Won Bin on May 30, 2015, in a small, private ceremony in a wheat field near an inn in Won's hometown, Jeongseon County, Gangwon Province, South Korea.[46][47][48][49][50] The couple belong to the same talent agency Eden 9, and reportedly began dating in August 2012 (though Eden 9 only confirmed the relationship in July 2013).[51][52][53][54] A press release from Eden 9 on December 19, 2015, announced that Lee had given birth to the couple's first child, a son.[55][56][57][58]
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1999 | Eiji | Mae-hwa | Japanese film |
2001 | Dream of a Warrior | Shosho | |
2002 | Who R. U.? | Seo In-joo | |
2003 | Please Teach Me English | Na Young-ju | |
2004 | Someone Special | Han Yi-yeon | |
Sweet Home | short film | ||
Leaving Me, Loving You | (cameo) | Hong Kong film | |
2006 | Maundy Thursday | Moon Yu-jeong | |
2008 | Dream | Ran | |
2010 | Lady Daddy | Ji-hyeon | |
2012 | Howling | Cha Eun-young | |
2013 | SPEC: Close | Woman who speaks Korean | Japanese film |
2015 | Woman, Man | segment: "Sad Scene" | |
2018 | Beautiful Days | Mother | |
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1998 | One Day Suddenly | So-hee, a ghost | (bit part) |
Three Guys and Three Girls | (bit part) | ||
MBC Best Theater "What Was I to You?" | |||
1999 | KAIST | ||
Did We Really Love? | Kang Jae-young | ||
MBC Best Theater "Goodbye Audrey Hepburn" | one act-drama | ||
Queen | Oh Soon-jung | ||
Magic Castle | Hong Yoon-hee | [59] | |
Love Story "Message" | So-young | [60] | |
2000 | Cool Friends | Broadcasting writer Lee Na-young | [61] |
2002 | Ruler of Your Own World | Jeon Kyung | |
2004 | Ireland | Lee Joong-ah | |
2009 | High Kick Through the Roof | Lee Na-bong | Cameo (episode 85) |
2010 | The Fugitive: Plan B | Jini | |
2019 | Romance Is a Bonus Book | Kang Dan-yi |
Year | Title | Role | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|
2023 | One Day Off | Park Ha-kyung | [62] |
Year | Song title | Artist |
---|---|---|
1998 | "Kiss Me" | Park Jin-young |
"The Last Lie" | Yoon Sang | |
"Miracle" | Kim Dong-ryool feat. Lee So-eun | |
2000 | "Only You Wouldn't Know" | As One |
"My Love" | Im Chang-jung | |
2001 | "Catherine's Wheel" | Rialto |
"Goodbye, My Love" | Jo Sung-mo | |
2006 | "Eternal Love" | Lee Seung-chul |
Year | Award | Category | Nominated work | Result | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2002 | MBC Drama Awards | Excellence Award, Actress in a Miniseries | Ruler of Your Own World | Won | [63] |
2003 | 39th Baeksang Arts Awards | Best Actress (TV) | Nominated | ||
2004 | 25th Blue Dragon Film Awards | Best Leading Actress | Someone Special | Won | |
12th Chunsa Film Art Awards | Best Actress | Won | [64] | ||
5th Women in Film Korea Awards | Won | [65] | |||
MBC Drama Awards | Top Excellence Award, Actress | Ireland | Nominated | ||
Popularity Award, Actress | Won | [66] | |||
2006 | 6th Korea Advertisers Association | Good Model Award | — | Won | [67] |
27th Blue Dragon Film Awards | Best Leading Actress | Maundy Thursday | Nominated | ||
2007 | 1st Korea Broadcast Advertising Festival - Model Awards | Best Partner Award | — | Won | [68] |
41st Taxpayer's Day | Prime Minister's Commendation | — | Won | [69] | |
2010 | KBS Drama Awards | Excellence Award, Actress in a Mid-length Drama | The Fugitive: Plan B | Nominated | |
2023 | 59th Grand Bell Awards | Best Actress in a Series | One Day Off | Nominated | [70] |
Publisher | Year | Listicle | Placement | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
Forbes | 2011 | Korea Power Celebrity 40 | 24th | [71] |
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