Lee Young-ae

Lee Young-ae (born January 31, 1971) is a South Korean actress. She has appeared in the Korean historical drama Dae Jang Geum, and as a revenge seeking single mother in Park Chan-wook's crime thriller film Sympathy for Lady Vengeance.

Career

Lee made her debut as a TV model in 1991. After appearing in T.V. commercials, she started playing in T.V. dramas and movies.

She came to prominence in South Korea after starring in the drama Dae Jang Geum. The show was then aired overseas in 2004, and became exceptionally popular in reigns including mainland China, Taiwan and Hong Kong. In 2005, nearly half the population of Hong Kong watched the finale of the drama. In mainland China, hundreds of million of viewers watched the drama despite the fact that it was shown late at night.

She was awarded Best Actress in the 2005 Blue Dragon Film Awards and 2006 Baeksang Art Awards for her performance in the film Sympathy For Lady Vengeance.

Because of her success, Lee Young-Ae has been invited to visit mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore and Japan. In 2006, for the first time in 12 years, NHK had to use NHK Hall to host the NHK show due to her popularity. She was invited to the 2007 Harbin International Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival in China.