Lee Ji-ah

Kim Ji-ah (; born Kim Sang-eun, August 6, 1978), better known by the stage name Lee Ji-ah, is a South Korean actress. She rose to fame with her role in the television drama The Legend, and has since further participated in Beethoven Virus (2008), Athena: Goddess of War (2010), Me Too, Flower! (2011), Thrice Married Woman (2013), My Mister (2018), The Penthouse: War in Life (2020–2021), and Queen of Divorce (2024).

Early life Lee was born as Kim Sang-eun on August 6, 1978, in Songpa District, Seoul, South Korea. one of the patrons for the creation of the Seoul Arts High School and a former chairman of Kyunggi High School, who is best remembered today as a pro-Japanese collaborator. Her father was a businessman. She was in the sixth grade when her family moved to the U.S. and stayed there for 10 years.

She majored in graphic design at the Pasadena Art Center College of Design. She left the U.S. and returned to Korea in early 2005 and legally changed her name from Kim Sang-eun to Kim Ji-ah and adopted the stage name Lee Ji-ah.

Career 2007–2013 In 2007, Lee made her acting debut in the fantasy television series The Legend opposite Bae Yong-joon. The high-profile, big-budget production shot Lee instantly to stardom. At the year-end MBC Drama Awards, Lee won the Best New Actress award, Popularity award, and Best Couple award (with Bae). She again won Best New Actress for TV at the Baeksang Arts Awards a year later.

She then starred in 2008's Beethoven Virus wherein Lee played a violinist who gets diagnosed with a disease that results in complete hearing loss.

She was next cast in Style, a TV series based on the 2008 chick lit novel of the same title. Inspired by The Devil Wears Prada, Lee played a hardworking assistant to a perfectionist fashion magazine editor played by Kim Hye-soo. She next starred in the Korean-Japanese romance film The Relation of Face, Mind and Love alongside Kang Ji-hwan, which marks her big-screen debut.

In late 2009, she joined the seven-part "Telecinema" series, which brought together Korean stars and directors, and Japanese writers. Each "telecinema" was released in movie theaters and also aired on television on SBS.

Lee then co-starred along Jung Woo-sung, Cha Seung-won and Soo Ae in the 2010 spy series Athena: Goddess of War, a spin-off to 2009's Iris.

In 2011, she starred in the television drama Me Too, Flower!, playing an ill-tempered police officer who falls in love with a young millionaire masquerading as a parking attendant.

When Lee's five-year contract with Bae's agency KeyEast expired on December 31, 2011, she signed with Will Entertainment in March 2012. In 2013, she took on the leading role in Thrice Married Woman.

2014–present

In April 2014, Lee signed with a new management agency, HB Entertainment. This was followed by a three-picture contract with Hollywood indie outfit Maybach Film Productions as a screenwriter.

In 2015, Lee starred in the two-episode fantasy drama Snow Lotus Flower.

In 2016, Lee made her big screen comeback in the action thriller film Musudan. In May 2016, Lee left HB Entertainment and signed with new management agency BH Entertainment.

In 2018, after a three-year hiatus, Lee made her return to the small screen in the melodrama My Mister. The same year, she was cast in the horror mystery drama The Ghost Detective.

In 2020, she starred in TV series The Penthouse: War in Life aired on SBS TV from October 26, 2020, to September 10, 2021.

Personal life In March 2011, a photo taken by a tourist of Lee and Athena co-star Jung Woo-sung on a date in Paris surfaced on the internet, and the two confirmed that they were romantically involved.

On April 21, 2011, Sports Seoul broke the story (later confirmed by numerous media outlets) that she and Korean pop/rock icon Seo Taiji had been secretly married since 1997, before splitting in 2006. News leaked after two hearings had been held at the Seoul Family Court (court papers used Seo and Lee's birth names - Jeong Hyeon-cheol and Kim Sang-eun, respectively) since Lee filed a lawsuit against Seo for alimony and division of assets. Both celebrities were believed to have been single. Lee left for the United States to study in 1993 and met Seo through an acquaintance at a concert in Los Angeles the same year. They developed a long-distance relationship through letters and phone calls while Lee stayed in the U.S. and Seo went back to Korea to continue his entertainment activities with his band Seo Taiji and Boys. In 1996, Seo announced his retirement from show business, after which he went to the U.S. where he and Lee quietly married on October 12, 1997. The couple lived in the States, moving to Atlanta and then Arizona. They separated when Seo returned to Korea in June 2000 for his comeback to the K-pop scene as a solo artist. Lee, who stayed behind in the U.S., began divorce proceedings in 2006 at the Santa Monica Family Court on the grounds of irreconcilable differences due to incompatible lifestyles and personalities. Lee claimed in the 2011 lawsuit that she filed for the divorce in 2006 and the court decision became effective in 2009, thus the three years required under Korean law for seeking alimony hadn't expired. But Seo's assertion was that the divorce officially took effect on August 9, 2006, and the statute of limitations had passed. Lee lodged the suit in January and withdrew it on April 30, citing psychological suffering after her private life was made public. Seo's lawyers opposed the motion, and Lee resumed her case, with her lawyer arguing that the California court ruling was invalid and that the two were still legally married. Through mediation, the ex-couple reached an out-of-court settlement in July 2011, which included a non-disclosure agreement.

Filmography Film Year Title Role Notes 2009 The Relation of Face, Mind and Love Wang So-jung 2011 Athena: The Movie Han Jae-hee 2016 Musudan Shin Yoo-hwa 2020 Swimming Bird Eun-chae Short Film 2022 It's Alright TVING Shorts Film

Television series Year Title Role Notes 2007 The Legend Sujini / Saeoh 2008 Beethoven Virus Du Ru-mi 2009 Style Lee Seo-jung 2010 Athena: Goddess of War Han Jae-hee 2011 Me Too, Flower! Cha Bong-sun 2013 Thrice Married Woman Oh Eun-soo 2015 KBS Drama Special:"Snow Lotus Flower" Han Yeon-woo one act-drama 2018 My Mister Kang Yoon-hee The Ghost Detective Sun Woo-hye 2020–2021 The Penthouse: War in Life Shim Su-ryeon / Na Ae-kyo /Madame Na Season 1–3 2023 Pandora: Beneath the Paradise Hong Tae-ra / Mun Ha-gyeong / No.50 2024 Queen of Divorce Kim Sa-ra

Television show Year Title Role Notes 2021 Sea of Hope Cast member Head Chef The Home Narrator Space Grand Documentary Project

Music video appearances Year Title Artist 2010 "Please Come Back to Me" Vibe

Discography Singles

Accolades Awards and nominations

+ Name of the award ceremony, year presented, category, nominee of the award, and the result of the nomination Award ceremony Year Category Nominee / Work Result APAN Star Awards 2014 Top Excellence Award, Actress in a Serial Drama Thrice Married Woman Baeksang Arts Awards 2008 Best New Actress (TV) The Legend Korea Drama Awards 2014 Top Excellence Award, Actress Thrice Married Woman Korea Culture and Entertainment Awards 2021 Grand Prize (Drama category) The Penthouse: War in Life MBC Drama Awards 2007 Best New Actress The Legend Popularity Award, Actress Best Couple Award Lee Ji-ah The Legend 2008 Excellence Award, Actress Beethoven Virus SBS Drama Awards 2009 Excellence Award, Actress in a Drama Special Style 2011 Top Excellence Award, Actress in a Special Planning Drama Athena: Goddess of War 2014 Top Excellence Award, Actress in a Serial Drama Thrice Married Woman 2020 Top Excellence Award, Actress in a Mid-Length Drama The Penthouse: War in Life 2021 Top Excellence Award, Actress in a Miniseries Genre/Fantasy Drama The Penthouse: War in Life 2 and 3 Seoul International Drama Awards 2021 Outstanding Korean Actress The Penthouse: War in Life

Listicles + Name of publisher, year listed, name of listicle, and placement Publisher Year Listicle Placement Forbes 2022 Korea Power Celebrity 40 19th