Choi Ji-woo

Career

1994–1998: Beginnings

Choi Mi-hyang was first discovered when she won a talent audition organized by MBC in 1994, then made her acting debut in the drama series War and Love in 1995. Afterwards, she adopted the stage name Choi Ji-woo.

She was cast in her first major role in 1996 film The Gate of Destiny, but her limited acting skills resulted in her being replaced during filming. In the next couple of years Choi continued to star in both TV dramas and films, including The Hole (the Original version of Hollywood thriller Hush), as well as the romantic comedies First Kiss with Ahn Jae-wook and The Romantic President with Ahn Sung-ki. It was her portrayals on TV of tragic heroines with a pure and innocent image—notably in Truth opposite Ryu Si-won and Beautiful Days opposite Lee Byung-hun—that boosted her rising popularity.

In 2002, she reunited onscreen with Bae Yong-joon (she previously had a supporting role in his 1996 drama First Love) that she would star in her most famous, iconic role. Directed by Yoon Seok-ho as the second installment of his "season dramas," Winter Sonata became a phenomenal hit throughout Asia and has been credited as one of the initiators of the Korean Wave. As a result, Choi gained wide pan-Asian recognition, especially a huge following in Japan where she acquired the nickname Ji-woo Hime ("Princess Ji-woo"). In 2009 she and Bae reprised their roles as voice actors for Winter Sonata Anime. She continues to be a lucrative star and brand in Japan, fetching high licensing/broadcasting rights for her dramas and selling out concerts and merchandise (tvN's E News compiled a list of the top Hallyu stars in Japan based on their approximate gross incomes for the first half of 2011, and Choi was number five with approximately ).

After the success of her 2003 melodrama Stairway to Heaven with Kwon Sang-woo, Choi again attempted to break into film. She played a terminally ill heroine in Now and Forever, and a more risque character in sex comedy Everybody Has Secrets ("The Original Version of Irish film About Adam"). Both films were poorly received by critics and audiences in South Korea, but performed well at the Japanese box office.

Choi then spent the next few years overseas, shooting the Chinese drama 101st Proposal with Sun Xing, and the Japanese drama RONDO opposite Yutaka Takenouchi. She returned to Korean television in 2007 in Air City alongside Lee Jung-jae; her role was the Chief Operating Officer of Incheon Airport.

2009–2012: Breakthrough

In 2009, she starred opposite Yoo Ji-tae in the drama Star's Lover, playing a top actress who falls in love with an ordinary man. Choi received per episode, the highest salary for a Korean actress at the time (her record was later broken by Go Hyun-jung's for the 2010 drama Daemul).

That same year, she set up her own management agency called C,JW Company with her brother as CEO. She also joined the ensemble cast of semi-improvisational mockumentary Actresses, arguably her most significant film yet.

During the press conference for the 2011 series, Can't Lose, co-starring Yoon Sang-hyun, featuring a lawyer couple facing their own divorce suit, she was asked if she worried about shedding her pure and innocent image. Choi said, "I've had the same image for 15 years. Isn't it time for me to break out? I was a melodrama queen and now I want the title of romantic comedy queen." She added that she had gained more fans after showing her cheerful, easygoing side as a guest on the reality show 2 Days & 1 Night.

In 2012, Choi was cast in the Chinese drama City Lovers, in which she portrayed the CEO at an event management company opposite Qin Hao, a newly employed businessman at her firm.

Later that year, she became the host of Choi Ji-woo's Delicious Korea on food lifestyle cable channel O'live TV alongside fashion designer Jung Kuho. The 5-episode show, which aired from November 23 to December 21, 2012, aimed to promote Korean cuisine and culture to the world, and the two hosts traveled through South Korea and introduced little-known regional food to the viewers.

She next headlined the 2013 remake of the hit 2011 Japanese drama Kaseifu no Mita. In The Suspicious Housekeeper, Choi played the titular character, an icy and stoic yet amazingly capable housekeeper who comes to work for a recently widowed father and his four children. Despite the difficulty of not being able to react to her costars, Choi said she chose the role because she "was really charmed by the way the heroine refrains from letting her emotions show."

2014–present: Career resurgence

In February 2014, Choi signed with the talent agency YG Entertainment. She then reunited with previous costar Kwon Sang-woo in Temptation; she played a rich woman who makes a dangerous offer to a married man.

Choi joined the fourth season of travel-reality show Grandpas Over Flowers in 2015, where she and Lee Seo-jin backpacked through Greece with veteran actors Lee Soon-jae, Shin Goo, Park Geun-hyung and Baek Il-seob. This was followed by the cable series Twenty Again, where she gained critical acclaim as a shy 38-year-old housewife who decides to experience campus college life for the first time alongside her 20-year-old son.

In 2016, Choi returned to the big screen in seven years, starring in the ensemble cast romance film Like for Likes. The same year, she starred in the legal romance drama Woman with a Suitcase.

In 2017, Choi was cast in the family melodrama The Most Beautiful Goodbye, a remake of the drama The Most Beautiful Goodbye in the World by Noh Hee-kyung.

In 2019, Choi made a cameo appearance as herself in episode 13 of the tvN drama, Crash Landing on You.

Personal life

Choi majored in aerobic dance at Busan Women's College. She later enrolled in Hanyang University's Department of Theater and Film and completed her first year; however she had to withdraw from college studies due to her hectic work schedule.

Choi married her non-celebrity boyfriend who is 9 years her junior, on March 29, 2018, in a private wedding, only publicly announcing it just hours prior through a handwritten letter released in her fan club website. Choi announced that she was pregnant with her first child on December 23, 2019, and gave birth to a daughter on May 16, 2020.

Filmography

Film

Television series

Web series

Television shows

Music video appearances

Awards and nominations

Honors

Notes

References

References

1. (27 December 2011). "Choi Ji-woo talks being replaced".
2. [http://english.kbs.co.kr/society/interview/1340789_11775.html "Producer Yun Seok-ho, the creator of Yonsama and the ''hallyu'' frenzy"] {{Webarchive. link. (2007-03-01 . KBS Global. 17 January 2005.)
3. (11 July 2005). "Is it all over already? Gloomy signs overshadow rosy statistics of ''Hallyu''". [[The Korea Herald]] via [[Hancinema]].
4. [http://web-japan.org/trends/arts/art041014.html "Pure Love: Tear-Jerking Love Stories Enthrall Japanese Women"] {{Webarchive. link. (2007-04-23 . Web Japan. 14 October 2004.)
5. (30 May 2008). "Bae, Choi to Voice Winter Sonata Cartoon". [[The Korea Times]].
6. (29 September 2009). "A reunion in 7 years: Yonsama and Jiwoohime".
7. (2 February 2010). "Bae Yong-joon, Choi Ji-woo reunite for ''Winter Sonata'' anime".
8. (2 July 2007). ""Winter Sonata", The Most Popular Korean Drama In Japan". Broasia via Hancinema.
9. (5 August 2005). "''Love Letter'' Starring Choi Ji-woo and Cho Han-sung to Open Next Year". KBS Global.
10. [http://www.hancinema.net/-yeonriji--now-and-forever-depends-heavily-on-ji-woo-hime--5766.html "''Yeonriji'' ("Now and Forever") Depends Heavily on ''Ji-woo Hime''"] {{Webarchive. link. (2012-11-04 . [[The Korea Times]] via [[Hancinema]]. 13 April 2006.)
11. [http://www.hancinema.net/sexy-%60secret-has-little-to-tell-1350.html "Sexy ''Secret'' Has Little to Tell"]. [[The Korea Times]]. 29 July 2004.
12. link. (2014-07-24 . [[The Dong-A Ilbo]]. 29 July 2004.)
13. (5 April 2006). "Choi Ji-woo Remains Huge Box-Office Draw in Japan". [[The Chosun Ilbo]].
14. (4 July 2005). "Choi Ji-woo to Co-Star with Takenouchi Yutaka". KBS Global.
15. (20 December 2005). "Actress Choi Ji-woo Stars in Joint Korean-Japanese TV Drama". KBS Global.
16. (24 February 2006). "TV Drama ''Rondo'' Starring Choi Ji-woo Suffers Low Viewer Ratings". KBS Global.
17. (16 January 2006). "TV drama starring Choi Ji-woo records 20.6% viewership in Japan". [[KBS World]].
18. Chung, Ah-young. (January 3, 2007). "Hallyu Heroine Returns With New Drama". [[The Korea Times]] via [[Hancinema]].
19. (2 December 2008). "Celebrity's Sweetheart Knocks on Viewers Hearts". [[The Korea Times]].
20. (1 December 2008). "Mega drama duo signals hot winter". [[The Korea Herald]].
21. [https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/art/2011/04/135_85026.html "Koh Hyun-jung, highest paid Korean actress"]. [[The Korea Times]]. 12 April 2011.
22. [http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2011/04/12/2011041200779.html "Ko Hyun-jung Sets New Soap Opera Earnings Record"] {{Webarchive. link. (2011-04-16 . [[The Chosun Ilbo]]. 12 April 2011.)
23. "Archived copy".
24. (10 December 2010). "Actresses Choosing To Be Managed By Family". [[KBS World]].
25. link. (2014-02-03 . Asiae. 23 November 2009.)
26. link. (2014-02-03 . Asiae. 23 November 2009.)
27. [https://koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/art/2011/08/201_93309.html "Choi Ji-woo ''Can't Lose'' in romantic comedy"] {{Webarchive. link. (2023-11-01 . [[The Korea Times]]. 23 August 2011.)
28. [http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2011/08/25/2011082500380.html "Choi Ji-woo Thrilled About Shaking Off Old Image"] {{Webarchive. link. (2012-09-14 . [[The Chosun Ilbo]]. 25 August 2011.)
29. (27 June 2012). "Choi Ji-woo to return to Chinese TV series in 9 years, teaming up with Qin Hao".
30. (27 June 2012). "Choi Ji Woo Stars in Her First Chinese Drama in Nine Years". enewsWorld.
31. (27 June 2012). "Choi Ji-woo returns to Chinese drama". [[Korea JoongAng Daily]].
32. (30 October 2012). "Choi Ji-woo Will Introduce Korean Food as TV Host".
33. (3 November 2012). "Choi Ji Woo to Look Far and Wide for Delicious Korean Foods in a Documentary". enewsWorld.
34. (31 July 2013). "Choi Ji-woo to Play Housekeeper in an Upcoming Drama". 10Asia.
35. (10 August 2013). "Choi Ji-woo to Play Housemaid in a New Drama". [[The Chosun Ilbo]].
36. (16 September 2013). "Choi Ji-woo to play modern-day Mary Poppins". [[The Korea Herald]].
37. (4 December 2013). "''Suspicious'' role challenged Choi".
38. (26 February 2014). "Choi Ji Woo Signs with YG Entertainment". enewsWorld.
39. (27 February 2014). "Actress Choi Ji-woo joins YG Entertainment". [[The Korea Herald]].
40. (26 February 2014). "Actress Choi Ji-woo Joins YG Entertainment". 10Asia.
41. (27 February 2014). "Hallyu icon joins YG Family". [[Korea JoongAng Daily]].
42. (11 July 2014). "Look who's back together: Kwon Sang-woo, Choi Ji-woo re-united in SBS drama ''Temptation''".
43. (16 February 2015). "Choi Ji-woo joins ''grandpas'' on tvN show". [[The Korea Herald.
44. (24 March 2015). "Choi Ji-woo is real gem in ''Grandpas over Flowers''". [[The Korea Herald]].
45. (25 March 2015). "Hallyu star joins ''Grandpas Over Flowers''".
46. (27 March 2015). "Korea's 4 favorite ''Grandpas'' return". [[Korea JoongAng Daily]].
47. (9 July 2015). "Choi Ji Woo Confirmed for New tvN Drama". enewsWorld.
48. (July 10, 2015). "Choi Ji-woo to play a college student Actress". [[Korea JoongAng Daily]].
49. (1 June 2015). "Choi Ji-woo returns to film". [[Korea JoongAng Daily]].
50. (12 January 2016). "'Like for Likes' shows love on social media". [[The Korea Times]].
51. (22 June 2016). "Choi Ji-woo returns in legal-romance drama". [[Yonhap News Agency]].
52. (19 October 2017). "Actress Choi Ji-woo cast in remake series written by star writer". [[Kpop Herald]].
53. link. (26 August 2015)
54. (29 May 2018). "Choi Ji-woo announces 'surprise' wedding".
55. (23 December 2019). "Choi Ji-woo awaits her first child's birth in May".
56. (2020-05-17). "Choi Ji-woo gives birth to her first child, a daughter, over the weekend".
57. link. Choi Hee-jae. Xports News. (September 10, 2021)
58. link. Hwang Hye-jeong. [[Sports Seoul]]. (June 14, 2022)
59. link. Ahn So-yoon. [[Chosun Ilbo]]. (January 16, 2025)
60. link. Jo Yeon-kyung. [[JTBC]]. (December 9, 2025)
61. link. Kang Da-yun. [[MyDaily]]. (February 4, 2022)
62. (2 July 2024). "チェ・ジウ8年ぶり日本の公の場 二宮和也、竹内涼真ら日本の俳優陣デレデレ「かわいい」「存在感ある」".
63. link. Shin So-won. Ten Asia. (September 14, 2021)
64. (31 January 2013). "Choi Ji-woo Takes Lead in ALI's New Music Video". 10Asia.
65. (1 May 2007). "Top Stars Win Andre Kim Awards". [[The Korea Times]].
66. link. (2012-02-16 . [[KBS World]]. 18 January 2012.)
67. [https://www.koreaherald.com/article/10354470 "Choi Ji-woo, Kara win ''Asia Star'' at 2012 Asia Model Awards"] {{Webarchive. link. (2012-05-20 . [[The Korea Herald]]. 19 January 2012.)
68. (7 August 2006). "Choi Ji-woo Named Korea's Greatest Acting Beauty". [[The Chosun Ilbo]].
69. (24 September 2009). "Actress Choi Ji-woo to receive President's honor".
70. (7 September 2012). "Choi Ji Woo receives Seoul City Social Welfare Award". StarN News.
71. [http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2009/08/20/2009082000390.html "Star Hall of Fame Celebrates Choi Ji-woo"] {{Webarchive. link. (2013-08-15 . [[The Chosun Ilbo]]. 20 August 2009.)
72. (25 August 2009). "Dramas, Stars to Compete at Seoul Intl Drama Awards". [[The Korea Times]].