Jo Bo-ah

Early life

Jo Bo-ah was born Jo Bo-yoon on August 22, 1991, in Seongnae-dong, Seoul, South Korea. Jo graduated from Sungkyunkwan University majoring in Performing Arts. She has a younger sister, and is part of the Changnyeong Jo clan.

Career

Jo made her acting debut in 2011 with a small role in the daily sitcom I Live in Cheongdam-dong on cable channel JTBC. This was followed by a hosting gig on the audition program Made in U (also on JTBC), and an appearance in the Korean-Japanese co-production Koisuru Maison Rainbow Rose.

In 2012, Jo landed her first major role as a former rich girl who falls for a rocker in tvN's coming-of-age series Shut Up Flower Boy Band. Later that year, she appeared in her first network TV series with a supporting role in the MBC period drama The King's Doctor.

In 2013, Jo and Kim Woo-bin hosted Mnet's weekly music show M Countdown for two weeks (on April 4 and 11).

Jo was cast in her first film in 2014, as a troubled, seductive teenager who becomes obsessed with her gym teacher in the erotic thriller Innocent Thing. Back on cable television, she played the leading role in romantic comedy series The Idle Mermaid, a modern retelling of The Little Mermaid set amidst the competitive Korean workplace.

Jo tried a new genre in 2015 with the OCN police procedural drama The Missing, where she played a detective on the missing persons task force. She then joined the ensemble cast of the KBS weekend family drama All About My Mom, and starred in web series Love Cells 2, adapted from the webtoon of the same title.

In 2016, Jo starred in revenge melodrama Monster and romantic comedy series Sweet Stranger and Me. In 2017, she starred in romance melodrama Temperature of Love, and the two-episode drama special Let's Meet, Joo-oh.

In 2018, Jo starred in Goodbye to Goodbye, based on a webtoon about the stories of two women. She played a university student who faces challenges as a single mother. The same year, she starred in the romantic comedy drama My Strange Hero.

In 2020, Jo starred in the romance drama Forest as a doctor. The same year, she was cast in the fantasy drama Tale of the Nine Tailed as a television producer named as Nam Ji-ah.

In February 2021, Jo signed with KeyEast after the expiration of her contract with the former agency. The same year, she was cast in a new military themed drama Military Prosecutor Doberman which aired in 2022 as Cha Woo-in, a military prosecutor who hides her vengeful persona.

In 2023, Jo starred in the series Destined With You as a civil servant who stumbles across a secret box that could be the key to ending a solitary lawyer's family curse. On September 20, Jo was cast in Netflix's mystery melodrama Hong Rang.

On January 3, 2024, it was announced that Jo would depart from KeyEast after her contract expiry at the end of January. On February 16, Jo signed with the newly launched management agency XYZ Studio. XYZ Studio, led by Jo's longtime manager at KeyEast Kim Hyung-dae, is a subsidiary of the entertainment company (then known as Blade Entertainment).

Personal life

On October 12, 2024, Jo married her non-celebrity boyfriend in a private ceremony. On November 25, 2025, Jo's agency, XYZ Studio, announced that she is expecting her first child and is due around early next year.

Filmography

Film

Television series

Web series

Television shows

Web shows

Hosting

Music video appearances

Ambassadorship

• Public Relations Ambassador for National Election Commission General Election (2016)
• Goodwill Ambassador for Heart-Heart Foundation (2018)
• Honorary Firefighter for National Fire Agency (2020)
• Public Relations Ambassador for Korea Sale Festa (2021)
• Public Relations Ambassador for National Tax Service (2022)
• Public Relations Ambassador for National Heritage Visit Campaign (2024)

Awards and nominations

State honors

Listicles

References

References

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7. (February 29, 2012). "Cho Bo-ah: My character Sua may seem too naive to the viewers".
8. (February 29, 2012). "Cho Bo-ah: Sung-jun is someone that is very considerate".
9. (February 29, 2012). "Cho Bo-ah: A person would be happy to have just one friend like Du-mi".
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