Draft:Gia Kim

Jeong Yeon Lee (born November 4, 1992), known professionally as Gia Kim is a South Korean actress with a multicultural background. She began her career in journalism before transitioning to performing. She took part in several theater productions in Seoul through 2018-2019 before moving to Los Angeles to study at the Art of Acting Studio.. She is best known for her role as Yuri Han in the Netflix series, XO, Kitty

Education
Kim grew up between Seoul and Hong Kong throughout her primary to tertiary school years. In 2011, she graduated from American International School in Hong Kong. She went onto study at the Hong Kong University with her first degree in journalism and second in music, during which time she volunteered at “Light for Children Ghana” and also interned for CNN’s flagship show, “Talk Asia.” In 2013, she took a TV journalism course at the Danish School of Media and Journalism (DMJX) located in Aarhus, Denmark, as a part of the school’s exchange program. In the same year, she worked as a Program Coordinator for a South Korean documentary team working on a show entitled “Culture Map in Changing Asia” that aired on SBS.

Career
Upon graduating from university in 2014, she moved to Beijing for a 3-month Chinese language program at the Beijing Foreign Studies University. In 2015, she went on to intern at the United Nations headquarters in New York at the Department of Public Information. After completing the internship, she moved back to Beijing where she lived for 2 more years, juggling jobs as a translator, teacher, voiceover actor, and speech recognition auditor, as well as a TV presenter for a program called “Cultural Outlook” and “China Arts” at Blue Ocean Network.

It was here she made her foray into acting through “A Christmas Carol” the musical in 2016. She moved back to Korea the following year and went on to become a journalist and reporter for Arirang TV in 2017. After a year, she started to pursue her passion for performing. She and a group of actors created a theater troupe to put on theater productions such as “Lost in Yonkers” and “Alison’s House.”

In 2019, she moved to Los Angeles to study acting at a 2.5-year conservatory at Art of Acting Los Angeles and continued to take on roles in both theater and short films until her on-screen debut in the Netflix Original series, XO, Kitty, a spin-off of To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before. In an interview, she described the moment she heard the news she got the role - she was working a brunch shift on a Sunday morning when she got a phone call from her manager. She stepped out to take the call and when told she got the part, broke down crying in the street in her server apron and had to go back to work like nothing had happened.

Personal life
Born in Seoul, South Korea, Kim is bilingual, fluent in both English and Korean, and can speak basic Mandarin. She spent her childhood and adolescent years living between Seoul and Hong Kong.

She has one sibling, Sang Heon Lee, who is also an actor. Kim and Lee both made their TV debut together with XO, Kitty, where he played Minho.

Kim has been outspoken about the importance of increased diversity and representation in the entertainment industry, particularly in Hollywood. In interview, Kim has expressed her belief in utilizing her influence to shed light on social issues and contribute to positive change. Regarding her role as a queer Asian character on XO, Kitty, she said: “Obviously, this is so special, because she is the first Asian queen bee high school character that I’ve seen so far,” she said. “I knew how significant that was in terms of representation. So I was just really honored. And I know with that representation came a big responsibility.”