Kim Hye-yoon

Kim Hye-yoon (born November 10, 1996) is a South Korean actress. She rose to prominence with her breakout role in JTBC's television series Sky Castle (2018–2019). Following this success, she landed her first leading television role in MBC's Extraordinary You (2019) and her first leading film role in The Girl on a Bulldozer (2022). Her debut lead performances in both television and film were major success, earning her several awards.

Early life
Kim was born on November 10, 1996, on Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea. She has always dreamed of becoming an actress since her third year of middle school and has dedicated herself by attending an acting academy, auditioning, and taking on small roles earnestly to prepare and learn about the field.

Education
She entered Konkuk University as part of the class of 2015, balancing her studies and acting career while consistently receiving merit-based full-ride scholarship. In 2019, she graduated with a degree in film studies.

2013–2018: Career beginnings
Kim debuted as an actress in the 2013 KBS2 TV Novel's Samsaengi, playing the teenage version of a supporting character. After gaining recognition for her role in the 2014 OCN's crime thriller Bad Guys, Kim focused on her studies and only took minor roles to avoid affecting her academic performance, as she had received a full scholarship in 2015 to Konkuk University, one of Korea's leading universities. Her biggest role during that period was a supporting character in the 2017 mystery thriller film Memoir of a Murderer.

2019–2021: Rising popularity and transition to lead roles
Leading up to her college graduation in February 2019, Kim began auditioning for bigger roles, including for JTBC's satire drama Sky Castle. Despite a highly competitive audition process with a ratio of 200 applicants, she distinguished herself and successfully secured the role. The massive success of the series, along with her distinctive role as an ambitious and unfriendly but ladylike high school girl, launched her to stardom and won her the 55th Baeksang Arts Awards for Best New Actress.



In 2019, Kim starred as the protagonist for the first time with MBC's fantasy romance Extraordinary You, based on the hit Daum webtoon July Found by Chance. She received further recognition, winning both New and Excellence Actress at the MBC Drama Awards. During the same year, she was cast as one of the lead in the psychological thriller film Midnight.

Kim received her first main leading role in film with 2020 production The Girl on a Bulldozer. In the same year, she also confirmed to star in the 2021 pre-produced JTBC's television series Snowdrop, in which she reunited with the production team of hit drama Sky Castle.

Near the completion of Snowdrop 's filming process, Kim received the offer to star in 2021 tvN's historical procedural Secret Royal Inspector & Joy. The television series premiered ahead of Snowdrop.

2022–present: Breakthrough


In 2022, The Girl on a Bulldozer was released theatrically, and Kim's performance as Goo Hye-young has received critical acclaim and garnered her several awards from prestigious award ceremonies such as the Blue Dragon Film Awards and Grand Bell Awards for Best New Actress, as well as the Rising Star Asia Award at the New York Asian Film Festival. Notably, Kim was also nominated for the Best New Actress Film category at the 59th Baeksang Arts Awards. With the film's success, Kim earned a total of ten nominations, winning six of them. Her achievements were further recognized by Forbes, which featured her in their Forbes 30 Under 30 list.

After focusing her attention on the promotion and production of her two films, The Girl on a Bulldozer and Ditto throughout 2022, Kim returned to the small screen with 2024 tvN's time slip romance Lovely Runner. Her performance in the series received praises from both critics and audiences, and was quoted by media outlets as an "Actress You Can Trust" of the Korean entertainment industry.

On April 15, 2024, it was announced that Kim departed from SidusHQ after five years and has signed with a new agency, Artist Company.

Public image
After her portrayal as Kang Ye-seo in the critically acclaimed television series SKY Castle, Kim earned the affectionate nickname "My Melody Princess" from Korean netizens and media outlets. This moniker stemmed from her lovely appearance with the character's fashion choices, which closely resembled the popular Sanrio character, My Melody.

She has also been dubbed by various Korean media as the Nation's Little Sister.

Endorsements
With her breakthrough, in 2019, Kim went on to endorse for Ildong Pharmaceutical, Lotte Hi-Mart, KB Financial Group, Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, Shinsegae's casual clothing brand Design United, LG Household & Health Care's derma cosmetics brand Dr. Belmeur (2019–2020), and Dong-A Pharmaceutical's feminine hygiene brand Tempo (2019–2020).

She has also done endorsements for Joseah Healthcare (2020), Avène (2021), Batiste (2021–2023), Nongshim's dried instant soup brand Vono (2023), Acnes (2023–2024), and Lotte Chilsung's liquor brand Saero (2024).