Born in Korea but raised in the U.S., this sultry leading lady had to return to her homeland to jump-start her performing career. At age 10, Kim moved to America but her innate shyness was exacerbated by her lack of English skills. However once she was cast in her seventh grade production of
My Fair Lady, she found her voice and her vocation. After studying acting at Boston University, Kim tried her luck on stage, appearing off Broadway and in regional productions. But her big break came in 1996 when the folks behind the Korean TV series
Gorgeous Vacation, which was being shot stateside, offered her a role. Still fluent in her native tongue, Kim took the part and was an instant hit with her former countrymen. In 1999 she made the leap to the big-screen as a butt-kicking, gun-shooting bombshell in the political actioner
Shiri. One of the most successful Korean blockbusters of all time, the film established Kim as a star in her homeland and she followed it up with a number of other popular Asian entries. In 2004, Kim made a play for Hollywood by signing on to
Lost as a plane-crash survivor. The mysterious drama was an instant hit, and her character's complicated romance with her domineering husband — played by fellow Korean but no relation Daniel Dae Kim — intrigued fans.
Yunjin Kim Fast Facts:
- Served as a Korean Goodwill Ambassador for soccer's 2002 World Cup.
- Skilled in multiple genres of dance (ballet, jazz and Afro-Caribbean) and combat (quarter staff, broad sword and tae kwon do).
- College:
- Boston University, Boston, MA (BFA); attended Oxford University, Oxford, England
