- Choi Ji-woo
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Choi Ji-woo Born June 11, 1975
Paju, Gyeonggi Province South KoreaOccupation Actress Years active 1995 – present Website www.cjwcompany.co.kr Korean name Hangul 최지우 Hanja 崔智雨 Revised Romanization Choe Ji-u McCune–Reischauer Ch'oe Chi-u Choi Ji-woo (Hangul: 최지우; born Choi Mi-hyang on June 11, 1975 in Paju, Gyeonggi Province) is a South Korean actress.
Contents
Career
Choi was first discovered when she won a talent audition organized by MBC in 1994, and made her debut in the 1995's War and Love, after which she adopted the stage name Choi Ji-woo.
In the next couple of years she would star in both dramas and films, including The Hole (a Korean remake of Hollywood thriller Hush) and the romantic comedies First Kiss with Ahn Jae-wook and The Romantic President with Ahn Sung-ki. But it was her portrayals on TV of tragic heroines with a pure and innocent image -- notably in Truth opposite Ryu Shi-won and Beautiful Days opposite Lee Byung-hun -- that boosted her rising popularity.
It was in 2002 when she reunited onscreen with Bae Yong-joon (she previously had a supporting role in his 1995 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",[1] Winter Sonata became a phenomenal hit throughout Asia and has been credited as one of the initiators of the Korean wave.[2] 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 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 #5 with approximately $2 million USD[3]).
After the success of her 2003 drama Stairway to Heaven with Kwon Sang-woo, Choi again attempted to break into film. She played a familiar role in the melodrama Now and Forever[4] and a more risque character in sex comedy Everybody Has Secrets (a Korean remake of Irish film About Adam).[5][6] Both films were poorly received by critics and audiences.
Choi then spent the next few years overseas, shooting the Japanese drama RONDO opposite Yutaka Takenouchi and the Chinese drama 101st Proposal. She returned to Korean television in 2007 in Air City alongside Lee Jung-jae; her role was the Chief Operating Officer of Incheon Airport.[7]
In 2009 she starred opposite Yoo Ji-tae in the drama A Star's Lover, playing a top actress who falls in love with an ordinary man. Choi received W48 million per episode of A Star's Lover, the highest salary for a Korean actress at the time (her record has since been broken by Go Hyun-jung's W55 million for the 2010 drama Daemul). That same year, she set up her own management company called C,JW Company.[8] She also joined the ensemble cast of semi-improvisational Actresses, arguably her most significant film yet.[9][10]
During the press conference for 2011 series Can't Lose, co-starring Yoon Sang Hyun, which features 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 on the reality show 2 Days & 1 Night.[11][12]
Filmography
Television series
Year Title Role Network 1995 War and Love MBC 1996 First Love Jang Seok-hee KBS 1997 Happiness is in Our Hearts SBS 1998 Love Yoo Ji-young MBC 1999 Love In Three Colors KBS Love Story - "Message" SBS 2000 Truth Lee Ja-young MBC Mr. Duke Jang Soo-jin MBC 2001 Beautiful Days Kim Yeon-soo SBS 2002 We Are Dating Now Ep. 15 cameo KBS Winter Sonata Jung Yoo-jin KBS 2003 Stairway to Heaven Han Jung-suh SBS 2004 Full House Herself (Ep. 3 cameo) KBS 101st Proposal Li Shao Rong 2006 RONDO Choi Yoon-ah TBS 2007 Air City Han Do-kyung MBC 2008 A Star's Lover Lee Ma-ri SBS 2009 Winter Sonata Anime Jung Yoo-jin (voice) SKY PerfecTV! 2011 Fuyu no Sakura Ep. 2 cameo TBS Can't Lose Lee Eun-jae MBC Film
Year Title Role 1996 The Adventures of Mrs Park 1997 The Hole Su-jin 1998 First Kiss Song Yeon-hwa 1999 Nowhere to Hide Juyon 2002 The Romantic President Choi Eun-ju 2004 Everybody Has Secrets Han Seon-yeong 2005 Shadowless Sword (cameo) 2006 Now and Forever Han Hye-won 2009 Actresses Choi Ji-woo Awards
- 1995: Korean Isabelle Adjani Award
- 1998: 34th Baeksang Arts Awards - Best New Actress The Hole
- 1998: 21st Grand Bell Awards - Best New Actress The Hole
- 1999: Video Music Awards - Golden Video Best Actress For Your Soul
- 2000: MBC Drama Awards - Best Actress Mr Duke
- 2001: SBS Drama Awards - Best Actress for Special Production Drama Beautiful Days
- 2001: SBS Drama Awards - Top 10 Stars Beautiful Days
- 2002: KBS Drama Awards - Popularity Award
- 2002: KBS Drama Awards - Best Actress Winter Sonata
- 2002: Best Dresser Awards - TV Talent category
- 2002: 38th Baeksang Arts Awards - Popularity Award
- 2003: Golden Film Awards - Popularity Award
- 2003: SBS Drama Awards - Best Actress for Special Production Drama Stairway to Heaven
- 2003: SBS Drama Awards - Top 10 Stars Stairway to Heaven
- 2004: 40th Baeksang Arts Awards - Popularity Award, TV category
- 2005: Korean Movies Association - Special Award
- 2005: 41st Baeksang Arts Awards - Special Hallyu Award
- 2006: Timeless Beauty Acting Award (Seoul)
- 2009: Busan tourism ambassador for the year 2010-2012
- 2009: South Korean Presidential commendation for promoting Korea's tourism
- 2009: Inducted into Star Hall of Fame at the Seoul Drama Awards[13]
References
- ^ http://english.kbs.co.kr/society/interview/1340789_11775.html
- ^ http://web-japan.org/trends/arts/art041014.html
- ^ http://www.allkpop.com/2011/07/tvn-e-news-ranks-top-hallyu-stars-in-japan-based-on-income
- ^ http://www.hancinema.net/-yeonriji--now-and-forever-depends-heavily-on-ji-woo-hime--5766.html
- ^ http://www.hancinema.net/sexy-%60secret-has-little-to-tell-1350.html
- ^ http://english.donga.com/srv/service.php3?biid=2004073036438
- ^ http://www.style.co.kr/style/search/search_view.asp?c_idx=011004010000541
- ^ http://www.hancinema.net/korean_company_56_C_v_JW_Company.html
- ^ http://10.asiae.co.kr/Articles/new_view.htm?sec=ent0&a_id=2009112317360136554
- ^ http://10.asiae.co.kr/Articles/new_view.htm?sec=ent0&a_id=2009112323221892613
- ^ Korea Times Choi Ji-woo 'Can't Lose' in romantic comedy 23 August 2011. Retrieved 2011-10-22
- ^ Chosun Ilbo Choi Ji-woo Thrilled About Shaking Off Old Image 25 August 2011. Retrieved 2011-10-22
- ^ Chosun Ilbo Star Hall of Fame Celebrates Choi Ji-woo 20 August 2009. Retrieved 2011-10-22
External links
- Choi Ji-woo at the Internet Movie Database
- Choi Ji-woo at HanCinema
Categories:- 1975 births
- Living people
- People from Busan
- South Korean film actors
- South Korean television actors
- South Korean female models
- South Korean Presbyterians
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