Choi Mi-hyang is a well-known South Korean actress who goes by the stage name Choi Ji-woo. Her two-decade acting career included roles in a number of significant films, television series, and variety shows, both in the United States and abroad. Apart from countless honors and honors, she gained international renown and popularity as a result of this. She got her start in the show business after winning an MBC talent audition in 1994. She rose to prominence by portraying sad heroines in television programs, but she later proved her versatility by taking on distinctive and demanding roles. Her outstanding performance in the South Korean hit romance melodrama ‘Winter Sonata’ garnered her acclaim throughout Asia, especially in Japan, where she was given the nickname Ji-woo Hime (“Princess Ji-woo”). She was rated #5 on the list of top Hallyu stars in Japan’s tvN’sE News, demonstrating her appeal as a celebrity and brand. The stars’ gross earnings for the first half of 2011 were used to compile the list. TV series such as ‘Beautiful Days,’ ‘Stairway to Heaven,’ and ‘The Suspicious Housekeeper,’ films such as ‘The Hole,’ and ‘The Romantic President,’ and variety programs such as ‘Grandpas Over Flowers,’ and ‘Choi Ji-Delicious woos Korea,’ are among her other prominent works.
Childhood and Adolescence
Choi was born in Paju, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea, on June 11, 1975, into the Choi Woon-Yong and Yoon Gil-JA families. She has a sibling who is older than her.
Busan Sooyoung Elementary Dukmoon Girl’s High School was her alma mater. She went on to Busan Women’s College, where she majored in aerobic dance.
She later enrolled in Hanyang University’s Department of Theater and Film and completed her first year of studies before leaving out due to her demanding job schedule.
The Career of Choi
Choi originally gained attention in 1994, when she won an MBC-sponsored talent audition. The next year, she began her acting career with the MBC television series ‘War and Love.’ Choi Ji-woo, her assumed stage name, was linked to her later acting endeavors.
She made her cinematic debut in the comedic drama ‘The Adventures of Mrs. Park,’ which was released on September 21, 1996. She also appeared in the hit South Korean romantic drama television series ‘First Love’ that same year.
In 1998, she won Best New Actress (Film) at the 34th Baeksang Arts Awards and Best New Actress at the 21st Golden Cinematography Awards for her role as Su-join in the South Korean film ‘The Hole,’ which was released on November 1, 1997.
She went on to appear in a number of more TV and film productions after that. ‘Mr. Duke’ (2000), a South Korean romantic comedy series for which she received an Excellence Award for Actress at the MBC Drama Awards, and films such as ‘First Kiss’ (1998) and ‘Nowhere to Hide’ (1999).
Choi gained significant fame and reputation as an actor only after playing tragic heroines in television series, particularly in ‘Truth’ (2000) and ‘Beautiful Days’ (2002). (2001).
She won two SBS Drama Awards for the latter.
Her major break came with the hit South Korean romantic melodrama TV series ‘Winter Sonata,’ which is widely credited with igniting the Korean Wave throughout Asia and the rest of the world. The second installment of the season-themed Endless Love series, directed by Yoon Seok-ho and shown on KBS2 from January 14, 2002, to March 19, 2002.
Her performance of Jeong Yoo-jin in ‘Winter Sonata,’ in which she co-starred with Bae Yong-Joon, is her most iconic and memorable role to date.
Her outstanding performance in the series catapulted her into the spotlight, gaining her pan-Asian acclaim and propelling her to new heights of stardom.
Choi’s performance in the ‘Winter Sonata’ drew a large following in Japan, and she was dubbed Ji-woo Hime (“Princess Ji-woo”) there. She won many honors for the role, including the 38th Baeksang Arts Awards’ Most Popular Actress (TV) award in 2002. She is still one of Japan’s most bankable performers and brands, with hefty licensing and broadcasting rights for her plays, concerts, and goods.
In the South Korean romantic comedy film ‘The Romantic President,’ she co-starred alongside Ahn Sung-ki as Choi Eun-soo, one of the major protagonists. In 2003, she won the Most Popular Actress award at the 26th Golden Cinematography Awards for the picture she released on December 6, 2002.
Her next production was ‘Stairway to Heaven,’ a love melodrama in which she co-starred with Kwon Sang-woo and was a huge success in South Korea. The 20-episode series, which broadcast on SBS from December 3, 2003, to February 5, 2004, boosted her already-growing reputation and earned her several prizes.
She made a cameo appearance in the KBS2 hit romantic comedy-drama ‘Full House,’ which is considered an avant-garde of the “romantic comedy” genre in Korean drama, in 2004.
That year, she co-starred with Sun Xing in the Chinese drama 101st Proposal,’ which aired on BTV.
Her next international role was Choi Yoon-ah opposite Yutaka Takenouchi in the TBS televised Japanese drama ‘RONDO'(2006).
Choi’s other South Korean film and television roles include Lee Mari in the romantic drama TV series ‘Star’s Lover,’ in which she co-stars alongside Yoo Ji-Tae. The 20-episode series, which broadcast on SBS from December 10, 2008, to February 12, 2009, earned her the largest salary for a Korean actress at the time, a whopping $48 million each episode.
Her most well-known film to date is E J-South Yong’s Korean mockumentary-style drama ‘Actresses,’ which was released on December 10, 2009, and grossed US$3,400,282 at the box office.
In the same year, she founded C, JW Company, her own management firm. Her brother took over as the agency’s CEO.
In the South Korean family drama black comedy TV series ‘The Suspicious Housekeeper,’ she reprised her role as the enigmatic housekeeper Park Bok-no, which was based on the successful 2011 Japanese drama ‘Kaseifu no Mita.’ From September 23, 2013, until November 26, 2013, it broadcast 20 episodes on SBS.
In February 2014, she signed with YG Entertainment, a South Korean entertainment firm. In the same year, she starred alongside her ‘Stairway to Heaven’ co-star Kwon Sang-woo in the South Korean romantic melodrama television series ‘Temptation.’
In the years afterward, she has appeared in TV shows such as ‘Twenty Again,’ ‘Woman with a Suitcase,’ and ‘First Seven Kisses,’ as well as the romantic comedy film ‘Like for Likes’ (2016).
Choi has guested on a number of South Korean and Japanese variety shows over the years, including ‘Hanamaru Market’ (2004), ‘Infinite Challenge’ (2007), ‘2 Days & 1 Night’ (2011), ‘Running Man’ (2012), and ‘Three Meals a Day’ (2013). (2014).
She continued to host ‘Choi Ji-Delicious woos Korea’ (2012) and appeared in the films Grandpas Over Flowers’ (2015) and ‘Candy in My Ears – Season 2′. (2017).
Choi has also appeared in various artists’ music videos. She starred in ‘For Your Soul’ (1999) for Jo Sung-mo, and in ‘Ziugae’ for Ali (2013).
Personal History and Legacy
She was romantically linked to Lee Jin-Wook, her co-star in the South Korean television drama ‘Air City,’ from 2009 to 2011.
Estimated Net worth
Choi Ji-woo is a South Korean actress with a $15 million net worth. In June 1975, Choi Ji-woo was born Choi Mi-Hyang in Paju, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea.
After winning a talent audition in 1994, she was noticed. In 1995, she appeared in an episode of Best Theater before changing her identity.