Not to expose your age, but if you’ve watched old school K-dramas like Autumn in My Heart and All In set in the early 2000s, you’d know who Song Hye Kyo is. The 42-year-old actress is known for her timeless beauty, incredible acting skills, and philanthropic heart.
If you’re curious to learn more about the gorgeous actress, especially after her divorce from actor Song Joong Ki, below are 18 facts about her.
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Song Hye Kyo was born on 22 November 1981 in Daegu, South Korea.
She fell sick as a newborn and was not expected to survive beyond a few days. Fortunately, she recovered, and her parents registered her birth on 26 February 1982 instead of her actual birthday on 22 November 1981.
The actress trained as a figure skater in her elementary school days up until eighth grade. Though she has stopped pursuing the sport, she has flaunted her figure skating skills in the K-drama Full House (2004) and an advertisement for a mobile phone brand.
Song Hye Kyo’s first step into showbiz happened after she emerged as the winner of Sunkyung Smart Model Contest when she was 14. Thanks to the contest, she went on to model for the school uniform brand, and was later cast in New Generation Report: Adults Don’t Know (1995) and First Love (1996) as minor characters.
There’s a saying that celebrities who host music programmes in Korea will turn out successful. It looks like that is definitely true as apart from Song Hye Kyo, other A-list actors like Park Seo Joon and Jun Ji Hyun also hosted such shows early in their careers.
Song Hye Kyo hosted Inkigayo in 1998 and later Music Bank in 2000. Her appearance as a host on those programmes also marked her increasing popularity in Korea.
Five years after her acting debut, Song Hye Kyo rose to fame with Autumn in My Heart (2000). The K-drama revolves around the lives of two siblings who got mixed up due to an accident when they were still babies ‒ the truth about their biological connections were only revealed later.
In an interview, the actress singled out Autumn in My Heart as a turning point in her career. Prior to the melodrama, she had only acted in small or comedic roles. Her role as the unfortunate female lead in Autumn in My Heart alongside Won Bin and Song Seung Heon gained her recognition in the acting industry.
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Since then, she was cast in other chart-topping dramas like All In, Full House, That Winter, The Wind Blows, and Descendants of the Sun.
Revenge-themed K-dramas are no strangers to viewers, with others like Remarriage & Desires paving the way. But Netflix’s The Glory showed us more than just a character seeking revenge ‒ it hit us hard with realistic issues like the inequality in living conditions of the wealthy and poor, and differences in educational opportunities.
Song Hye Kyo has definitely stepped up her acting game, and we’re in love with how she has got us hooked and wanting more. Not to mention, the Netflix series is also consistently ranked in the Top 10 of the streaming platform.
For an actress with more than 2 decades of experience, Song Hye Kyo is no doubt professional and takes her job seriously. According to 8 Days, they mentioned that the actress only ate konjac jelly for two months as she needed to go on a diet for the filming of The Glory.
She wanted her body to look the best during a scene, where she was stripped down to her underwear that revealed her “grotesque scars”.
It is not surprising that Song Hye Kyo has bagged home trophies and awards ‒ throughout her acting career, she scored the Daesang aka the Grand Prize not once, but twice.
In 2013, she was noted for her incredible work in That Winter, the Wind Blows at the APAN Star Awards. Later in 2016, she received the honourable award again at the KBS Drama Awards for Descendants of the Sun. Slay.
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Song Hye Kyo is a woman of many languages ‒ she is fluent in five languages, namely Korean, English, Mandarin, Cantonese, and Japanese. Previously in 2005, it was reported that she went to San Francisco to study English.
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It is inspiring to see how the successful actress continues to improve herself as her proficiency in these languages has earned her acting opportunities in overseas projects like The Grandmaster, a Hong Kong film.
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Song Hye Kyo made her Hollywood debut with psychological thriller Fetish (2008), a story about a Korean woman who moves to New Jersey and becomes obsessed with her neighbours. Despite her attempt to challenge herself in different genres, the movie was unfortunately not well-received.
Hopefully, with her newfound fame with The Glory, we might see her receiving offers from the Hollywood scene.
It might not come as a surprise when it was announced that Song Hye Kyo signed with Hong Kong production and talent management company Jet Tone Films in 2019. Previously, she already ventured into the Hong Kong film industry in 2013 with The Grandmaster.
Fun fact: Jet Tone Films also houses famous Hong Kong celebrities like Carina Lau and Tony Leung.
As expected of the Hallyu star, Song Hye Kyo has more than 13 million followers on Instagram. While she normally posts photos of her endorsements and magazine features, she also shares photos of her and her pet dog.
Curious folks can follow her on Instagram.
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Back when celebrity dating news was considered uncommon, Song Hye Kyo is known to have a reputation for dating her co-worker.
After her hit drama Autumn in My Heart, she dated fellow actor Son Seung Heon for a while before breaking up. Later, she started a relationship with Lee Byung Hun after filming All In together in 2003 for a year before parting ways in 2004.
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In 2008, she dated Hyun Bin, whom she met while filming Worlds Within, for 3 years before ending their relationship in 2011.
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While filming the hit K-drama Descendants of the Sun, Song Hye Kyo got into a relationship with actor Song Joong Ki. The power couple were married on 31 October 2017 and divorced on 22 July 2019. According to a statement from Song Hye Kyo’s agency, the split was due to a “difference in personality.”
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Following her divorce, the actress stated that she would be taking time off work for the rest of 2019. Shortly after, she was spotted in France on a holiday. She also enrolled in an art school in New York City.
Song Hye Kyo has had many endorsements in her career, and currently, she is the ambassador for Chaumet and Fendi. FYI, the actress has been part of the Chaumet family since 2018, and recently joined Fendi as a brand ambassador in 2021.
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Despite having a busy schedule, Song Hye Kyo managed to find time and released two photobooks to date. The first book titled Moment Song Hye Kyo was released in 2011, and it includes photographs of her shot by top photographers in New York City, Buenos Aires, and Paris.
A year later in 2012, she dropped her second book called It’s Time For Hye Kyo, which features a collection of photos and essays written by her.
The actress is known for her frequent donations, most of which are towards helping children and animals.
Along with professor Seo Kyoung Duk from Sungshin Women’s University, she has also been donating guide books about the Korean independence movement overseas for the past 8 years to raise awareness about Korean history.
While most people would relate ruby to a red gem stone, Song Hye Kyo knows Ruby as her adorable pet dog. Fans have seen the actress post photos of her and Ruby on Instagram, and also notice the love she has for the dog.
It is hard to believe that Song Hye Kyo has been in showbiz for more than 20 years, and even now, she still shines as one of the most popular Korean actresses. We’re glad to see her making a successful return with Netflix’s The Glory, and can’t wait to see Part 2 of the series that will be released on 10 March 2023.
This article was originally published by Penny Wong on 9 June 2020 and updated by Jou Teng Tan on 27 January 2023.
Cover image: Source, source, source
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