Jung Ho-yeon

Jung Ho-yeon is a South Korean fashion model and actress born on June 23, 1994. She first gained distinction in the global modeling industry before achieving international prominence for her acting debut in the hit television drama series Squid Game.

Jung was born in the Myeonmok-dong neighborhood of Seoul, South Korea, where her parents worked as restaurateurs, and she grew up alongside two sisters. Demonstrating an early interest in fashion, she began taking modeling classes at age fifteen. She later pursued formal higher education at Dongduk Women's University College of Performing Arts, where she majored in modeling.

Her professional career commenced in 2010 when she began working as a freelance model, walking in Seoul Fashion Week shows without agency representation for two years. In 2011, she entered the reality competition series Korea's Next Top Model, advancing into the top 30. After signing with ESteem Models in 2012, she returned to compete on the fourth season of Korea's Next Top Model in 2013, finishing as a runner-up. In the following years, she built her profile through appearances in music videos and editorial features for Korean fashion publications.

To expand her career internationally, Jung left South Korea in 2016 after signing with global modeling agencies. Distinctively recognized for her bright red hair, she made her international runway debut at New York Fashion Week in late 2016. She subsequently walked for major fashion houses across the world, including Louis Vuitton, Chanel, Fendi, Marc Jacobs, and Gucci, while starring in advertisements for brands such as Hermès and Sephora. Named among the top 50 models by Models.com in 2018, she became a global ambassador for Louis Vuitton in 2021 and was eventually listed on Models.com's "New Supers" list in 2022.

Anticipating the brief duration of modeling careers, Jung began preparing for acting by taking lessons during breaks from overseas modeling assignments. She signed with Saram Entertainment in early 2020 and successfully auditioned for her breakthrough role as Kang Sae-byeok, a North Korean defector, in the 2021 Netflix series Squid Game. She thoroughly prepared for the performance by learning martial arts, practicing a regional dialect with defectors, and keeping a daily diary from her character's perspective. Her portrayal earned widespread public and critical acclaim.

For her performance in Squid Game, Jung won a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series and earned a Primetime Emmy Award nomination. Following her television success, she appeared in music videos, made a cameo in the 2024 series Chicken Nugget, acted in the thriller miniseries Disclaimer, and made her feature film debut in Hope. In January 2025, she signed with the Korean talent agency BH Entertainment.