Kim Tae-ri

Kim Tae-ri is a South Korean actress recognized for her work across film and television. After making her feature film debut in 2016, she gained wide recognition for leading roles in major historical dramas, coming-of-age series, and feature films. Over her career, she has received several honors, including three Baeksang Arts Awards, a Blue Dragon Film Award, and a Buil Film Award. In 2019, she was featured on Forbes' 30 Under 30 list in the Entertainment & Sports category, and in 2024, Gallup Korea named her Television Actor of the Year.

Kim was born on April 24, 1990, in the Sangbong-dong area of Seoul's Jungnang District, South Korea. She completed her secondary education at Youngshin Nursing Business High School before attending Kyung Hee University from 2008 to 2012, where she earned a degree in Journalism and Communication. During her second year of university, she joined a student theater club, an experience that inspired her to pursue acting as a career.

Following her university graduation, Kim worked for a year as part of the technical crew for the Iru theatre troupe in Daehangno. She began stage acting as an understudy in a 2012 production of Spoonface Steinberg before performing in plays such as Pansy, Ask for Love, and a 2013 rerun of Spoonface Steinberg. After signing with J-Wide Company in 2014, she appeared in television commercials and short films, including Moon Young. Her major screen breakthrough came in Park Chan-wook's 2016 film The Handmaiden, in which she was selected out of 1,500 auditioning actresses to play Sook-hee. Her performance earned her Best New Actress honors at the Blue Dragon Film Awards, Director's Cut Awards, Buil Film Awards, and Busan Film Critics Awards. She followed this in 2017 with a role in the political thriller 1987: When the Day Comes.

In 2018, Kim starred in the film adaptation of Little Forest, winning a Director's Cut Award and earning Best Actress nominations at several major Korean award ceremonies. That same year, she made her television debut in the period drama Mr. Sunshine, earning a Baeksang Arts Award nomination for Best Actress in Television. She later played Captain Jang in the 2021 science fiction project Space Sweepers. In July 2021, Kim joined the agency Management MMM after her contract with J-Wide Company expired.

Kim achieved further television acclaim starring as high school fencer Na Hee-do in the 2022 series Twenty-Five Twenty-One, winning both Best Actress in Television and Most Popular Actress at the Baeksang Arts Awards. Later in 2022, she portrayed Lee Ahn in the sci-fi action film Alienoid, a role she reprised in the 2024 sequel Alienoid: Return to the Future. In 2023, she starred in the thriller series Revenant, earning the Grand Prize at the SBS Drama Awards. She subsequently played the title role in the 2024 adaptation Jeongnyeon: The Star Is Born, securing a second Baeksang Arts Award for Best Actress in Television.

Expanding her career, Kim made her voice acting debut in the 2025 animated romance film Lost in Starlight and joined the regular cast of tvN's variety show Curtain Up, Class! in 2026. Alongside her acting roles, Kim has represented several high-profile brands, serving as an ambassador for cosmetics line O Hui starting in 2017, the face of Kenzo's Flower by Kenzo fragrance in 2018, a Korean ambassador for Tiffany & Co. from 2018 to 2021, a brand representative for Prada starting in 2021, and a muse for fashion label Itmichaa starting in 2022.