Son Ye-jin

Son Ye-jin, born Son Eon-jin on January 11, 1982, is a South Korean actress who gained national and regional prominence through her television and film performances. She initially provided voice work for the 2000 film Secret Tears before securing lead roles in television shows such as Delicious Proposal, Sun-hee and Jin-hee, and Great Ambition. Her early film exposure expanded when she appeared in Chi-hwa-seon (2002), which received a directing award at the Cannes Film Festival.

Son achieved major public recognition through her leading performances in the romantic films Lovers' Concerto and Kwak Jae-yong's The Classic, the latter gaining wide visibility across mainland China and Hong Kong. Her standing as a prominent figure in the Korean Wave was reinforced by her lead role in the 2003 television series Summer Scent. Subsequent film projects, including A Moment to Remember and April Snow (co-starring Bae Yong-joon), achieved substantial commercial success throughout East Asia, particularly in Japan. Due to her innocent screen image during this period, she earned the popular title "Nation's First Love" in South Korea.

In 2006, Son became the highest-earning actress per episode in South Korean television for her work in Alone in Love, where she portrayed a divorcée. She actively broadened her acting repertoire by playing a con artist in The Art of Seduction, an ambitious reporter in Spotlight, and a femme fatale in Open City. Her performance as a polyandrous woman in the 2008 film My Wife Got Married brought her the Best Actress award at the Blue Dragon Film Awards. Over the following years, she starred in the mystery White Night, the romantic comedy series Personal Taste, and the horror-romantic comedy film Spellbound (2011). She expanded into large-scale productions with the disaster film The Tower (2012), followed by the television series Shark and the thrillers Blood and Ties and Bad Guys Always Die. Her performance in the period adventure film The Pirates (2014) earned her the Best Actress award at the Grand Bell Awards.

Son received extensive critical commendation in 2016 for her performance in the political thriller The Truth Beneath, earning Best Actress accolades at both the Buil Film Awards and the Busan Film Critics Awards. That same year, she starred as the titular royal in the historical drama The Last Princess, which achieved commercial success globally and brought her praise for her emotional portrayal. In 2018, she appeared in the romantic drama film Be with You, returned to television in the series Something in the Rain, and starred as a professional negotiator in the crime thriller film The Negotiation.

In 2019, Son starred in the romantic drama series Crash Landing on You, portraying a wealthy heiress opposite actor Hyun Bin. The show achieved global popularity. Son was scheduled to make a Hollywood debut in Andrew Niccol's feature film The Cross, though production delays were requested due to the COVID-19 pandemic. She later starred in Park Chan-wook's 2025 film No Other Choice. From 2019 to 2022, she was listed on the Forbes Korea Power Celebrity 40 for four consecutive years.

Son is Roman Catholic and holds the baptismal name Dominica. Following their co-starring roles in The Negotiation and Crash Landing on You, Son and actor Hyun Bin confirmed their relationship in early 2021, married in a private ceremony in March 2022, and welcomed a son later that year. Throughout her career, Son has engaged in charitable contributions, including donations to COVID-19 relief efforts in her hometown of Daegu in 2020, disaster relief for the 2022 Uljin forest fire alongside her husband, and financial support for Samsung Medical Center at the end of 2025.