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Profile | Who is Kim Tae-ri, beloved Korean actress in Jeongnyeon: The Star Is Born and Revenant?

Kim Tae-ri burst onto the scene in acclaimed 2016 erotic thriller The Handmaiden, and she has only gone from strength to strength since

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Korean actress Kim Tae-ri, currently on screen in the K-drama series Jeongnyeon: The Star Is Born, burst onto the scene in acclaimed 2016 erotic thriller The Handmaiden. Photo: Instagram/kimtaeri_official

Kim Tae-ri is back on screens this autumn in her fourth K-drama series, the period music drama Jeongnyeon: The Star Is Born. Now comfortably ensconced in Korea’s A-list, she was a complete unknown less than a decade ago.

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She burst onto the scene after winning an audition to play the title role in Park Chan-wook’s acclaimed 2016 big-screen erotic thriller The Handmaiden.

Kim made her screen debut earlier in the 43-minute film Moon Young, in which she played the lead role. It was shot in 2013 and debuted at the Seoul Independent Film Festival in 2015. An expanded version of the film screened in cinemas in 2017, capitalising on Kim’s fame after the success of The Handmaiden.

A Seoul native, Kim was born in 1990. After graduating from the Youngshin Nursing Business High School she entered Kyung Hee University, where she studied journalism and communications. It was there that her interest in acting was sparked when she joined a theatre club in her second year.

Kim Tae-ri in a still from Jeongnyeon: The Star Is Born.
Kim Tae-ri in a still from Jeongnyeon: The Star Is Born.

After university, Kim joined a troupe in Seoul’s Daehak-ro theatre district and spent several years getting her feet wet on the stage, as well as in short films.

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