Table of Biography
Song Hye Kyo is a South Korean Television Actress. Song Hye Kyo is popular for her roles in such South Korean drama series as All In, Autumn in My Heart, and That Winter, The Wind Blows. And, her numerous acting honors include Korean Broadcasting System (KBS) and Seoul Broadcasting System (SBS) Drama Awards.
Early Life and Childhood
Song Hye Kyo was born on November 22, 1981, in Daegu, South Korea. She is 42 years old and her astrological sign is Sagittarius. She holds South Korean nationality and her ethnicity is Asian.
Her father’s name is Song Dae-seob but her mother’s name is unknown. Also, no information about her siblings step-siblings, or half-siblings is available until now.
Talking about her childhood, when she was born, she was so ill that her parents and doctors thought that she would not survive. Then, upon her recovery, her parents registered her birth on 26 February 1982 instead of her actual birthdate, 22 November 1981.
Moreover, her parents are no longer together and they divorced when she was a young girl. Since then, her mother and grandmother began raising her. They were able to move from her birthplace in Daegu to the Gangnam District in Seoul, where she trained as a figure skater in elementary school.
However, she quit when she was in the eighth grade. Also, she is a shy and introverted person and she rarely talks about her family openly to keep their life private and hassle-free with no intervention from her fans or any other public.
Caption: Song Hye Kyo’s childhood picture (Source: Twitter)
Education
Regarding Song’s educational background and qualifications, she attended Sookmyung Girls’ Middle School and Eunkwang Girls’ High School. She then went on to attend Sejong University and majored in Film Arts.
Career and Professional Life
Song Hye Kyo was able to win first place in the SunKyung Smart Model Contest in the year 1996. She was only 14 years old and was a third-year junior high school student. She then made her entertainment debut as a model for the school uniform company.
Eventually, this led to her being cast in a small role in her first television drama, “First Love”. She then was able to continue to appear in a string of dramas as well as sitcoms, most notably Soonpoong Clinic.
But her breakthrough came around when she starred in the KBS drama, “Autumn in My Heart” in 2000 alongside Song Seung-Heon and Won Bin. Through this appearance, she rose to fame in Korea and throughout Asia as well.
Moreover, the romantic melodrama series was a rating success, pioneering a trend in Korean melodramatic series and launching a trend that is commonly referred to as the “Korean Wave” and leading to Song becoming a Hallyu star.
Likewise, her popularity continued to climb as she was able to play a leading role alongside Lee Byung-hun in the gambling drama “All In” in the year 2003. Then, the following year, she co-starred with singer Rain in the hit romantic comedy series “Full House”.
Through this drama, she was able to become one of the best-known Korean actresses in Asia. She then took time off to recharge herself after this drama by going to San Francisco to study English and also traveled to Seattle.
More About Her Career
In the year 2005, she was able to make her big-screen debut in” My Girl and I”. She then again returned to the big screen in the year 2007 as the titular gisaeng in the film adaptation of Hwang Jin Yi.
And, after a year, Song was able to make her American debut in the Hollywood indie “Make Yourself at Home” which is a psychological thriller show. Later on, she appeared in “The World That They Live In” which is a series set at a broadcast station along with Hyun Bin.
Song Hye Kyo is considered one of Korea’s most beautiful women. In early 2011 she released the photo book Song Hye-kyo’s Moment, which was shot by top photographers in Atlanta, New York City, Buenos Aires, Patagonia, Paris, the Netherlands, and Brazil.
She even released a photo essay book in the year 2012, “It’s Time for Hye-Kyo”. Likewise, she was able to play in “A Reason to Live (Korean title: Today)” in the year 2011.
That same year, she also became the first Asian actress to sign a contract with the French global agency Effigies. With the help of this, she paved the way into the European market.
She then went on to star in “The Grandmaster”, “Camellia”, “That Winter, the Wind Blows”, “My Brilliant Life”, “The Crossing”, “The Queens”, and many others. Also, for “That Winter, the Wind Blows”, she received the Daesang (or “Grand Prize”) which is the highest television award, at the 2nd APAN Star Awards.
“Descendants of the Sun” and After
Moreover, in the year 2016, Song Hye Kyo got the opportunity to star in the mega-hit romantic comedy series “Descendants of the Sun”. She appeared alongside Song Joong-ki who is a famous Korean Actor as well.
This drama was incredibly popular in Korea as well as in Asia. Through this popularity, she again became a leader of the Hallyu and also topped popularity polls in Asia. She even was noted for her immense brand recognition in South Korea.
Hye Kyo was able to receive Daesang at the 2016 KBS Drama Awards along with her co-star for this drama.
Song Hye Kyo returned to the small screen with the romantic melodrama “Encounter” alongside Park Bo-gum after a two-year hiatus. Then, in the year 2021, she was able to star in the SBS romantic drama “Now, We Are Breaking Up”.
Caption: Song Hye Kyo with her co-stars of “Descendants of the Sun” (Source: Pikiran Rakyat Depok)
Other than Acting
Song Hye Kyo actively participates in voluntary work, especially with animals, and participates in activities related to KARA regularly. She is popular for her frequent large charitable donations.
She collaborated with Professor Seo Kyung-duk of Sungshin Women’s University and donated brochures of information in Korean to various historic Korean sites, art galleries, and museums around the world.
Likewise, she also donated 1,000 tickets to the Busan International Film Festival for the underprivileged young people in the Busan area. On the other hand, she even purchased 800 tickets for The Seoul International Women’s Film Festival and donated them to the Korean Psychological Association and the Magdalena Community.
Moreover, in December 2016, she again was able to donate to the Beautiful Foundation. This donation was used for educational support projects for low-income students who dream of becoming design experts.
Then, the next year, she donated 100 million won to Seoul National University Children’s Hospital. Recently, she donated 100 million won to the Korean Red Cross. To help the victims of the massive wildfire that started in Uljin, Gyeongbuk, and has spread to Samcheok, Gangwon.
Legal Issues
Song Hye Kyo made a public apology for committing tax evasion when she claimed undocumented expenses in August 2014. According to allegations, she had underpaid income tax from the year 2009 to 2011 totaling ₩2.56 billion.
She then argued that her accountant had mishandled her paperwork without her knowledge. But, after receiving notification from the NTS in October 2012, she went on to pay the tax balance due plus understatement of income tax penalties in the aggregate of ₩3.8 billion (US$3.7 million).
Moreover, she was again billed another ₩700 million in April 2014 against her 2008 tax filing, a result of the legally required five-year audit neglected since the 2012 notification.
Relationship Status
Song announced her engagement with her co-star of “Descendants of the Sun”, Song Joong-Ki on July 5, 2017. The couple then tied the knot on October 31, 2017, at Youngbingwan, Hotel Shilla in Seoul, in a private ceremony.
Their marriage ceremony was attended by the couple’s closest family and friends only. Song and Song Joong Ki were a very famous couple both in Korea and internationally as well. A lot of fans as well as people loved and adored them. They were popular as a “Song-Song” couple.
However, their relationship didn’t last long as they divorced only after two years of their marriage. Song Joong Ki revealed divorce to critics on June 27, 2019, and the divorce was finalized in July 2019. Since then, Song has been single or has kept her relationship private.
Talking about her other past relationships, Hye Kyo was romantically tied to fellow South Korean actors Lee Byung-hun and Hyun Bin way before her marriage to Song Joong Ki.
Caption: Song Hye Kyo along with her ex-husband, Song Joong Ki (Source: Medya Olusum)
Body Measurements
Song has a height of 5 feet 6 inches her weight is 50 Kg and her other body measurements are 34-25-34 inches. Moreover, Hye Kyo has dark brown hair and dark brown eyes as well.
Song Hye Kyo – Social Media
The song is active on two of the social media platforms. She owns her Instagram account under the name “kyo1122” and has garnered 13.4 million followers on it. Likewise, her Facebook account is under the name “OfficialSongHyeKyo ” and has mustered 575K followers until now.
Song Hye Kyo – Net Worth 2024
According to celebritynetworth, she has a net worth of $20 million and her main income source is her career in acting. She has many other income sources as well such as endorsements, promotions, and many more.