Who Is Kim Tae-Hee? Get To Know The Actress Starring In "Hi Bye, Mama!"

Kim Tae-hee just turned 40 years old! Can you believe she's that old?! She celebrated her 40th birthday on March 29 but likely kept things low-key considering the extraordinary circumstances surrounding her special day. Besides, she can always celebrate at a later time when COVID-19-related concerns have come to pass.

She's one half of one of South Korea's power celebrity couples. She's married to Rain, a singer, dancer, producer, and actor who's known internationally! They got married in 2017 after a year-long engagement in a simple church ceremony with just close friends and family to witness their union. It was a top secret wedding; according to reports, guests were only informed of the place and time a day before the event. 

Photo Credit: Photo from SBS

She has two daughters, who were born in 2017 and 2019. 

Kim Tae-hee was always a star student. She managed to get into Seoul National University, the school of choice for many bright, young Korean students and known for its incredibly rigorous admission standards. She majored in Fashion Design. While in school, she excelled at extracurricular activities too; she was the president of the Women's Ski Club! 

She might look delicate and demure, but she admits to growing up as a tomboy! She remembers getting into physical fights with her brother and other boys in her childhood neighborhood.

Speaking of siblings, Kim Tae-hee is the middle of three children. She has an older sister and a younger brother. Her brother, Kim Hyung-soo (or Lee Wan) acts, too. 

A movie called "The Last Present" was what kick-started her acting career. Although she had gained some experience in front of the camera as a model in her early 20s, this project was the first time she tested the waters as an actress. 

Her first acting role caught the attention of TV execs and she landed a lead role in 2003's "Stairway to Heaven." The project would eventually prove to be her breakout role, and she has become a mainstay in South Korea's entertainment scene ever since.

Some of Kim Tae-hee's other notable credits in her K-Drama filmography include "Love Story in Harvard," "Iris," "My Princess," "Yong-pal," and most recently, "Hi Bye, Mama!" 

"Hi Bye, Mama!" is currently on Netflix and is available to Filipino viewers (a perfect binge for the quarantine's third week, don't you think?). In the show, she plays a mother (or rather the ghost of a mother) given the opportunity to come back to life and reunite with her family if she's able to complete a mission. 

If you've kept up with her career, you know that she's been pretty varied in her roles. She's a versatile actress who's starred in anything from fantasy roles and spy thrillers to historical epics and easy on the heart romances—definitely not the kind of actress to be typecast! Considering that she once told an interviewer that she wished to build an acting career based on her skills rather than marketability and image, fans can appreciate her even more. 

She's not just popular among fans. Kim Tae-hee has garnered accolades for her performances awarded by film and TV critics. With a career as illustrious as hers and a glowing on-camera presence, she's been hailed Korea's most beautiful woman and nicknamed the "Nation's Goddess." 

She and her husband Rain are known to be charitable people. To help South Koreans cope with the economic and social effects of the COVID-19 outbreaks, the couple announced that they would be cutting the rent rates for the tenants who live in a building they own for the month of March. 

Photo Credit: Photo from Harper's Bazaar Korea