Jung Ryeo-won (정려원)

Jung Ryeo-won has been acting so long that many k-drama fans may not even know that she’s actually one of the first girl group idols to have successfully transitioned to acting.

Birthday: January 21, 1981

Instagram: yoanaloves

Also known as Yoana Jung and raised in Brisbane, Australia, she was first scouted in Seoul while on an exchange student program from Griffith University, where she was earning her business degree. The rest, as they say, is history. She moved to Seoul and debuted as a member of the girl group Chakra in 2000. When it disbanded in 2004, she decided to try her luck as an actress, only to fail 11 auditions.

She finally got her big break playing Hyun Bin’s first love in the mega Hallyu hit romcom “My Name is Kim Sam Soon” in 2005. She has since starred in such dramas as “Which Star Are You From“ (2006), “History of a Salaryman” (2012), “Bubblegum” (2015), “Wok of Love” (2018) and “Diary of a Prosecutor” (2019).

Her role as a prosecutor in the 2017 legal drama “Witch at Court” was particularly meaningful to her, as she dedicated her KBS Top Excellence Acting Award to female victims of sex crimes.

Her notable film work includes “Two Faces of My Girlfriend,” for which she won the Baeksang for Best New Actress in 2008, “Castaway on the Moon” (2009), and “Pained” (2012). Apart from being an accomplished actress, Jung Ryeo-won is a visual artist who has published her own sketchbook.

Jung Ryeo-won most recently played a public defense lawyer in the legal drama "May It Please the Court" on Disney+.