Bae Doona stars in Netflix K-dramas The Silent Sea and Kingdom, smash movies Cloud Atlas and Sympathy For Mr Vengeance – 5 ways to celebrate Korea’s OG superstar actress
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We celebrate her birthday with the best out of her many accomplishments.
Her debut as a magazine model
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Her work with Bong Joon-ho
Bae’s first leading film role was in Barking Dogs Never Bite, which was also Bong Joon-ho’s first feature film. Interestingly, she caught Bong’s eye for her willingness to do without make-up and appear plain – just like the character she was playing.
Although acting wasn’t a dream of hers at the time, this film was what prompted her to consider a serious career in acting. “That film made me decide to become an actress – a good actress – and that film thereby changed my whole life,” she said in an interview with streaming service FilmDoo.
Her international debut
After realising her passion for acting, she explored other opportunities outside Korea, making films with Japanese and American directors. She was the first foreign actress to win the best actress award in Japan’s 2009 Japan Academy Film Prize for her leading role in Japanese movie Air Doll.
In 2012, she made her Hollywood debut with Cloud Atlas, which was directed by Lana and Lilly Wachowski and Tom Tykwer. She went on to work with the Wachowskis again in sci-fi TV show Sense8.
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Her work ethic
Although some of Bae’s success was due to luck, she worked hard to get where she is today, too – she spent six months preparing a big fight scene in Sense8 and lived with her dialogue coach in London in order to learn English.
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Her role as Louis Vuitton’s muse
Bae is also well known for her sense of style – a factor that must have lead to Louis Vuitton creative director Nicolas Ghesquière appointing her muse of the brand in 2016.
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She starred in cult Korean movies like Bong Joon-ho’s The Host and Park Chan-wook’s Sympathy For Mr Vengeance, is luxury fashion brand Louis Vuitton’s muse, was the first Korean model to appear on the cover of US Vogue and her upcoming K-drama role is alongside Gong Yoo and Lee Joon – happy birthday, Bae Doona!