How Lee Young-ae became one of Korea’s highest-paid actresses: before Netflix’s Inspector Koo, the star rose to fame in 2003 K-drama Jewel in the Palace …
- Lee has made millions from her TV and film acting career, reportedly commanding a higher per-episode fee than Song Hye-kyo, second only to Jun Ji-hyun
- She’s also raked in cash from lucrative endorsement deals with Amorepacific and The History of Whoo, and even launched her own beauty brand Lya Nature
After a four-year absence from the screen, veteran actress Lee Young-ae is making a triumphant comeback in the upcoming Netflix drama Inspector Koo, the Asian version of Killing Eve. She will play Koo Kyung-yi, a brilliant former insurance investigator who chases a mysterious serial killer.
At the age of 50, she is one of the richest Korean actors with a net worth of US$40 million, according to Celebrity Net Worth. But besides her successful showbiz career, where else does her fortune come from?
Her acting career
Born in 1971, the Seoul native first stepped into the entertainment industry as a CF model – or commercial film model – in the early 1990s while she was still studying at the department of German language and literature at Hanyang University, according to TV Over Mind.
After appearing in hit K-dramas like Medical Brothers, Because I Love You and Romance, her breakthrough role came in 2003 in the historical drama Dae Jang Geum or Jewel in the Palace. She played the character of the legendary Seo Jang-geum, the first woman to be the supreme royal doctor during the Choson Dynasty.
The film earned her the title “Korean wave star” and catapulted her to fame – not only locally but also in Japan, China and the whole of Southeast Asia, according to Oppa Kpop. Particularly, it achieved the highest ratings in Uzbekistan and she became their tourism ambassador in South Korea. Oppa Kpop reports that the movie was even mentioned in Taiwanese textbooks.
After the drama, she also starred in famous series and films such as Saimdang-Memoir of Colors, Bring Me Home and Lady Vengeance – which she was awarded best actress at the 2005 Blue Dragon Film Awards and 2006 Baeksang Art Awards.
