Kim Soo-hyun (born January 25, 1985), also known as Claudia Kim, is a South Korean actress and model. She has appeared in the television series ''Queen of the Game'' (2006–2007) and ''

Marco Polo Marco Polo (, , ; 8 January 1324) was a Venetian merchant, explorer and writer who travelled through Asia along the Silk Road between 1271 and 1295. His travels are recorded in ''The Travels of Marco Polo'' (also known as ''Book of the Marv ...

'' (2014–2016), as well as the films '' Avengers: Age of Ultron'' (2015), '' The Dark Tower'' (2017), '' Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald'' (2018), and '' Behind Every Star'' (2022).

Early life

Kim was born as Kim Soo-hyun in South Korea, on January 25, 1985. She spent six years of her childhood in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

before returning to

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

. Her dream in middle school was to become an international lawyer, and in high school she hoped to become a TV anchor. She was inspired by watching

CNN CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by ...

's headline news anchor Karuna Shinsho in Asia. She completed her studies abroad to continue her dream of becoming an anchor and entered

Ewha Womans University Ewha Womans University () is a private women's university in Seoul founded in 1886 by Mary F. Scranton under Emperor Gojong. It was the first university founded in South Korea. Currently, Ewha is one of the world's largest female educational ins ...

as an International Studies (DIS) major. While enrolled, she worked as a reporter and announcer for three years in the school's English-language newspaper, ''Ewha Voice''. She also worked as an intern reporter for The

Korea Times ''The Korea Times'' is the oldest of three English-language newspapers published daily in South Korea. It is a sister paper of the ''Hankook Ilbo'', a major Korean language daily; both are owned by Dongwha Enterprise, a wood-based manufacturer ...

and

Arirang TV Arirang International Broadcasting is a South Korean-based broadcasting company operated by the International Broadcasting Exchange Foundation. It began as a cable TV service in South Korea on February 3, 1997, and opened Korea's first overseas ...

Career

Kim's interests in music, film, and other entertainment led her to participate in a Korea-China

modeling A model is an informative representation of an object, person or system. The term originally denoted the plans of a building in late 16th-century English, and derived via French and Italian ultimately from Latin ''modulus'', a measure. Models c ...

competition in 2005, which she won top prize in. Kim was the first winner of the award who had never worked as a model. Producer Oh Se-kang saw Kim on a morning talk show, which led to her acting debut in the television series ''Queen of the Game'' (2006). Kim plays Park Joo-won, a friend of Lee Shin-jeon (

Joo Jin-mo Joo Jin-mo (born Park Jin-tae on 26 September 1974), is a South Korean actor. He is best known for his leading roles in the films '' Happy End'' (1999) in which he won Grand Bell Awards for Best Supporting Actor, ''200 Pounds Beauty'' (2006), ...

) and a law firm's international lawyer who loves him. For the drama, she won the New Star award at the 2006 SBS Awards for Acting. Kim went on to appear in supporting roles in medical drama ''

Brain A brain is an organ that serves as the center of the nervous system in all vertebrate and most invertebrate animals. It is located in the head, usually close to the sensory organs for senses such as vision. It is the most complex organ in a v ...

'' (2011) and spy comedy ''

7th Grade Civil Servant ''7th Grade Civil Servant'' () is a 2013 Korean drama, South Korean television series starring Choi Kang-hee (actress), Choi Kang-hee and Joo Won as rookie spies who trained together, and later become National Intelligence Service (South Korea), ...

'' (2013), as well as a leading role in the sitcom '' Standby'' (2012). Kim gained international attention for her roles in ''

'' (2014) and '' Avengers: Age of Ultron'' (2015). Kim portrays Nagini in the 2018 film '' Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald''. In 2019, Italian fashion house

Max Mara Max Mara (Italian aks 'ma:ra is an Italian fashion business. It markets up-market ready-to-wear clothing. It was established in 1951 in Reggio Emilia by Achille Maramotti (7 January 1927 – 12 January 2005). In March 2008, the company had 2,2 ...

invited her to attend the annual "Women in Film Gala", which has advocated for women and gender equality in the entertainment industry since 1973. Hence, she became the first Korean actress to the attend that event. In March 2021, Kim signed with new agency

YG Entertainment YG Entertainment Inc. () is a South Korean multinational entertainment agency established in 1996 by Yang Hyun-suk. The company operates as a record label, talent agency, music production company, event management and concert production compa ...

. In 2023, Kim will appear in the 1945 historical drama ''

Gyeongseong Creature ''Gyeongseong Creature'' () is an upcoming South Korean television series starring Park Seo-joon, Han So-hee, Soo Hyun, Kim Hae-sook, Jo Han-chul and Wi Ha-joon. Set in the spring of 1945, when Gyeongseong (the old name for Seoul) was in its ...

'', which will air on Netflix.

Personal life

Kim married Korean-American businessman Matthew Shampine on December 14, 2019, at the

Hotel Shilla Hotel Shilla ( ko, 신라호텔) is a South Korean operator of luxury hotels and duty-free shops. It is a member of The Leading Hotels of the World. The company is an affiliate of Samsung. History Hotel Shilla started operations in March 1979 at ...

Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 ...

. Kim is a

pescetarian Pescetarianism (; sometimes spelled pescatarianism) is the practice of incorporating seafood into an otherwise vegetarian diet. Pescetarians may or may not consume other animal products such as eggs and dairy products. Approximately 3% of adults ...

. In April 2020, she announced that she was expecting her first child, and was 15 weeks pregnant. On October 1, she gave birth to her daughter.

Filmography

Film

Television

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kim, Claudia 1985 births Living people South Korean film actresses South Korean television actresses South Korean female models Ewha Womans University alumni South Korean expatriates in the United States YG Entertainment artists 21st-century South Korean actresses Actresses from Seoul