
Lee Tae-ran is a South Korean actress who has been active in the entertainment industry for twenty years. Her ethereal beauty and love for philanthropy have brought her steady fame and love from the public.
Complete Profile

Name: Lee Tae-ran (이태란)
Birthdate: March 25th, 1975
Birthplace: Yeonggwang County, South Jeolla
Blood Type: B
Height: 170 cm
Weight: 50 kg
Zodiac: Aries
Education: Haeseong International Convention High School, Hanyang University- College of Art (Theater and Film)
Entertainment Company: Yuleum Entertainment
Social Media: Instagram (@i_taeran)
Pre-Debut and Personal Life
Lee Tae-ran was born in Yeonggwang County, South Jeolla, South Korea, on March 25th, 1975. She was born into a small family and is the second child of two daughters. Although born in South Jeolla, Lee Tae-ran spent her childhood in Seoul as she moved to the region when she was a child.
She graduated from Haeseong International Convention High School and soon after worked for a company for three years. Besides her job in the company, she juggled with her part-time jobs at a cafe in Myeongdong and a Japanese restaurant in Daehangno. During her part-time jobs, she was discovered by an agent and was asked to play a minor role in a drama, thus starting her acting career.
In 2008, she enrolled in Hanyang University, College of Arts as a theater and film student. She enrolled in the university after expressing her sadness over her education. She revealed that she was sad that she was a mere high school graduate and wanted to get a higher education.
Drama and Movie Career

Lee Tae-ran started her acting career through a minor role in an SBS drama after getting recruited by an agency while doing her part-time job in 1997. After appearing in her first drama, The Brother’s River, she entered the 1997 SBS Tope Talent Competition and won the grand prize. Her two first successes lead her to a flowery path in the acting industry. She starred in many different dramas and won her first award, The 1998 SBS New Star Awards, due to her performance in the drama Fascinate My Heart (1998). Only a year later,
she received another award, MBC New Star Award, for her role in Days of Delight (1999).
Her popularity only grew in the 2000’s when she starred in another drama, Who’s My Love (2002), as the character Lee Ha-na, a bubbly model. She was honored with the KBS Excellence in Acting Award for her amazing performance. In 2003, she received her first KBS Top Excellence in Acting Award due to her performance in Yellow Handkerchief (2003). In this drama, she played alongside Jo Min-ki, a fellow respectable actor, and played the character Yoon Ja-young.
Her fame is not only felt in Korea but also in its neighboring country China. In 2001, she became one of the most recognized actresses in China after successfully snatching a minor role as a Korean daughter-in-law who made it into a Chinese family. She gained her utmost fame in China after her drama Famous Princesses (2006) was aired on Hunan Television, which became a huge hit and was dubbed as the Overseas TV Drama of the Year. Her fame eventually led to her securing a lead role in the Chinese dramas The Lure of Cloud (2010), Di Jin (2011), For the Sake of Beauty (2012) and The Way We Were (2013).
Despite already having a numerous amount of films and dramas under her belt, in 2015, she took on three films and a drama for her latest works. She does all of this while also partaking in her philanthropic acts.
Drama List
Year | Title | Role | TV Network | Notes |
1997 | The Brothers’ River | SBS | TV debut | |
Over the Horizon | Cho Soo-hee | SBS | ||
1998 | Fascinate My Heart | Eun Hee-soo | SBS | Won – SBS Drama Awards: New Star Award |
Seven Brides | SBS | |||
1999 | Love Now | Jang Hye-ji | SBS | |
Goodbye My Love | Choi Hee-jung | MBC | ||
Days of Delight | Goo Yoo-jung | MBC | Won – MBC Drama Awards: Best New Actress | |
2000 | Soonpoong Clinic | Oh Tae-ran | SBS | |
More Than Love | Seo Hee-joo | MBC | ||
All Above Eve | MBC | Cameo | ||
2001 | Hong Guk Young | Ms Seo | MBC | |
Navy | Park So-yeon | MBC | ||
How Should I Be | Yoo Ri | MBC | ||
Modern Family | Park Yeon-hee | CCTV&MBC | ||
2002 | Who’s My Love | Lee Ha-na | KBS2 | Won – KBS Drama Awards: Excellence Award, Actress |
2003 | Yellow Handkerchief | Yoon Ja-young | KBS1 | Won – KBS Drama Awards: Top Excellence Award, Actress |
Long Live Love | Lee Min-joo | SBS | ||
2004 | The Woman Who Wants to Marry | Jin Soon-ae | MBC | |
2005 | Best Mother | Yoon So-young | SBS | |
My Rosy Life | Maeng Young-yi | KBS2 | Won – KBS Drama Awards: Popularity Award | |
2006 | Famous Princesses | Na Seol-chil | KBS2 | Won – KBS Drama Awards: Top Excellence Award, Actress Won – KBS Drama Awards: Best Couple Award with Park Hae-jin |
2007 | Several Questions That Make Us Happy | KBS2 | Cameo | |
2008 | My Precious You | Jang In-ho | KBS2 | Nominated – KBS Drama Awards: Excellence Award, Actress |
2010 | Legend of the Patriots | Lee Soo-kyung | KBS1 | Nominated – KBS Drama Awards: Excellence Award, Actress |
The Lure of Cloud | Shu Lin | Hunan Television | ||
2011 | Di Jin | Jin Yuan | Shanghai East Movie Channel | |
2012 | A Wife’s Credentials | Hong Ji-sun | jTBC | |
For the Sake of Beauty | Han Yingzhu | Zhejiang Television | First aired on Shanghai TV Drama Channel | |
2013 | The Way We Were | Kazuko Miura | Post-production | |
Goddess of Marriage | Hong Hye-jung | SBS | ||
Wang’s Family | Wang Ho-bak | KBS2 | Won – KBS Drama Awards: Excellence Award, Actress | |
2015 | Make a Woman Cry | Choi Hong-ran | MBC |
Movie List
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
1997 | Story of a Man | Hee-kyung | Film debut |
2006 | My Boss, My Teacher | Mi-ran’s sister | Cameo |
2007 | Love Exposure | Yoon Hee-soo | Nominated – 28th Blue Dragon Film Awards (2007) for Best New Actress Nominated – 45th Grand Bell Awards (2008) for Best New Actress |
2013 | My Boy | I-cheon’s mother | |
2015 | Granny’s Got Talent | Mi-hee | |
Helios | Yoon Hee-seon | Cameo | |
Twenty Again | Min-ha |
Lee Tae-ran’s Private Wedding and Husband

In 2014, Lee Tae-ran ended her single days with a private marriage at Villa de Bailey, Seoul. On March 1st, 2014, she held a private Christian wedding with her betrothed Shin Seung-wan, a businessman.
Despite having a private wedding, many reporters still gathered to see the beautiful star get married, and she greeted them all gracefully. Many of her co-stars also attended the wedding to give support on her happy day.