Personal details
Born:
- Birthday: 1976-10-30
- Born Place: Yeosu, South Jeolla, South Korea
Also Known As:
염혜란, Yeom Hye Ran, Yum Hye-ran, 廉惠蘭
Yeom Hye-ran
Yeom Hye‑ran (born October 30, 1976, in Yeosu, South Korea) is a critically acclaimed actress celebrated for her powerful supporting roles in film, television, and theater. A graduate of Seoul Women’s University in Korean Language and Literature, she discovered her passion for acting in college and joined the Yeonwoo Theatre Company in 1999, launching a distinguished stage career before transitioning to the screen. Her notable television work includes When the Camellia Blooms (2019) as the dignified divorce lawyer Hong Ja‑young—earning her Best Supporting Actress at KBS Drama Awards—and The Uncanny Counter (2020–21), where she portrayed empathic healer Choo Mae‑ok, a role that won her the Baeksang Arts Award for Best Supporting Actress . In 2022 she joined the Netflix hit The Glory, earning acclaim and a Baeksang nomination as part of an ensemble cast anchoring a grim tale of revenge and trauma. In the dark comedy crime thriller Mask Girl (2023), Yeom gave a deeply affecting portrayal of a grieving mother driven by vengeance, winning her the Baeksang Best Supporting Actress award for the second consecutive year.Her recent work in When Life Gives You Tangerines (2025) was similarly lauded: as the devoted mother Jeon Gwang‑rye, she swept the 61st Baeksang Best Supporting Actress award for a performance that left many viewers in tears. Beyond television, Yeom has appeared in acclaimed films including Bong Joon‑ho’s debut Memories of Murder and dramas such as Baseball Girl (2020) and The Boys (2022), further demonstrating her breadth across genres. Known among fans and critics as a “chameleon-like” performer, she repeatedly transforms herself for each role—whether nurturing mother, cold adversary, or moral compass in despair—leaving a lasting emotional imprint on audiences. In Wall to Wall (2025), Yeom plays Eun‑hwa, the community representative whose initial warmth conceals deeper motives. Her steady presence helps ground the film’s psychological tension while her layered performance reveals a character whose complexity is as unsettling as it is compelling.
