Jihae

Jihae Kim, known professionally as Jihae, is a South Korea-born actress, musician, and multimedia artist. Born on February 7, 1974, in Seoul, South Korea, her upbringing as a diplomat’s daughter involved living in Nigeria and Sweden. She later pursued her education at Emory University, graduating with a degree in political science. Jihae began her career in the arts as a model, featuring in advertisements for Eileen Fisher, before transitioning into music. Her musical journey commenced in 2007 with the release of her debut album, ‘My Heart Is an Elephant.’ This was followed by ‘Elvis is Still Alive’ in 2008. In 2009, she founded Septem, her own music label and multimedia company, demonstrating her comprehensive approach to creative endeavors.

Jihae expanded her artistic scope by collaborating with Academy Award-winning playwright and director John Patrick Shanley to co-create a rock opera titled ‘Fire Burning Rain’ in 2010, based on her concept album of the same name. She released her fourth album, ‘Illusion of You,’ in 2015, which featured collaborations with notable figures like Dave Stewart of Eurythmics and a song co-written with Leonard Cohen. Her acting career began in 2015, taking on a dual role as twin sisters Joon and Hana Seung in the National Geographic miniseries ‘Mars.’ This marked a significant turn in her career, showcasing her ability to portray complex characters in a science fiction context. In 2018, she starred as Anna Fang in Peter Jackson’s film ‘Mortal Engines,’ a role that garnered attention for her screen presence. Rolling Stone magazine noted her “illegal amount of screen presence” in the film.

Her acting credits continued to grow with a guest appearance in the second season of Netflix’s ‘Altered Carbon’ in 2020, where she performed the title track of her album ‘Illusion of You.’ In 2021, Jihae recurred as Berry Schneider in HBO’s ‘Succession’ Season 3, contributing to the ensemble’s SAG Award win for Outstanding Performance. Looking ahead, she is slated to portray Reverend Mother Kasha in HBO’s ‘Dune Prophecy,’ which began airing in 2024. Beyond entertainment, Jihae has a history of activism, co-writing “Man to Man, Woman to Woman” with Dave Stewart in 2012 for Hillary Clinton’s Hours Against Hate campaign. She also founded Let’s Come Together, a platform dedicated to human rights, and showcased her artistic activism with ‘Ether,’ a multimedia cow sculpture for Cow Parade NYC, addressing climate change and species extinction.