Introduction
Jo Bo-ah (born Jo Bo-yoon on August 22, 1991) is a South Korean actress.
Early life
Jo Bo-ah was born Jo Bo-yoon on August 22, 1991 in Daejeon, South Korea. Jo graduated from Sungkyunkwan University, majoring in Performing Arts.
Career
Jo made her acting debut in 2011 with a small role in the daily sitcom I Live in Cheongdam-dong on cable channel jTBC. This was followed by a hosting gig on the audition program Made in U (also on jTBC), and an appearance in the Korean-Japanese co-production Koisuru Maison ~Rainbow Rose~.
In 2012, Jo landed her first major role as a former rich girl who falls for a rocker in tvN's coming-of-age series Shut Up Flower Boy Band. Later that year, she appeared in her first network TV series with a supporting role in the MBC period drama Horse Doctor.
In 2013, Jo and Kim Woo-bin hosted Mnet's weekly music show M Countdown for two weeks (on April 4 and 11).
Jo was cast in her first film in 2014, as a troubled, seductive teenager who becomes obsessed with her gym teacher in the erotic thriller Innocent Thing. Back on cable television, she played the leading role in romantic comedy series The Idle Mermaid, a modern retelling of The Little Mermaid set amidst the competitive Korean workplace.
Jo tried a new genre in 2015 with the OCN police procedural The Missing, where she played a detective on the missing persons task force. She then joined the ensemble cast of the KBS weekend family drama All About My Mom, and starred in web series Love Cells 2, adapted from the webtoon of the same title.
In 2016, Jo starred in revenge melodrama Monster and romantic comedy series Sweet Stranger and Me. In 2017, she starred in romance melodrama Temperature of Love, and the two-episode drama special Let's Meet, Joo-oh.
In 2018, Jo starred in Goodbye to Goodbye, based on a webtoon about the stories of two women. She played a university student who faces challenges as a single mother. The same year, she starred in the romantic comedy drama My Strange Hero.
In 2020, Jo starred in the romance drama Forest as a doctor. The same year she was cast in the fantasy drama The Tale of a Gumiho as a television producer.
Awards and nominations
| Year | Award | Category | Nominated work | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 28th Grimae Awards | Best New Actress | All About My Mom | Won | |
| KBS Drama Awards | Best New Actress | Nominated | |||
| Popularity Award, Actress | Won | ||||
| 2016 | MBC Drama Awards | Excellence Award, Actress in a Special Project Drama | Monster | Nominated | |
| Best New Actress | Won | ||||
| KBS Drama Awards | Excellence Award, Actress in a Miniseries | Sweet Stranger and Me | Nominated | ||
| 2017 | SBS Entertainment Awards | Best Challenge Award | Law of the Jungle | Won | |
| SBS Drama Awards | Excellence Award, Actress in a Monday-Tuesday Drama | Temperature of Love | Nominated | ||
| Best New Actress | Nominated | ||||
| KBS Drama Awards | Best Actress in a One-Act/Special/Short Drama | Let Us Meet, Joo Oh | Nominated | ||
| 2018 | 6th APAN Star Awards | Excellence Award, Actress in a Serial Drama | Goodbye to Goodbye | Won | |
| 2nd The Seoul Awards | Best New Actress (Drama) | Won | |||
| MBC Drama Awards | Excellence Award, Actress in a Weekend Drama | Won | |||
| 2019 | SBS Drama Awards | Excellence Award, Actress in a Miniseries | My Strange Hero | Nominated |