In 1997, the year she turned 17, she debuted as a model on the stage of the SFAA collection. She had spent two and a half years as a trainee at a modeling academy. In 1998, she became main model in designer Jin Tae-ok’s show. She says she was contacted by an American photographer but missed the chance because her visa came late. In 2000, she entered the film department of the Seoul Institute of the Arts.
In 2005, she published the travel book CmKm with five other people. In 2006, she appeared on Mnet’s I Am a Model and published Style Book. In 2008, she released her first album, Dream, on which she wrote and composed every song. In 2009, she became an MC of MBC’s Music Travel Lalala.
The breakthrough yearIn 2010, the year she turned 30, she appeared in MBC’s Infinite Challenge calendar special as host and mentor, 13 years after her model debut. Mydaily and Sports Donga write that the appearance brought her name recognition and fame. From September that year she hosted OnStyle’s Korea’s Next Top Model.
In 2011, she hosted an MBC Radio morning show as Lee Moon-sae’s successor. In 2012, she began KBS CoolFM’s Jang Yoon-ju’s Rooftop Radio and released her second album, I’m Fine. In 2013, she won the radio DJ award at the KBS Entertainment Awards.
In 2015, she married, and acted for the first time as Miss Bong in the film Veteran, which passed 10 million admissions. In January 2017, she gave birth to her first daughter, and in September she released a mini album, five years after her second. In 2018, she became main MC of Get It Beauty 2018. In 2019, she joined JTBC’s Bangguseok 1-yeol as an MC.
In 2021, she appeared in Three Sisters, her first film in six years, and was nominated for best supporting actress at the Asian Film Awards. In 2022, she played Nairobi in Netflix’s Money Heist: Korea – Joint Economic Area.
In 2024, she appeared in three films, Citizen of a Kind, I, the Executioner and One Win, and in tvN’s Queen of Tears, and took the stage in her first musical, Aicham. In 2025, she played Ga Seon-yeong in ENA’s Ms. Incognito and won the popularity award at the Golden Cinematography Awards. In 2026, she appeared in tvN’s Kill It.
Jang Yoon-ju (born Nov 7, 1980) debuted as a model in 1997, the year she turned 17, at the SFAA collection, and became known on Jun 12, 2010, the year she turned 30, when she appeared in MBC’s Infinite Challenge calendar special. In 2015, the year she turned 35, she began acting with the film Veteran.
Ages are by calendar year (the year minus the birth year), birthdays aside.