Kim Hee-ae was born in Jeju Island, and her family later moved to Seoul.

Kim was a freshman at Hyehwa Girls' High School when she was discovered by the younger sister of one of her teachers; she had been visiting the school by chance and worked for an advertising agency. This led to her first modeling job in a commercial for a school uniform brand in 1982. This was actually her debut activity.

In 1983, Kim made her acting debut in the film The First Day of the Twentieth Year. While studying at Chung-Ang University as a Theater and Film major, she appeared in her first television drama on KBS in 1986. Over the next decade, she would go on to have a successful career on Korean television, alongside fellow top actresses Chae Shi-ra and Choi Jin-sil. Among her most significant dramas during this period were Beyond the Mountains (1991) and Sons and Daughters (1992), for which she won the highest award at the MBC Drama Awards and the Baeksang Arts Awards, called the Daesang ("Grand Prize").

She again drew praise in 2003 for two consecutive hit dramas. In Wife, her husband vanishes and reappears years later as an amnesiac with another family, while in Perfect Love (written by Kim Soo-hyun), her role as the perfect wife and mother who gets diagnosed with a terminal illness earned her another Daesang from the Baeksang Arts Awards.^[3][4] She worked again with Kim a year later in Precious Family (also known as Letters to My Parents), playing a woman who marries into a rich family who treats her badly after she gives birth to a baby with autism.^[5] Kim next starred in the melodrama Snow Flower.^[6]

Her third collaboration with Kim Soo-hyun was 2007's My Husband's Woman, but unlike her previous saintly characters, this time she was cast against type as a sexy, worldly woman having an affair with her best friend's husband.^[7][8] The adultery drama was a hit with a peak viewership rating of 38.7%, and Kim yet again won the Daesang at the Korea Drama Awards and the SBS Drama Awards.^[9]

Afterwards, Kim went on a brief hiatus, during which she continued to appear in commercials and magazines, gaining a reputation as a style icon for Korean middle-aged women (called "ajumma") by inspiring them to wear younger and edgier clothes.^[10] Kim returned to acting four years later with Midas, in the role of a wealthy chaebol heiress who fosters greed and ambition in a young lawyer.^[11] She then won Best Actress at the Baeksang Arts Awards for her portrayal of a housewife increasingly stifled by her husband's obsession with status who finds herself falling for her son's dentist in How Long I've Kissed, one of the inaugural dramas in 2012 of new cable channel jTBC.^[12][13]

2013 marked Kim's first regular appearance in a reality show with Sisters Over Flowers, in which she, Youn Yuh-jung, Kim Ja-ok, Lee Mi-yeon and Lee Seung-gi go on a backpacker tourism trip around Croatia and Turkey.^[14][15][16]

In 2014, Kim returned to the big screen after a 21-year absence in Thread of Lies, a film adaptation of Kim Ryeo-ryeong's novel Elegant Lies about teen bullying which leads to a young girl's suicide.^[17] Kim said she accepted the project because the script was "faultless" and she felt empathy for the characters,^[18][19] and one review described her performance as "excellent as the grieving mother [...] understated but somehow believable, touching and honest."^[20]

Shortly after, Kim reunited with the writer and director of How Long I've Kissed in Secret Affair, about an art foundation director who embarks on a passionate affair with a poor but talented pianist 20 years her junior.^[21][22]

She next played the muse of real-life folk music group Twin Folio in the 2015 film C'est Si Bon, named after a music lounge located in Myeong-dong which was famous in the 1970s and 1980s for its live performances.^[23] She returned to the small screen with the police procedural drama Mrs. Cop, playing a violent crime detective who struggles to become a good mother.^[24][25]

In 2016, Kim signed with YG Entertainment.^[26] The same year, she starred in the family melodrama Second to Last Love.^[27]

Kim then returned to the big screen, starring in the psychological thriller The Vanished.^[28][29]

Kim starred as Moon Jung-sook in the 2018 drama film Herstory, based on the real story of comfort women. It also featured Kim Hae-sook, Ye Soo-jung, Moon Sook, and Lee Yong-nyeo as her costars.^[30][31] For her powerful performance in Herstory, Kim Hee-ae received several accolades, including the Best Actress award at the 27th Buil Film Awards, the Actress of the Year at the 6th Marie Claire Asia Star Awards, and Best Actress at the 2nd Korea China International Film Festival.

In 2019 Kim starred in Lim Dae-hyung's film Moonlit Winter. She played Yoon-hee, a divorced mother whose hidden past resurfaces when her daughter, Sae-bom, finds an old love letter from Jun, a friend from her high school days in Japan. Sae-bom, secretly arranged a trip to Otaru, hoping she'd reconnect with Jun. The film won Best Director and Best Screenplay for Lim Dae-hyung at the 41st Blue Dragon Film Awards, and Kim was honored with Best Actress at the 7th Korean Film Producers Association Awards.^[32]

In 2020, Kim starred in the JTBC drama The World of the Married, an adaptation of the BBC One series Doctor Foster. In the series, Kim Hee-ae portrayed Ji Sun-woo, a successful doctor whose seemingly perfect life unravels after she discovers her husband's affair, leading to a complex and intense narrative of betrayal and revenge. Her powerful performance as Ji Sun-woo garnered significant critical praise, and for this role, she won the Best Actress award at the 56th Baeksang Arts Awards and Grand Prize in APAN Star Awards.^[33]

Kim features in the 2023 film A Normal Family, directed by Hur Jin-ho and also starring Sul Kyung-gu, Jang Dong-gun, and Claudia Kim. Based on Herman Koch's novel The Dinner, the suspenseful drama centers on two wealthy families who convene over dinner to decide how to handle a violent crime committed by their children. Kim portrays Yeon-kyung, a mother grappling with the moral dilemma. The film has gained international recognition, being invited to numerous prestigious festivals including the Gala Presentation section of the 48th Toronto International Film Festival in September 2023,^[34] and has also been screened at the Udine Far East Film Festival, London Korean Film Festival,^[35] and Palm Springs International Film Festival, among others.^[36]

Kim returns to small screen with two Netflix political dramas: Queenmaker and The Whirlwind. In the 2023 Netflix series Queenmaker, she portrayed Hwang Do-hee, a brilliant image-maker who leaves her corporate role to help human rights lawyer Oh Kyung-sook (Moon So-ri) become the mayor of Seoul, navigating the cutthroat world of political campaigns.^[37][38] She then reunited with veteran actor Sul Kyung-gu in the 2024 Netflix political thriller The Whirlwind. In the series Kim Hee-ae plays Jeong Su-jin, the Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs, who finds herself in a fierce political clash with Prime Minister Park Dong-ho (Sul Kyung-gu) after he attempts to assassinate a corrupt president. The series delves into intense power struggles and the dark side of politics, showcasing a compelling dynamic between the two lead characters.^[39]

Kim starred as the astute political consultant Shim Yeo-sa in the 2024 Ha Joon-won's crime thriller film Dead Man. The film follows Lee Man-jae (Cho Jin-woong), falsely imprisoned as a "dead man" for embezzlement, who seeks to reclaim his identity upon his return. Shim Yeo-sa approaches him with a cryptic offer. Kim's portrayal of the powerful and manipulative figure has been highly praised, with director Bong Joon-ho specifically commending her charisma and sharp eyes in the role.^[40]

In March 2025, Kim left YG Entertainment and signed with new agency KeyEast.^[41]

Kim married Lee Chan-jin [ko], CEO of the web portal DreamWiz, in 1996.^[8] They have two sons.^{[citation needed]}

Kim is a Roman Catholic and was one of 50 Catholic celebrities who appeared in the 2014 music video for the digital single "Koinonia" to commemorate Pope Francis' visit to South Korea, the first time in 19 years that the pope visited Asia. Her baptismal name is Maria.^{[42][43][44][45]}