Veteran actress Hwang Shin-hye, 63, has opened up about the long-running plastic surgery rumors that have followed her since the start of her career.
During the February 8 episode of TV Chosun’s variety program Heo Young Man’s Food Travel, Hwang joined host Heo Young-man on a food tour in Anyang, Gyeonggi Province. During the outing, Heo praised her timeless beauty, saying, “Isn’t Hwang Shin-hye basically a princess? She looks like a Barbie doll.”
Hwang, known for her striking features and Western-style appearance, responded with humor: “I’ve never heard that kind of description before. I’m a computer,” referencing her old nickname as a “computer-generated beauty.”
Since her debut in 1983, Hwang has been celebrated as a beauty icon. Heo noted, “Your proportions must have been so perfect that people called you a computer-generated beauty. That’s why plastic surgery rumors kept following you.”
Addressing the speculation directly, Hwang said, “I think people had those thoughts because I was considered so pretty. Back then, plastic surgery was not as advanced as it is now,” putting the rumors to rest.
Hwang also shared memories of being mistaken for mixed-race during her youth due to her distinctive looks. “My mom told me that when she carried me on her back, people would turn around for a second look,” she recalled, laughing. She added, “Even my mother-in-law once said, ‘They say there are a lot of Americans in Yeongdeungpo District, but what on earth is going on here?’”
The actress also spoke about the pressures of her early fame, saying, “From a young age, I wondered, ‘Why am I so different?’ Even my mom felt embarrassed when she took me outside because people would stare. I was afraid of boys. Even stepping outside the school gate, not only male students but even girls would crowd around just to look at me.”
Hwang Shin-hye’s personal life has been as eventful as her career. She debuted as part of MBC’s 16th open recruitment class of actors in 1983. In 1987, she married the son of a fashion company executive, though the marriage ended in divorce after nine months. She remarried in 1998 to a businessman three years her junior and had a daughter, Lee Jin-yi, before divorcing again in 2005.
