2001–2005: Career beginnings Before Song debuted as an actress, she was a model for Kiki Magazine. She chose "Song Ji-hyo" as her stage name because she was inspired by the two famous actors
Song Seung-heon and
Song Hye-kyo, both main protagonists of
Autumn in My Heart. Song then appeared in the music videos of
Lee Soo-young's "And I Love You" and
JTL's "Just Say Goodbye". She also made a
cameo appearance in the television series
Age of Innocence. Song made her feature film debut in
Wishing Stairs (2003), the third installment of the horror
Whispering Corridors film series, after beating out 3000 actors in an audition. Then she was nominated for the Best New Actress at the 24th
Blue Dragon Film Awards for her performance in the film. She starred in the crime thriller
Some (2004), where she played a reporter.
2006–2009: Rising popularity Song made her television debut in the romantic comedy,
Princess Hours (2006), where she played a
ballet dancer who dreams to be a
ballerina. The series became hit across Asia, contributing to the
Korean Wave. In the same year, she played the role of
Lady Ye So-ya, the first wife of
Jumong and the mother of
King Yuri in the historical television series
Jumong (2006). The series was a commercial hit, receiving the highest viewership ratings of all the Korean dramas that aired in 2006. Song experienced a rise in popularity and was nominated for Best New Actress in the TV category at the 43rd
Baeksang Arts Awards for her performance. The following year, Song starred as a swimming champion who has a painful past in the comedy film
Sex Is Zero 2 (2007), the
sequel to
Sex Is Zero (2002) opposite
Im Chang-jung. She also co-hosted
SBS' music show
Inkigayo, with
Heechul of
Super Junior from November 11, 2007, to May 4, 2008. Song then portrayed the role of Queen in
Yoo Ha's film
A Frozen Flower (2008), alongside
Zo In-sung and
Joo Jin-mo. The film became one of the highest-grossing films of 2008, and led to increased recognition for Song. She later commented about the film and her nude scenes, "When I decided to do this film, nudity was not the central issue. How much I expose is not important to me; I thought without that scene, it would be difficult to portray the subtle changes in emotion. What mattered to me at the time was working on my facial expressions apart from the posture that the director wanted me to convey".
2010–present: International recognition Song has been a member of the urban action variety show
Running Man since 2010. She was requested to join by PD Kim Joo-hyung or also known as Myeok PD, whom she worked with while hosting
Inkigayo. She appeared in the show as a guest from episode 2 to episode 5 then became a regular member in episode 6. '' press conference in 2011 After her contract ended with
Namoo Actors, Song signed with
C-JeS Entertainment in early 2011 and appeared in
Choo Chang-min's film
Late Blossom (2011). The film is based on the comic
I Love You by web cartoonist
Kang Full. She reunited with
Jumong co-star
Song Il-gook in the police procedural television series
Detectives in Trouble (2011) where she played a role as a reporter. Later in the year, she starred in the historical television series
Gyebaek (2011) as the Queen of
King Uija. In November, she was appointed as promotional ambassador for the Ministry of Education along with label-mates
JYJ. Song then co-starred alongside
Kim Jae-joong of
JYJ in the action comedy
Code Name: Jackal (2012) where she played a clumsy assassin. The following year, Song participated in dubbing for the animated film
Maritime Police Marco (2013) alongside fellow
Running Man cast
Lee Kwang-soo, and played a detective in
Park Hoon-jung's crime film
New World (2013). She also starred opposite
Lee Dong-wook as a royal nurse in the historical television series
The Fugitive of Joseon (2013). Song took on the leading role in the medical romantic comedy television series
Emergency Couple (2014) co-starring
Choi Jin-hyuk, playing a divorced medical intern who encounters her ex-husband of an ugly divorce at an emergency room. Song also collaborated with
NBA in a collaboration titled "NBA X Song Ji Hyo", which she released her own cap series called "CHO.2". In 2015, Song starred in the romantic comedy series ''
Ex-Girlfriends' Club'' opposite
Byun Yo-han as a film producer. She also featured and appeared in Taiwanese singer and actor
Kenji Wu's music video "You Are So Cute". In 2016, Song was cast alongside Taiwanese actor
Chen Bolin in the reality variety show
We Are In Love, the Chinese version of
We Got Married. Song then starred in two Chinese films, the romantic drama
708090 opposite
Kenji Wu and the action comedy
Super Express. She then made her small-screen comeback, starring in the remake of a Japanese television series
Listen to Love co-starring
Lee Sun-kyun. In December, Song signed with the management agency, My Company, after ending her contract with C-JeS Entertainment. In 2017, Song co-hosted the beauty program ''
Song Ji-hyo's Beauty View'' with
Gong Myung. She next starred in the web series
29gram and acted in the one-act drama
Chief B and the Love Letter co-starring
Jo Woo-jin. Song produced and launched her first own reality program
I Am Jyo Unnie in December 2017. In 2018, Song starred in the romantic comedy film
What a Man Wants alongside
Lee Sung-min,
Shin Ha-kyun, and
Lee El. She co-hosted beauty program ''Song Ji Hyo's Beautiful Life
and a reality program Pajama Friends. Song was also cast in the romance horror drama Lovely Horribly'' alongside
Park Si-hoo, which premiered in August. Song then starred in the action thriller film
Unstoppable alongside
Ma Dong-seok. In 2019, Song was cast in the mystery thriller film
Intruder alongside
Kim Mu-yeol. In October, Song signed with Creative Group ING after her contract with My Company ended in September. In November, Song was cast as female lead of
JTBC drama
Was It Love? alongside
Kim Min-jun,
Son Ho-jun,
Song Jong-ho and
Koo Ja-sung, which premiered in July 2020. On February 2, 2021, Song was confirmed as the female lead for
TVING web series ''
The Witch's Diner'' which premiered in 2021. In October 2022, Song signed with Uzurocks Entertainment, she terminated her contract due to a delay in payment in April 2023. On October 13, 2023, Song signed with Nexus E&M. ==Personal life==