Sandra Oh - Biography

Early life

Sandra Miju Oh was born in Nepean, Ontario on July 20, 1971 to Korean immigrants - a businessman father, Oh Jun-su (John) and biochemist mum, Oh Young-nam. Sandra entered the world of performing arts when she started ballet classes at age four, and by the time she was ten, the bilingual scene stealer was taking drama courses and participating in school productions.

Early career

At 16, her acting career took a professional turn when she landed some TV commercials. But her breakthrough role came when she was cast in a 1989 short film entitled The Journey Home. Despite her parents' reluctance for her to try to make it as an actress, Sandra was determined to make her dreams a reality, and in 1991 moved to Montreal to study at the prestigious National Theatre School of Canada.

Sandra's determination led to he parents eventually coming round to her idea and supporting her aspirations, and in 1993, not long after Sandra graduated, her older sister Grace persuaded her to try out for a TV production about the struggles of young poet Evelyn Lau. Sandra beat over 1,000 other hopefuls to the lead.

Her performance earned her a best actress Gemini nod and the Cannes FIPA d'Or best actress award, launching her name as a star in the making. Just a year later, the starlet won her first Genie for her stellar portrayal of a young Chinese-Canadian woman caught between being a dutiful daughter and the desire to follow her dreams in Mina Shum's bittersweet movie Double Happiness.

Hollywood success

Despite her success in Canadian film and TV, in 1996 the ambitious star decided LA was the only place to pursue bigger projects. It proved to be the right move for Sandra, who immediately landed a seven-season stint in comedy series Arliss. From there she went on to star in Six Feet Under and won herself a recurring role as a detective in TV drama Judging Amy. In 1997, while still working on Arliss, she made the leap to the silver screen, appearing alongside Rowan Atkinson and Burt Reynolds in Bean. She also had a small part in Waking The Dead with Jennifer Connelly and Ed Harris, before starring with Darryl Hannah in 2000's Dancing At The Blue Iguana.

Sandra's international profile was raised further when, in March 2005, she landed the role of the ambitious surgical intern Dr Cristina Yang in TV medical drama Grey's Anatomy. The part earned her a best supporting actress Golden Globe in 2006; a glittering acknowledgment of success which she could share with her mother and father. She went on to star in this show until its tenth season.

Since Grey's Anatomy, Sandra's star power has only continued to grow. In 2018 she debuted as the eponemous Eve in the BBC's hugely popular Killing Eve alongside Jodie Comer. Meanwhile on the silver screen, she has had starring roles in films including Meditation Park, Raya and the Last Dragon and Pixar's Turning Red. In 2021 she starred in the main role of Netflix's The Chair, and in 2022 she starred in the Korean supernatural horror film Umma.