Biography
Daniel Henney was born inΒ Carson City, Michigan, to a Korean adoptee motherΒ and Philip Henney, his American father of Irish descent.Β Daniel Henney started modeling in the U.S. in 2001 and worked inΒ France,Β Italy,Β Hong KongΒ andΒ TaiwanΒ while attending college. After his debut inΒ South KoreaΒ with an advertisement for theΒ Amore Pacific's cosmetic "Odyssey Sunrise", he became a spokesperson for commercials withΒ Jun Ji-hyunΒ forΒ OlympusΒ cameras andΒ Kim Tae-heeΒ for Daewoo Electronics's Klasse air conditioners. Despite speaking noΒ Korean,Β Henney became a household name through the South Korean hit TV drama,Β My Lovely Sam Soon, aka My Name is Kim Sam Soon. He played the role of Dr. Henry Kim, a surgeon who is devotedly in love with Hee-jin (played byΒ Jung Ryeo-won). Sam Soon was the most popular Korean drama in 2005; although Henney was starring as the supporting actor, his performance and look was widely noticed. Henney then starred in another drama βSpring Waltzβ in 2006. He later learned the language and appeared on a few variety shows, such asΒ Family Outing.Β Henney was a part of an academic scandal in which many sources stated that he had an Economics degree from the University of Illinois atΒ Chicago, while in actuality he had no college degree. Henney starred in his first feature film in Korea, "Seducing Mr. Perfect." His second film, "My Father," won multiple awards in South Korea and was actually the first time in that country's history that a foreigner swept all the major cinema awards in the Best New Actor category. In 2009, he portrayedΒ Agent ZeroΒ in the filmΒ X-Men Origins: Wolverine. In the fall season of 2009, he played "Dr. David Lee" in theΒ CBSΒ television dramaΒ Three Rivers. In 2010, Henney returned toΒ South KoreaΒ television forΒ KBS2'sΒ The Fugitive: Plan B, alongsideΒ RainΒ and actressΒ Lee Na-young. Henney is signed withΒ DNA ModelsΒ in New York under the celebrity-division.