Actress Cecilia Kim was born in Seoul, South Korea, to Elizabeth, a preschool teacher, and Andrew Kim, a restaurateur. She has one brother, Han, and one sister, Agnes. She was attending Brookwood High School in Atlanta, Georgia when she was discovered by CESD and Abrams agents at a talent showcase in Charleston, South Carolina at the age of 16.After much success as a model in Atlanta in the early 2000s, Kim moved to New York City in 2007 to pursue acting and attend New York University's Tisch School of the Arts. She received her B.F.A. in Drama in 2016 after a four-year hiatus acting and modeling in Los Angeles.Kim made her feature film debut in VW Scheich's independent film, Interwoven, starring Academy Award winner Mo'Nique, which premiered at the Mill Valley Film Festival in San Rafael, CA in 2015. Her performances in independent shorts such as Beautiful Chaos, An Rong Xu's New Romantics, and A Midnight Ride, show her depth and strength as a leading woman.