All about Yerin Ha, the Korean-Australian actress joining ‘Bridgerton’ as Sophie Baek

There’s news for Bridgerton fans — the mask is finally off. Netflix has announced that Yerin Ha will join the Bridgerton season 4 cast as leading lady Sophie Beckett, or in this case as Sophie Baek.

On 11 September 2024, the streaming behemoth revealed that the Korean-Australian actress will step in as Benedict Bridgerton’s (played by Luke Thompson) love interest, implying she is the new co-lead of the upcoming season.

Announcement videos were posted on the X handles of both Netflix and Bridgerton. It showed Ha walking towards a rack of clothes in a soft pink dress and silver heels. She is seen browsing through a pair of silver gloves before turning towards the camera.

While the streaming platform captioned it, “Your Sophie has finally arrived. Please welcome Yerin Ha to Bridgerton Season 4!”, the Bridgerton handle said, “Dearest Gentle Reader, as preparations for the next social season are almost underway, we request a warm welcome to the newest member of the Ton….Presenting Yerin Ha as Sophie in Bridgerton Season 4!”

Your Sophie has finally arrived. Please welcome Yerin Ha to Bridgerton Season 4! pic.twitter.com/sHZMZIPhTD

— Netflix (@netflix) September 11, 2024

Who is Sophie and why is the character’s name changed?

To Benedict Bridgerton, she is the ‘Lady in Silver’. She is prey to tragic events and has to overcome many hurdles — “Sophie has been forced to spend much of her life working for the most demanding employer in the ton,” states Tudum. With an indomitable spirit, she always comes up with a solution to overcome her situation.

However, Sophie’s life changes completely when she disguises herself and attends Violet Bridgerton’s (played by Ruth Gemmell) masquerade ball and meets Benedict. Putting on and off the mask and dancing all through the night leads to a love story between her and the second-eldest Bridgerton brother that shall become the focus of season 4.

Although Julia Quinn’s novel series names her Sophie Beckett, showrunner Jess Brownell changed her name to Sophie Baek in the television adaptation in line with Ha’s Korean roots. This is similar to how writers changed Kate Sheffield’s surname to Sharma to reflect her Indian heritage. In fact, Brownell worked with Ha for Korean surnames beginning with B, settling for Baek finally.

Speaking to Tudum, Ha said, “A name is the first bit of identity that you share with the world, and that’s why changing a name can be so powerful. To make Sophie’s name fit someone who looks like me is really empowering.”

Things to know about Yerin Ha

She comes from a family of actors

Yerin Ha is an Australian actress with Korean heritage. Her family is involved in acting as well. Her grandmother is the famous Korean actor Son Sook and her parents met in acting school. She grew up in Sydney but auditioned for acting school in South Korea at 15.

Yerin Ha’s movies and TV shows

She is well-known for portraying Kwan Ha in the Steven Spielberg-produced Halo (2022-2024) for two seasons. She will also feature in the upcoming prequel series Dune: Prophecy as Young Kasha. Ha was also a part of the Sydney Theatre Company’s Lord of the Flies production.

Her other onscreen appearances include Bad Behaviour (2023), Sissy (2022), Troppo (2022) and Reef Break (2019).

This is the first time she will enter the Bridgerton universe, a move in line with the show’s diverse casting.

She is vocal about Asian representation in Western productions

Ha has always used her position to support proper Asian representation in pop culture. Speaking to The Gamer in 2022, while promoting Halo, she said, “I’ve never really gotten briefs for characters like Kwan, to be honest with you.”

“The industry is really changing. It really started with Crazy Rich Asians, and I’m going to bring it back there because I feel like that really shook Hollywood up. But to see such a young, powerful Korean woman, just unapologetically speak her voice, speak her mind, try to do whatever it takes to get what she wants, but also trying to do it for the greater good for the people, understanding what sacrifices, understanding what a legacy is.”

Previously in 2019, she told Australian Vogue, “Hopefully there’s a time where we can actually see [people of multiple backgrounds] playing the girlfriend, the romantic lead, but in my opinion, audiences are still not used to seeing that amount of diversity on screen or stage.” A year later, Bridgerton premiered and gained immense love for its diverse cast.

Yerin Ha’s birthday, age and star sign

According to IMDb, Yerin Ha was born on 26 June 1995 and her star sign is Cancer.

(Hero image: Courtesy Netflix; Feature image: Courtesy Nick Walters, via Netflix)