Uhm is considered to be one of the most influential women in the Korean entertainment industry, finding success in both music and film. Uhm began her career in as a chorus member for the broadcasting company MBC. Though both releases found limited audiences, the album's lead single, "Pupil", helped to establish a sensual image for Uhm.
Subsequent releases Invitation and Starting in , Uhm began to concentrate efforts on her acting career. Her performance in the erotic comedy Marriage Is a Crazy Thing won Best Actress at the 39th Baeksang Arts Awards , a category she received another nomination for in with Princess Aurora and won again in with Dancing Queen.
Her s musical output saw declining commercial reception but greater appeal with critics. In , she experienced a commercial resurgence with the single "D. Following a nearly decade-long hiatus from music, she released her tenth studio album The Cloud Dream of the Nine in She is the second child of Yoo Gyeong-sook and Uhm Jin-ok, a music teacher who died in a motorcycle accident when she was six.
Her younger and only brother Uhm Tae-woong is an actor. Following their father's death, their family struggled financially.
Uhm Jung-hwa officially debuted as a singer in with her first studio album Sorrowful Secret. Uhm's fourth studio album, Invitation , introduced a new mature side of the singer.
