Lee Young-ae, one of Korea's top acting stars, is pregnant with her first child, management associates said Friday.

"Lee is currently pregnant", representatives of Storm S Company said, adding that further details would be released later so that the excitement won't distress Lee in her condition.

The 39-year-old actress married a Korean-American in August 2009, in a low key wedding kept away from the prying eyes of the public. The sudden marriage in Hawaii came as a surprise to many of her fans. The only information Lee released about her husband was that he had graduated from an engineering college in Illinois and was working at an IT firm.

Lee first made her debut on Korean TV as a model before moving on to gain popularity in dramas and films. Her role in Dae Jang Geum, or "Jewel in the Palace", led her to reach a new level of hallyu popularity in Southeast Asian countries and Iran.

Her film performances include a role in the 2000 JSA - Joint Security Area and the lead in Park Chan-wook's Sympathy for Lady Vengeance.

Though Lee has kept her acting profile low since 2005, immediately after her wedding she applied to attend the graduate-level drama and film school at Hanyang University. The last time she was spotted in public was with her new husband, to watch a basketball game between the Ulsan Mobis Phoebus and the Jeonju KCC, at the Jamsil Gymnasium in April.