Kim Young-ae began her acting career when she joined MBC's 3rd Open Recruitment in 1971. She made her acting debut in the TV police procedural Chief Inspector and subsequently built a prolific career in film and television.

After she made her film debut in 1973's Long Live the Island Frogs, Kim became most active on the big screen in the 1970s and early 1980s, appearing in films such as Wang Sib Ri, My Hometown (also known as Wangsimni or A Bygone Romance, 1976), Suddenly at Midnight (1981), and Diary of King Yeonsan (1987).