Shin is most prominent Korean actress in the 1990s, alongside Shim Eun-ha, Ko So-young and Jeon Do-yeon, whom she starred with on General Hospital.

She gained praise for her impassioned portrayals of ruthless and ambitious women in the 2010 melodrama Flames of Desire and the 2014 revenge thriller The Plan.

[citation needed] On 22 September 2003, Shin married Kim Jung-soo, who was then the CEO of her talent agency Good Player Entertainment.

[12] On 24 August 2007, Shin filed for divorce when she learned that Kim had used her private seal without her permission to misappropriate ₩400 million (US$424,800) for his business after its merger with Fantom Entertainment and the box office failure of several films he'd produced.

[12][15][16] Shin later spoke candidly that she regretted having undergone the procedure for pure cosmetic purposes, saying the public should be better informed about the pain and danger associated with the invasive surgery.