Nam Bora made her acting debut in the 2006 KBS2 sitcom Look Back With a Smile. In 2011, she starred in the hit comedy-drama film Sunny. That same year, she won Best New Actress at the 19th Korea Culture and Entertainment Awards for tvN’s Once Upon a Time in Saengchori and KBS2’s Man of Honor. In 2012, she played the role of Princess Minhwa in the popular MBC sageuk The Moon That Embraces the Sun, which earned her a Best New Actress nomination at the MBC Drama Awards. She then acted alongside Yoo Sun in the 2012 crime-drama film Don’t Cry, Mommy, which gave her Best New Actress nominations at the 49th Baeksang Arts Awards and the 34th Blue Dragon Film Awards. In 2013, she was once again nominated for Best New Actress, this time at the KBS Drama Awards for Shark and an episode of KBS Drama Special titled The Memory in My Old Wallet. In 2014, she received the New Star Award at the SBS Drama Awards for the daily series I Only Want to Love. In 2015, she joined the main cast of the SBS weekend drama Twinkle Twinkle My Heart. In 2017, she portrayed one of the main characters in KBS1’s Lovers in Bloom.

Nam Bora attended Dongduk Women’s University. She is the second eldest of 13 siblings.