Lee Hye-ri

Lee Hye-ri
Hyeri in a pink dress at 2022 KBS Drama Awards
Born (1994-06-09) June 9, 1994 (age 29)
Gwangju, Gyeonggi, South Korea
EducationKonkuk University
Occupations
  • Actress
  • singer
Years active2010–present
AgentCreative Group ING
AwardsFull list
Musical career
GenresK-pop
Instrument(s)Vocals
LabelsDream T
Member ofGirl's Day
Korean name
Hangul
Hanja
Revised RomanizationI Hye-ri
McCune–ReischauerI Hyeri

Lee Hye-ri (Korean이혜리; born June 9, 1994), better known mononymously as Hyeri, is a South Korean actress, singer, and television personality. She rose to fame as the youngest member of girl group Girl's Day, and was named as the "Nation's Little Sister" by the South Korean media due to her immense popularity after appearing as a fixed cast member on Real Men (2014).

She later became known for her award-winning performance as the female lead in Reply 1988 (2015), which was the highest-rated drama in Korean cable television history at the time. After back-to-back success in variety and the small screen, Hyeri ranked third in Forbes Korea Power Celebrity list in 2016 and became one of the highest-paid commercial models in South Korea.

Hyeri was a regular cast member on Amazing Saturday (2018–2020). After leaving the show to focus on her acting career, Hyeri starred in the popular iQiyi series My Roommate Is a Gumiho (2021).

Early life and education

Hyeri was born in Gwangju, Gyeonggi, South Korea. She has a sister, Hye-rim, who is two years younger. Hyeri grew up in poverty, staying with her grandmother in the countryside while her mother was working in a factory.

When she was in middle school, Hyeri was scouted by Dream T Entertainment at a talent show and consequently joined Girl's Day with little prior training. She later attended Seoul School of Performing Arts, and then majored in Film at Konkuk University.

Career

2010–present: Girl's Day

In September 2010, Hyeri was announced as a new member of Girl's Day alongside Yura when Jiin and Jisun left the group, just two months after the group debuted. The revamped group released a single titled "Nothing Lasts Forever", and went on to become one of the most popular and commercially successful musical quartets of its era.

At a promotional concert for Lotte Gimhae Water Park, July 2014

In January 2014, Hyeri fainted on stage during a Girl's Day live performance and had to be carried off-stage by M Countdown staff. She was later diagnosed with swine flu.

After her exclusive contract with Dream T Entertainment ended in 2019, Hyeri joined a newly set-up agency Creative Group ING. Although all four members joined separate agencies, they have stated that the group has not disbanded.

2012–2014: Acting debut and rising popularity

In 2012, Hyeri made her acting debut in the SBS weekend drama Tasty Life, where she played the youngest in a family of four daughters.

After her 4-day long appearance on Real Men in August 2014, a brief clip of her showing aegyo at her instructor went viral in South Korea, reaching one million views in a day, an unprecedented feat at the time. She consequently shot to stardom overnight, and later won Best Female Newcomer award at the MBC Entertainment Awards for her Real Men appearance.

In November 2014, Hyeri was cast as one of the main characters in teen drama Schoolgirl Detectives, which began airing on cable channel JTBC in December. In late 2014, she was also cast in the mystery rom-com drama Hyde, Jekyll, Me, which began airing on SBS in January 2015.

Performing at Andong National University Festival, September 2016

2015–present: Leading roles

In 2015, Hyeri was cast as the lead of the tvN drama Reply 1988. The drama premiered in November and went on to become a commercial success with audience ratings peaking at 18.8%, making it one of the highest rated dramas in Korean cable television history. Hyeri received critical and audience acclaim for her award-winning portrayal of the female protagonist. In the show, Hyeri's character was the Madagascar picket girl at the 1988 Summer Olympics Opening Ceremony. Due to the series' status as a cultural phenomenon, the actress was chosen by the Madagascar delegation to become its official flag bearer at the 2018 Winter Olympics Opening Ceremony. However, due to her busy schedule, Hyeri declined the offer.

In 2016, Hyeri was cast as the lead in the SBS drama Entertainer along with actor Ji Sung and CNBLUE member Kang Min-hyuk, which began airing on April 20 and for which she won "New Star Award" at 2016 SBS Drama Awards. In 2017, she also starred in the police comedy drama Two Cops alongside Jo Jung-suk and Kim Seon-ho.

In 2017, it was announced that Hyeri would be making her big screen debut as the female lead in Monstrum; filming began in April. Monstrum premiered in September, 2018. In 2018, Hyeri was cast in My Punch-Drunk Boxer, a boxing comedy drama film. The film premiered at 20th Jeonju International Film Festival in September, 2019; its general release followed in October, 2019. In 2019, Hyeri also starred in tvN's office comedy drama Miss Lee.

Besides acting, Hyeri frequently guests on variety shows. She has been described as a "blue chip" in the entertainment industry due to her "frank and easy-going charms, bright energy and flexible chemistry with other cast members". Since 2018, Hyeri had been a regular cast member of DoReMi Market, a weekly television program airing on tvN. In late 2020, she left the show to focus on her acting career.

In 2021, Hyeri starred in tvN's fantasy-romance drama My Roommate Is a Gumiho alongside Jang Ki-yong, produced by iQIYI. The series was a commercial success, amassing more than 100 million views on the online video platform and becoming its most-watched original drama series of the year. Later that year, Hyeri starred in KBS2's historical drama Moonshine alongside Yoo Seung-ho.

In 2022, Hyeri starred in the television series May I Help You?.

Philanthropy

Hyeri was appointed as the ambassador for 'Free Semester Program' by the Ministry of Education in September 2016. In February 2017, Hyeri was appointed as one of the ambassadors for the Count Every Child birth registration campaign as part of her NGO partnership with Plan Korea. In 2018, Hyeri participated in a Plan Korea fundraiser for children born without birth registration and wrote a letter to fans asking for potential donors.

At 25 years old, Hyeri became the youngest member of UNICEF's Honors Club, having donated more than ₩100 million "to run educational programs for underprivileged children and AIDS-prevention campaigns in underdeveloped nations in Asia". A membership ceremony took place on July 26, 2019.

Throughout her career, Hyeri has donated to a wide variety of causes, ranging from public health to disaster management. On the Lunar New Year of 2016, Hyeri donated ₩50 million to Community Chest of Korea towards improving elderly welfare. Later that year, she donated ₩50 million to Korea Disaster Relief Organisation for the victims of the Seomun Market fire. In February 2020, Hyeri donated ₩100 million to Save the Children to help those affected by COVID-19.

In 2022, Hyeri donated ₩50 million to the Hope Bridge Disaster Relief Association to help the victims of the massive wildfire that started in Uljin, Gyeongbuk and has spread to Samcheok, Gangwon. That same year, Hyeri donated ₩50 million to the Save the Children emergency relief in order to help Ukrainian victims during the Russian invasion, stating that she "wants to give a little help to the suffering children who are powerless in times of war" and that she hopes "a world without war and fear will come one day".

In 2023, Hyeri donated 50 million won to help 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquake, by donating money through UNICEF's emergency relief program to help children affected by earthquakes in Turkey and Syria.

In the media

At Reply 1988 fan signing event in Ssangmun-dong, February 2016

Endorsements

The success of Reply 1988 combined with Hyeri's status as an icon of aegyo led to her becoming one of the most in-demand advertising models in South Korea. By the start of 2016, she had shot over 30 advertisements for brands such as Puma, Lotte Confectionery's Ghana, Bohae, Amore Pacific's Happy Bath, and was consequently given the title of "₩10 billion girl (ko: 100억 소녀)" by the South Korean media.

Following her appointment as the model for Albamon (ko: 알바몬), a part-time job recruiting site, Hyeri was awarded with the plaque of appreciation by the Ministry of Employment and Labour for "promoting minimum wage awareness and compliance" in March 2015. In January 2017, Albamon received "Consumer Choice Best Brand Award" for "its efforts to improve the rights of the public by providing high quality part-time job announcements" after an ad featuring Hyeri and Im Chang-jung reached over 10 million views in just a month after its release.

The sales of products such as 7-Eleven lunch boxes and Nongshim ramen increased by 78% and 50% respectively after Hyeri's endorsement. Similarly, the page views of Dabang (ko: 다방), a real estate mobile app that Hyeri has endorsed since 2015, grew from 5 million to 15 million, and weekly active users increased from 600,000 to 1.5 million after a new ad featuring Hyeri as Harley Quinn was released in 2017. In July 2017, she received the Female Commercial Film Star Award at MTN Broadcast Advertising Awards Festival.

Social media

In July 2019, Hyeri unveiled her personal YouTube channel, where she began posting vlogs, mukbangs, and behind the scenes footage from filming sets. A month later, she received The Silver Creator Award for surpassing 100,000 subscribers. In 2020, she was awarded the "Celebrity YouTuber of the Year" prize at the Brand of the Year Awards.

In March 2020, Hyeri criticised Nth room-related cybersex trafficking on her Instagram account and urged her followers to sign a petition to reveal the identities of the perpetrators, stating that she hopes that "they face harsher punishment for what they did".

Personal life

Hyeri was in a relationship with actor and former co-star Ryu Jun-yeol. The two met on the set of Reply 1988, where they played each other's love interest, and began dating in late 2016. On November 13, 2023, the couple announced their break-up after 7 years of dating.

In March 2016, Hyeri was hospitalised after being diagnosed with meningitis due to busy schedules and lack of rest.

Discography

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Ref.
2018 Monstrum Myung
2019 My Punch-Drunk Boxer Minji
TBA Victory Pil-seon

Television series

Year Title Role Notes Ref.
2012 Tasty Life Jang Mi-hyun
2014–2015 Schoolgirl Detectives Lee Ye-hee
2015 Hyde Jekyll, Me Min Woo-jung
2015–2016 Reply 1988 Sung Duk-seon / Sung Soo-yeon
2016 Entertainer Jung Geu-rin
2017–2018 Two Cops Song Ji-an
2019 Miss Lee Lee Seon-shim
2020 Record of Youth Lee Hae-ji Cameo (Ep.13)
2021 My Roommate Is a Gumiho Lee Dam
2021–2022 Moonshine Kang Ro-seo
2022 May I Help You? Baek Dong-ju

Television shows

Year Title Role Notes Ref.
2014 Real Men Cast member Women's Army Special (Season 1)
2018–2020 Amazing Saturday
2023 HMLYCP
TBA Agents of Mystery

Hosting

Year Title Notes Ref.
2011 The Show With BAP's Himchan (Season 1)
2014 MBC Gayo Daejejeon With Kim Sung-joo, Jun Hyun-moo, Soyou (Sistar), Lee Yoo-ri
2014–2015 The Show With T-ara's Jiyeon, Jung Wook (Season 3) and Super Junior-M's Zhou Mi (Season 4)
2015 4th Gaon Chart Music Awards With Leeteuk (Super Junior)
2016 Idol Star Athletics Championships With Jun Hyun-moo, Lee Soo-geun (Chuseok Special), Jo Kwon (Lunar New Year Special)
15th KBS Entertainment Awards With Lee Hwi-jae and You Hee-yeol
2018 2018 MBC Entertainment Awards With Jun Hyun-moo, Seungri
2022 2022 KBS Drama Awards With Jun Hyun-moo and Jung Yong-hwa

Awards and nominations

Name of the award ceremony, year presented, category, nominee of the award, and the result of the nomination
Award ceremony Year Category Nominee / Work Result Ref.
APAN Star Awards 2016 Best New Actress Reply 1988 Won
Asia Artist Awards 2016 Most Popular Actress Nominated
2020 Miss Lee Nominated
2021 Female Actress Popularity Award Lee Hye-ri Nominated
Baeksang Arts Awards 2016 Best New Actress – Television Reply 1988 Nominated
Brand of the Year Awards 2019 Female Variety Idol Lee Hye-ri Won
2020 Celebrity YouTuber of The Year Won
2021 Rising Star Actress Won
2022 Won
Daum Awards 2015 Rising Idol Actress Won
DramaFever Awards 2016 Best Kiss Lee Hye-ri (with Park Bo-gum)
Reply 1988
Won
KBS Drama Awards 2022 Excellence Award, Actress in a Miniseries Moonshine Won
Popularity Award, Actress Nominated
Korea Drama Awards 2016 Best New Actress Reply 1988 Nominated
Korea First Brand Awards 2018 Female Idol Variety Star Lee Hye-ri Won
Korean Wave Awards 2016 Acting Award Reply 1988 Won
MBC Drama Awards 2017 Top Excellence Award, Actress in a Monday-Tuesday Drama Two Cops Nominated
Most Popular Actress Nominated
2022 Excellence Award, Actress in a Miniseries May I Help You? Won
Best Couple Award Lee Hye-ri (with Lee Jun-young)
May I Help You?
Nominated
MBC Entertainment Awards 2014 Best Female Newcomer Real Men: Female Special Won
MTN Broadcast Advertising Awards 2017 Female Commercial Film Star Award Lee Hye-ri Won
OBS Hot Icon Awards 2014 OBS 2014 Hot Icon Lee Hye-ri Won
SBS Drama Awards 2016 New Star Award Entertainer Won
Top Excellence Award, Actress in a Romantic-Comedy Drama Nominated
Style Icon Asia 2016 Idol Actress Award Lee Hye-ri Won
Style Icon Nominated
The Seoul Awards 2018 Most Popular Actress Monstrum Nominated
tvN10 Awards 2016 Made in tvN, Actress in Drama Reply 1988 Nominated
Rising Star Award, actress Won
Best Kiss Lee Hye-ri (with Park Bo-gum)
Reply 1988
Nominated

Listicles

Name of publisher, year listed, name of listicle, and placement
Publisher Year Listicle Placement Ref.
Forbes 2016 Korea Power Celebrity 3rd

This page was last updated at 2023-12-12 09:16 UTC. Update now. View original page.

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