Lee Min-young (; born June 21, 1991), better known by her

stage name A stage name or professional name is a pseudonym used by performers, authors, and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. The equivalent concept among writers is called a ''nom de plume'' (pen name). Some performers ...

Min, is a South Korean singer, television personality,

songwriter A songwriter is a person who creates musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music genre and film scoring. ...

, and actress. She is best known as a former member of the South Korean

girl group A girl group is a music act featuring two or more women in music, female singers who generally vocal harmony, harmonize together. The term "girl group" is also used in a narrower sense in the United States to denote the wave of American female p ...

Miss A Miss A (; stylized in all caps or miss A) was a South Korean girl group formed by AQ Entertainment, a subsidiary of JYP Entertainment. The group debuted in July 2010 with the single " Bad Girl Good Girl" as a quartet consisting of Fei, Jia, ...

Early life

Min was born in

Seoul Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...

, South Korea on June 21, 1991. At a young age she took part in ''BoBoBo'' (the Korean equivalent of ''

Sesame Street ''Sesame Street'' is an American educational television, educational children's television series that combines live-action, sketch comedy, animation, and puppetry. It is produced by Sesame Workshop (known as the Children's Television Worksh ...

''), as part of the duo called ''Eolleong Ddungddang''. At 13 years old, she and

Girls' Generation Girls' Generation (), also known as SNSD, is a South Korean girl group formed by SM Entertainment. The group is composed of eight members: Taeyeon, Sunny, Tiffany, Hyoyeon, Yuri, Sooyoung, Yoona, and Seohyun. Originally a nine-piec ...

member

Hyoyeon Kim Hyo-yeon (; born September 22, 1989), known professionally as Hyoyeon or DJ Hyo, is a South Korean singer, dancer, and DJ. She debuted as a member of the girl group Girls' Generation in August 2007, which went on to become one of the best-s ...

formed a dance duo called ''Little Winners''. Min auditioned for

JYP Entertainment JYP Entertainment Corporation () is a South Korean Multinational corporation, multinational entertainment and record label Conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in 1997 by Park Jin-young, J. Y. Park. Operating as a record label, talent ...

when she was in the 6th grade. After a year of training, she was sent to the U.S. to prepare for a U.S. debut, and studied at the ''Repertory Company High School for Theatre Arts'' in

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

Career

For Min's U.S. debut,

Park Jin-young Park Jin-young (; born December 13, 1971), also known by his stage names J. Y. Park and The Asiansoul or the initials JYP, is a South Korean singer-songwriter, record producer, record executive, and reality television show judge. Park rose to s ...

teamed up with

Lil Jon Jonathan H. Smith (born January 17, 1971), better known by his stage name Lil Jon, is an American rapper, DJ, and record producer. Regarded as a progenitor of the club-oriented hip-hop subgenre crunk, his production and voice presence were inst ...

in the production of her album. She released three solo singles in 2007 and 2008: ''Dance Like This'', ''Go Ahead'' and ''Boyfriend''.

Miss A

Min marked her official debut in South Korea as part of the four-member girl group Miss A on July 1, 2010 with the release of the single ''

Bad Girl Good Girl "Bad Girl Good Girl" is a song recorded by K-pop girl group Miss A for their debut EP ''Bad But Good''. The song served as the group's debut single (music), single in June 2010. An instant commercial success in South Korea, "Bad Girl Good Girl" ...

'' from their debut EP ''

Bad But Good ''A Class'' is the debut studio album by South Korean-Chinese girl group Miss A. The album was released on July 18, 2011, and contains thirteen songs. It contained six singles, including the award-winning "Bad Girl Good Girl". Background and rele ...

''. It remains their most renowned and successful song to date. In November 2017, it was reported that Min has departed from the group as her contract with JYP Entertainment has come to an end.

Solo activities

After Miss A's formal promotions ended for "Bad Girl Good Girl", Min collaborated with label mate

San E Jung San (; born ), more commonly known by his stage name San E (), is a South Korean rapper. He debuted in 2010 under JYP Entertainment, where he was the label's first solo rapper. He left the company in 2013 to sign with hip hop label Brand New ...

for his debut single " Tasty San". She joined him on his debut stages on various music shows for the month of September. Min was then selected to be a part of the G20 Seoul Summit that was held in November 2010. She was chosen to sing with 20 various idols from

2PM 2PM () is a South Korean boy band formed by JYP Entertainment. The group is composed of six members: Jun. K (formerly known as Junsu), Nichkhun, Taecyeon, Wooyoung, Junho, and Chansung. Originally a seven-piece group, Jaebeom left the band ...

, 2AM,

BEAST Beast most often refers to: * Animal, a multicellular, eukaryotic organism in the biological kingdom Animalia * The Beast (Revelation), one of three beasts described in the Book of Revelation * Monster, a type of creature found in fiction, folklo ...

MBLAQ MBLAQ (, ; an acronym for Music Boys Live in Absolute Quality) is a South Korean boy band created by South Korean singer Rain under J. Tune Camp. The group consists of Seungho, G.O, and Mir, and formerly Lee Joon and Thunder. The group debuted ...

and more for its theme song. The recording was done separately for two days and one day for all the participants to gather for the recording of the chorus. The song, entitled ''Let's Go'', was released through a number of online music charts on October 15, 2010. In October 2010, Min was cast as a fixed member of ''Oh! My School'', a South Korean variety show broadcast by

KBS The Korean Broadcasting System (KBS; ) is the national broadcaster of South Korea. Founded in 1927, it is one of the leading South Korean television and radio broadcasters under the government of South Korea. The KBS operates seven radio net ...

until its end in May 2011. It was during this time that Min was able to showcase her renowned "kkab" dancing and variety skills. On an episode of ''Oh! My School'', Min had confided in her fellow cast members that at one point, she had given up life as a trainee. Disheartened from the recurring delays and uncertainties of her U.S. debut, she had returned to South Korea. Min had cut off contact with her family for one and a half years, during which time she supported herself by teaching dance and English lessons. Min made her acting debut in the 2011 South Korean caper film ''

Countdown A countdown is a sequence of backward counting to indicate the time remaining before an event is scheduled to occur. NASA commonly employs the terms "L-minus" and "T-minus" during the preparation for and anticipation of a rocket launch, and eve ...

'' alongside screen veterans

Jung Jae-young Jeong Jae-yeong (born Jeong Ji-hyeon; November 21, 1970) is a South Korean actor. He is known for starring in the films '' Guns & Talks'' (2001), '' Silmido'' (2003), '' Someone Special'' (2004), '' Welcome to Dongmakgol'' (2005), '' Public Enem ...

and

Jeon Do-yeon Jeon Do-yeon (; born February 11, 1973) is a South Korean actress. She made her film debut with '' The Contact'' (1997), a melodrama that established her as a leading actress. She continued to gain acclaim with ''A Promise'' (1998), a romantic ...

. She played the role of Hyeon-ji, the estranged and rebellious young daughter of the charismatic fraudster Cha Ha-yeon. In August 2016, Min collaborated with childhood friends

and

Jo Kwon Jo Kwon ( born on August 28, 1989) is a South Korean singer, television host, actor, entertainer and the leader of South Korean boy band 2AM. He has starred in multiple musicals such as '' Jesus Christ Superstar'' playing the role of King He ...

of 2AM to form the co-ed project group Triple T. The trio released their debut single titled "Born to be Wild", featuring

, as part of SM Entertainment's ongoing weekly

Station Station may refer to: Agriculture * Station (Australian agriculture), a large Australian landholding used for livestock production * Station (New Zealand agriculture), a large New Zealand farm used for grazing by sheep and cattle ** Cattle statio ...

music project. It was revealed in September 2016 that Min would be making her return to the big screen with the movie ''Sooni: The Executioner's Daughter''. Although originally planned for a Summer 2017 release in South Korea, the current status of the movie production is unknown. In January 2017, the cast of the Korean adaptation of ''

Boys Over Flowers is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Yoko Kamio. The story takes place in the fictional Eitoku Academy, an elite school for children from rich families. It tells the story of Tsukushi Makino, a girl from a middle-class ...

The Musical'' was revealed, with representatives of the production announcing that Min would be making her musical debut with the star role of Tsukushi Makino. The musical opened on February 24 and had its final curtain call on May 7 at

Hongik University Hongik University (; colloquially as Hongdae) is a private university in Mapo District, Mapo, Seoul, South Korea. It was founded in 1946. The university also maintains a branch campus in Sejong City. The university's colloquial name, "Hongdae ...

Art Center's Grand Theater in Seoul. On May 22, 2019, it was revealed that Min has signed an exclusive contract with her new agency K-Tigers E&C. On November 8, 2021, Min released her first official solo pre-debut digital single "Onion". On April 18, 2022, Min released her second digital single "Hit Me Up". On September 5, 2022, Min released her third digital single "To The Beach". On August 22, 2022, Min was confirmed to be making her

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street ** Broadway Theatre (53rd Stre ...

debut in

with the K-pop inspired musical ''KPOP''. The musical featured several K-pop stars in its cast, with Min portraying the role of ''Riya'', a member of the fictional K-pop girl group ''RTMIS''. The musical made its Broadway debut in the fall of 2022 at

Circle in the Square Theatre The Circle in the Square Theatre is a Broadway theater at 235 West 50th Street, within the basement of Paramount Plaza, in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City, New York, U.S. The current Broadway theater, completed in 1972, i ...

, and abruptly closed two weeks into its run. On June 21, 2024, Min released her debut EP ''Prime Time'', complete with 4 songs, with a title track of the same name. The lead single features rapper Lil Cherry. On June 5, 2025, to mark the occasion of her upcoming wedding on June 7, 2025, Min released her special celebratory single "Dive Into You".

Personal life

On April 21, 2025, BeMonstar Entertainment and K-Tigers Entertainment announced that Min would marry her non-celebrity boyfriend, a businessman, in June after dating for seven years. Min married on June 7 in Seoul.

Discography

Extended plays

Singles

Songwriting and composing credits

Filmography

Drama

Film

Variety shows

Musical theatre

Notes

References

External links

* * * {{Authority control Living people 1991 births Miss A members English-language singers from South Korea JYP Entertainment artists K-pop singers Mandarin-language singers of South Korea Singers from Seoul South Korean dance musicians South Korean female dancers South Korean female idols South Korean women pop singers South Korean television actresses South Korean television personalities Actresses from Seoul