Childhood & Early Life
Lee Si-young was born in North Chungcheong, South Koreaon 17th April 1982.She grew up in the now dissolved Cheongwon County, before moving to the big city Seoul, at the age of 9. During her schooling, she developed an affinity towards fitness and at the same time, started dreaming about being an actor. She was also shining bright when it came to her studies.
She started modelling and took her own time before embarking into the acting field, and meanwhile she also kept prepping herself up for boxing.
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Career
Lee made her acting debut in 2008 and was introduced to the TV audiences by the procedural drama ‘Urban Legends Deja Vu’. The success of the show paved the way for her to feature in the historical drama ‘The Kingdom of Winds’. Though she managed to get good roles, she didn’t get the exposure she desired.
2009 proved to be a better year for her as not only did she make her film debut, but also became part of some highly successful TV series. She appeared in the anthology film ‘Five Senses of Eros’, which featured Lee as one of the three girls who decide to swap partners for 24 hours. The film, which was directed by five directors, was received rather well by the audiences and the critics alike, and Lee proved that she could act!
In the highly popular series ‘Boys Over Flowers’, Lee played a young girl, who gets tormented as a kid and then undergoes a plastic surgery to present herself as a new and arrogant personality. Another splendid performance of her was seen in the drama ‘Loving You a Thousand Times’, in which she played the role of a rich man.
What further contributed to her overwhelming success in the entertainment career was the variety show ‘We Got Married’, in which she was paired with a musician named Jun Jin. They played the role of a married couple in the reality show and Lee was made a household name in South Korea, owing to the popularity of the show. The couple dating outside the show also played a major role in that regard.
In 2010, she got an opportunity to host ‘Entertainment Relay’, an entertainment news show and it eventually became the longest running show of its kind in the South Korean history. Lee parted ways with the show in 2012, owing to lucrative offers from the TV and film industry and also to take care of her boxing career.
By 2010, Lee was getting recognized as the perfect second lead in the world of TV series and another such role came her way in the form of a villainous pretty girl in the series ‘Playful Kiss’. She played the role of a girl who was hell-bent on stealing the leading man from the leading girl.
In the same year, she played the first lead role of her career in the film ‘Meet the In-Laws’, a comedy drama. The movie revolves around a comic book writer who has a hard time balancing between his and his girlfriend’s families, as they both have a bad history together. It became one of the highest grossing films of the year.
Lee then appeared in ‘Couples’, another comedy film in which she played an apologetic gold digger. But the film, which was received well by the critics, couldn’t do well at the box office.
In 2012, Lee appeared in the role of a tomboyish girl in ‘Wild Romance’. After doing a high voltage action role in ‘Wild Romance’, she returned to her main forte, which is comedy, with ‘How to Use Guys with Secret Tips’. The film started slowly and then picked up pace with positive word of mouth and ended up becoming one of the highest grosser and critically acclaimed films of the year.
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In 2013, Lee appeared in the film ‘Killer Toon’, in which she played the role of a webtoon writer, who gets entangled in a murder mystery and becomes a suspect. The film saw an attendance of over 1 million viewers and became the third highest grossing South Korean film of all time.
2014 saw her in a key role in the film ‘The Divine Move’, which also happens to be her last film till date. She then appeared in TV dramas such as ‘Golden Cross’ and ‘Valid Love’. She played a prosecutor in ‘Golden Cross’ and her performance was praised by the critics.
In 2015, she appeared in a mystery thriller titled ‘My Beautiful Bride’, which revolves around a man, looking for his missing fiancé.
Presently, she is looking forward to the release of her new series ‘Lookout’, which happens to be a thriller drama.
Apart from her acting roles, she has been closely connected to the music which features in many of her TV series. Apart from that, she has also been an active amateur boxer, ever since she started her career in boxing. She has won quite a lot of awards as a boxer such as National Amateur Boxing Championship prize in 2011 and 2013.
Her awards for her acting skills include Best New Actress for ‘The Religious Thief’ at the 2009 Max Movie Awards, Best New Actress at the KBS Drama Awards, Baeksang Arts Awards 2010 for ‘Becoming a Billionaire’ and the Best Choice Award at the 2016 Asia Artist Awards.
Personal Life
Lee Si-young dated her on-screen husband Jun Jin, from the reality show ‘We Got Married’. The couple became the most famous celebrity couple on the show and dated for six months off screen, before parting ways. Lee said that it was a perfect match as they both connected over their mutual love for anime and some of their other likes and dislikes also matched. In 2016, Lee was said to be in a relationship with a businessman and in 2017, she revealed that she was in fact pregnant and will soon get married.
In July 2015, her alleged sex video came out in the open, which she denied. But it was reported that she attempted suicide due to that incident.
Facts About Lee Si-young
Lee Si-young is not just a talented actress, but also an accomplished amateur boxer.
She has won several amateur boxing matches and even competed in a national boxing tournament.
In addition to her acting and boxing skills, Lee Si-young is also a licensed amateur golf player.
She enjoys spending her free time on the golf course, honing her skills and enjoying the outdoors.
She has several pet cats and often shares adorable photos and videos of them on her social media accounts.
Despite her tough image on screen, Lee Si-young is a self-proclaimed homebody who enjoys spending quiet evenings at home cooking and watching movies.
She regularly shares workout routines and healthy recipes with her fans, inspiring them to lead a healthy lifestyle.
