Ellison Kyoung-jae Kim (born March 13, 1991), better known by his stage name Eli, is a

Korean American Korean Americans are Americans of Korean ancestry (mostly from South Korea). In 2015, the Korean-American community constituted about 0.56% of the United States population, or about 1.82 million people, and was the fifth-largest Asian American ...

singer,

rapper Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The ...

and actor. He is a former member of South Korean boy band

U-KISS U-KISS ( ko, 유키스; ja, ユーキス) is a South Korean boy band formed in 2008. Their name is an acronym, standing for Ubiquitous Korean International Idol Super Star. The group's current lineup is composed of Soohyun, Hoon, Kiseop and ...

. He was a rapper in the group and was one of the English-speaking members of U-KISS alongside former member

Kevin Woo Kevin Woo (born November 25, 1991), also known mononymously as Kevin, is an American singer-songwriter, actor, and television host based as a Korean in New York City. He is primarily known as a former member of South Korean boy band U-KISS from ...

Early life

Eli was born in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

Korean Korean may refer to: People and culture * Koreans, ethnic group originating in the Korean Peninsula * Korean cuisine * Korean culture * Korean language **Korean alphabet, known as Hangul or Chosŏn'gŭl **Korean dialects and the Jeju language ** ...

parents. He spent most of his years in Fredericksburg, Virginia. He has a younger sister Minah and an older sister Hannah. He attended Ni River Middle School and Riverbend High School in Virginia. After dropping out of high school, he went alone to Beijing, China at 15 to pursue his studies, and also learned

Mandarin Mandarin or The Mandarin may refer to: Language * Mandarin Chinese, branch of Chinese originally spoken in northern parts of the country ** Standard Chinese or Modern Standard Mandarin, the official language of China ** Taiwanese Mandarin, Stand ...

. He trained in

Taekwondo ''Taekwondo'', ''Tae Kwon Do'' or ''Taekwon-Do'' (; ko, 태권도/跆拳道 ) is a Korean martial arts, Korean form of martial arts involving punching and kicking techniques, with emphasis on head-height kicks, spinning jump kicks, and fast k ...

and

Kung Fu Chinese martial arts, often called by the umbrella terms kung fu (; ), kuoshu () or wushu (), are multiple fighting styles that have developed over the centuries in Greater China. These fighting styles are often classified according to commo ...

for 12 years, opening an opportunity for him to be cast as an extra in a Chinese movie. He is fluent in English, Korean and Mandarin.

Music career

U-Kiss

Eli is the fourth addition to the Korean boy band

, which was formed by NH Media Entertainment in 2008. They were launched in Power of Atamix in Japan alongside other Korean boy bands such as Paran. They also debuted in South Korea days later. On April 27, 2011, Eli and

Kevin Kevin () is the anglicized form of the Irish masculine given name (; mga, Caoimhghín ; sga, Cóemgein ; Latinized as ). It is composed of "dear; noble"; Old Irish and ("birth"; Old Irish ). The variant '' Kevan'' is anglicized from , a ...

went to

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta i ...

for a special street date with their Hong Kong fans for their show ''Star Date with U-KISS in Hong Kong'' special. This was sponsored by Binggrae, which aims to connect the fans all over the world to Hallyu stars to encourage cultural exchanges. The special was aired through Arirang TV on May 3. On May 16, 2019, NH Media announced that Eli’s contract with NH Media had expired and he had decided not to renew it along with other fellow U-KISS member Kiseop.

Other activities

Eli was one of the hosts for the variety show ''Raising Idol'' along with U-KISS member Shin Dongho,

MBLAQ MBLAQ ( ko, 엠블랙, ja, エムブラック; 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 ...

Thunder Thunder is the sound caused by lightning. Depending upon the distance from and nature of the lightning, it can range from a long, low rumble to a sudden, loud crack. The sudden increase in temperature and hence pressure caused by the lightning pr ...

and

Shinee Shinee ( ; ko, 샤이니, Syaini; ja, シャイニー, Shainī; stylized as SHINee) is a South Korean boy band formed by SM Entertainment in 2008. The group's musical impact in their native country has earned them numerous accolades and th ...

's Key. He appeared on MBC's ''We Are Dating'' on December 24, 2010 where he showed his Casanova type of being a man. He also hosted the segment "All About You" on

Arirang TV Arirang International Broadcasting is a South Korean-based broadcasting company operated by the International Broadcasting Exchange Foundation. It began as a cable TV service in South Korea on February 3, 1997, and opened Korea's first overseas ...

's ''

Pops in Seoul ''Pops in Seoul'', airing from 1998 to 2021, has presented Korean pop music for the past eleven years on the network Arirang TV. The show's VJ presented current music, news about K-pop culture, and provided overseas viewers with the latest Korean ...

'', along with fellow U-KISS members, Alexander and

. He also acts as an MC in the show ''Fusion'' with Park Myung-soo under MBC which premiered on April 1. In November 2012, Eli along with NS Yoon-G were chosen to host a new weekly English show, ''K-pop Tasty Road'' on Olive TV (and on

Mnet M-Net (an abbreviation of Electronic Media Network) is a South African pay television channel established by Naspers in 1986. The channel broadcasts both local and international programming, including general entertainment, children's series, ...

in the United States and various other countries). The show gives K-pop fans a sense of where Hallyu celebrities eat, play, work, and shop. The first episode was aired on November 10.

Acting career

In January 2010, Eli and fellow member Kibum started their acting career in a Thai-Korean drama, ''Autumn Destiny'', with Thai actor

Mario Maurer is a character (arts), character created by Japanese video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto. He is the title character of the ''Mario (franchise), Mario'' franchise and the mascot of Japanese video game company Nintendo. Mario has appeared in ...

. Eli and Kibum's voices were dubbed since they could not speak Thai. In 2011, Eli and fellow members Dongho and Kiseop were cast in an MBC sitcom titled ''Real School''. The trio acted in a 40-episode series, transforming into

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

students who reside at an "English Village" in an attempt to face and crack their fear of speaking

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

. In October 2014, Eli was cast as the male lead in a Chinese adaptation of the Korean drama ''

Full House ''Full House'' is an American television Situation comedy, sitcom created by Jeff Franklin for American Broadcasting Company, ABC. The show is about widowed father Danny Tanner who enlists his brother-in-law Jesse Katsopolis and childhood best ...

''.

Personal life

On April 18, 2011, Eli was injured during a rehearsal. He fractured his right hand and underwent surgery. The hospital stated that it wouldn't be difficult for Eli to perform, and he managed to perform with a cast on his right arm. On December 4, 2015, Eli announced via instagram that he had been married for over a year, since June 5, 2014, having dated his wife, who is a model 11 years his senior, for five years. It was also announced that they were expecting a child. His fellow members Soohyun and Kevin took to Twitter to comfort the fans about the surprising news of Eli's marriage news. On December 6, 2015, U-KISS' label NH Media released a statement to clear up some questions. His label said that Eli's marriage would not affect his promotions with U-KISS and that he would continue filming his Chinese drama and asked fans to refrain from leaving hate comments, as he would soon be a father. On June 8, 2016, Eli's son, Michael Min-soo Kim, was born. On August 30, 2016, Eli revealed his wife, Ji Yeon-soo to the public on MBC Every1's ''Video Star''. On January 4, 2017, Eli revealed his life as a husband and father by joining reality show, KBS's '' Mr. House Husband'' with his wife, Ji Yeon-soo and their son, Michael Min-soo Kim. Eli announced his separation from Ji in November 2020, with Michael remaining with his mother while he is staying in the United States.

Filmography

Television drama

TV shows

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kim, Eli 1991 births Living people South Korean male idols South Korean male rappers Singers from Los Angeles American expatriates in China South Korean expatriates in China U-KISS members Korean-language singers of the United States K-pop singers 21st-century American male singers 21st-century American singers