Lee Ji-hyun (; born December 12, 1986),Birthdate
better known by her stage name Qri (), is a South Korean singer and actress. She debuted as a member of girl group

T-ara T-ara (; ko, 티아라) are a South Korean girl group formed by MBK Entertainment in 2009, consists of four members: Qri, Eunjung, Hyomin and Jiyeon. T-ara's career is marked by hook-heavy dance-pop music, a result of their close partner ...

in July 2009, who went on to become one of the best-selling

girl group A girl group is a music act featuring several female singers who generally harmonize together. The term "girl group" is also used in a narrower sense in the United States to denote the wave of American female pop music singing groups, many of who ...

s of all time.Since 2009, Qri has been active in the entertainment industry from acting and Variety shows to music to modeling. Her most notable works include her supporting role in hit drama ''

Queen Seondeok Queen Seondeok of Silla ( ko, 선덕여왕 ; 595~610 – 17 February 647/January 8, Lunar Calendar) reigned as Queen Regnant of Silla, one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, from 632 to 647. She was Silla's twenty-seventh ruler, and its first re ...

,'' the show received near-universal acclaim, winning over 20 awards solidifing Qri's career in the field. Qri showed high interest in fashion design in 2018 and ended up designing several commercial products. Qri launched her self-produced jewelrybrand "Qriel" in 2021.

Early life and education

Qri at K Collection in Seoul, March 2012 03

Lee Ji-hyun was born on December 12, 1986. She has studied at Juyeob High School, and then attended Myungji University, enrolling in the Department of Theatre and Visual Arts, the same class as fellow group member,

Boram Jeon Bo-ram (born March 22, 1986), referred to as Boram, is a South Korean singer and actress. She originally debuted as a solo artist, releasing four singles in 2008, before eventually becoming a member of girl group T-ara in 2009. The gro ...

. She was a

model A model is an informative representation of an object, person or system. The term originally denoted the Plan_(drawing), plans of a building in late 16th-century English, and derived via French and Italian ultimately from Latin ''modulus'', a mea ...

bassist A bassist (also known as a bass player or bass guitarist) is a musician who plays a Bass (instrument), bass instrument such as a double bass (upright bass, contrabass, wood bass), bass guitar (electric bass, acoustic bass), synthbass, keyboar ...

of the rock band Six Color, and a famous

ulzzang ''Ulzzang'' ( ko, 얼짱, ), also spelled as ''eoljjang'' (), is a popular South Korean term literally meaning "best face" or "good-looking". A person desiring ''ulzzang'' status would gain popularity on the internet through entering contests wher ...

before her debut as a

member.

Music career

T-ara

Qri was the last of the three new members to be added to the group after two former members Jiae and Jiwon quit in mid-2009. It was later mentioned on tvN's ''Taxi'' that she was introduced to the CEO of

Core Contents Media MBK Entertainment (), was a South Korean entertainment company established by Kim Kwang-soo. The company was originally founded in 1999 as GM Planning. The company was absorbed by Mnet Media in 2006, following Kim Kwang-soo joint with CJ Group a ...

by her original company. In July 2013, Qri became the new leader of

under the group's rotating leadership system.

QBS

Qri,

and Soyeon formed a subgroup called QBS in May 2013, focused on the Japanese market. The subgroup released their debut single titled "Kaze no You ni" (風のように, Like the Wind) on June 26, 2013.

Solo career

In 2021, Qri released her very first solo digital single "Suri Suri". Qri was revealed to have participated in the writing and production of the song. There wasn't a music video filmed for the song. On September 29, Qri expressed her gratitude to her fans for the song's success through Instagram. The song topped iTunes Vietnam for 3 days as well as charting in other countries. The song also debuted at #1 on multiple Chinese weekly charts including Migu China.

Acting career

In September 2009, Qri made her acting debut in the drama ''

'' as Kim Yu-shin's wife. She made a cameo appearance alongside other members of

in the drama ''

Master of Study ''Master of Study'' () is a South Korean television series that aired on KBS2 from January 4 to February 23, 2010 on Mondays and Tuesdays at 21:55 for 16 episodes. It starred Kim Su-ro, Bae Doona, Oh Yoon-ah, Yoo Seung-ho, Go Ah-sung, Lee Hy ...

'' in 2010, and was then given a lead role on KBS's drama ''Southern Trader Kim Chul Soo's Update''. Qri also made a cameo appearance alongside group member Soyeon in SBS' drama ''

Giant In folklore, giants (from Ancient Greek: '' gigas'', cognate giga-) are beings of human-like appearance, but are at times prodigious in size and strength or bear an otherwise notable appearance. The word ''giant'' is first attested in 1297 fr ...

''. She was cast alongside groupmate Eunjung for KBS' drama '' King Geunchogo'' in 2011, starting from episode 47.티아라 은정·큐리, '근초고왕' 대본연습 사진공개
. Starnews. April 12, 2011.

Other ventures

Endorsements

Prior to her debut as a singer with T-ara, Qri was a famous Ullzzang who worked with several brands and shopping malls. Being one of the most in-demand models since 2009, Qri worked with many renowned Korean brands including Casamia Furniture and Galbanara. She also became the face of multiple A-List brands including

LG Group LG Corporation (or LG Group) (), formerly Lucky-Goldstar from 1983 to 1995 (Korean: ''Leokki Geumseong''; ), is a South Korean multinational conglomerate founded by Koo In-hwoi and managed by successive generations of his family. It is ...

and Maybelline New York. In 2021, Qri became an advertising model for ''Castellbajac,'' she filmed multiple videos for the brand which were all released online.

Fashion design

In 2018, Qri announced the launch of her first self-designed product collection with "Celebrity hat brand" Sebs named "Seb.Q" . The collection featured colored hats and hoodies. It was announced that Qri participated in both the designing and production of the products. The project was a huge success with all products selling out and constantly being restocked since 2018. In 2021, Qri established her own jewelry brand named "Qriel" for which she modeled herself.

Discography

Filmography

Film

Television series

Web series

Variety shows

Awards

References

External links

* {{Authority control 1986 births K-pop singers T-ara members South Korean women pop singers South Korean female idols Living people Myongji University alumni MBK Entertainment artists South Korean television actresses People from Goyang