Acting · born May 16, 1993 · Seoul, South Korea

IU

Lee Ji-eun, also known by her stage name IU, is a South Korean singer-songwriter and actress. She signed with LOEN Entertainment (now Kakao Entertainment) in 2007 as a trainee and debuted as a singer at the age of fifteen with the EP Lost and Found (2008). Although her follow-up albums brought mainstream success, it was only after the release of "Good Day", the lead single from her 2010 EP Real, that she achieved national stardom. "Good Day" went on to spend five consecutive weeks at the top of South Korea's Gaon Digital Chart, and in 2019, it was ranked number 1 on Billboard's 100 Greatest K-pop Songs of the 2010s list.

With the success of her 2011 albums, Real+ and Last Fantasy, IU established herself as a formidable force on the music charts of her native country and further cemented her girl-next-door image as Korea's "little sister". Her musical style matured and evolved with subsequent releases, deviating from mainstream K-pop styles, exploring and mixing various music genres, with IU exerting more creative control over her music, both as lyricist and producer, while consistently retaining her dominance on South Korean music charts. Her 2020 single "Eight (prod. by SUGA)" became her first to reach number 1 on Billboard's World Digital Song Sales chart.

Aside from her music career, IU has ventured into acting and hosting radio and television shows, starting with a supporting role in the hit teen series Dream High (2011). IU's roles in My Mister (2018) and When Life Gives You Tangerines (2025) received critical acclaim, and she earned her first Best Actress in Television nomination at the 55th Baeksang Arts Awards for the former.

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