Lee Si-young

Lee Eun-rae (born April 17, 1982), known professionally as Lee Si-young, is a South Korean actress and former amateur boxer.

Born Lee Eun-rae in Cheongwon County, North Chungcheong Province, her family moved to Seoul when she was 9 years old.

Lee majored in Fashion Design at Dongduk Women's University, and later changed her name to Lee Si-young.

Killer Toon attracted more than 1 million viewers, only the third Korean horror film to do so after A Tale of Two Sisters (2003) and Death Bell (2008).

Lee made her acting debut in 2008 in a guest appearance on season 3 of the Super Action TV procedural Urban Legends Deja Vu, followed by the historical drama "The Kingdom of The Winds".

But 2009 was the year she began to gain attention with several high-profile supporting roles.

In the smash hit Boys Over Flowers, Lee played the character of Sakurako Sanjo in the source manga Hana Yori Dango, who was mercilessly teased for being homely as a young girl, then undergoes extensive plastic surgery and becomes a backstabbing frenemy to win the heart of her Tormentor.

Lee then played the mistress of a married man in the surrogacy melodrama Loving You a Thousand Times.

Five Senses of Eros was an omnibus film from five different directors, and in the segment "Believe in the Moment" three teenage couples decide to swap partners for 24 hours, played by Lee and her fellow up-and-coming actors Kim Dong-wook, Song Joong-ki, Shin Se-kyung, Jung Eui-chul and Lee Sung-min.

In 2009, she rose to mainstream popularity when she joined the cast of We Got Married, a reality show about fake married couples, and was paired with Jun Jin of the boy band Shinhwa.

Called the "Gundam couple" by fans for their mutual love of the anime, Lee and Jun Jin began dating off-screen, making them the first couple to officially have a real relationship outside the show.

However, after dating for 6 months, they broke up in September 2009.

In 2010, she began hosting Entertainment Relay (also known as Entertainment Weekly), the longest-running entertainment news show on Korean television (her stint ended in 2012).

Then in Birth of the Rich (also known as Becoming a Billionaire), Lee was the standout in the cast and was praised for her portrayal of a spoiled, Paris Hilton-esque chaebol heiress, despite mixed reviews for the series itself.

Later that year, she starred in Playful Kiss, another series adapted from a manga (in Itazura na Kiss, her character is Sasuiko, a haughty paragon of perfection who becomes the heroine's rival in love).

Lee had acquired a reputation for making her second-lead roles memorable and endearing in their own right, giving her characters a human, lovable side despite their role as antagonists in the narrative.

Lee played her first big screen leading role in the screwball romantic comedy Meet the In-Laws, which portrays the struggles of a comic book writer (played by Song Sae-byeok) to tie the knot with his girlfriend (Lee) over the strong disapproval of their families, as they come from different regions with a long history of antagonism toward each other (the Korean title literally translates to "Dangerous Formal Greeting Between Families of the Bride and Bridegroom").

Meet the In-Laws became the ninth top-grossing Korean film of 2011, with more than 2 million tickets sold.

Lee's follow-up was the ensemble romantic comedy/caper film Couples, where she again displayed her gift for physical comedy as a shameless gold digger.

Despite critical praise for its cleverly constructed plot and twists, the film was less successful at the box office.

Then in the low-rating action series Poseidon, Lee, along with Lee Sung-jae and Choi Si-won played members of the Coast Guard special forces who investigate maritime crimes.

In 2012, Lee cut her hair into a short perm for Wild Romance, playing a tomboyish bodyguard who protects an arrogant baseball star after he receives death threats (played by Lee Dong-wook).

Lee said, "I don't see many actresses who are good at tough action roles. I hope I can fill the gap."

The series received low ratings but had a cult following.

Lee returned to the romantic comedy genre in 2013 with How to Use Guys with Secret Tips, playing an overworked and undervalued assistant director who one day buys an inspirational video, "Instructions on How to Use Men," and reluctantly follows its guidelines.

She becomes drastically transformed into a woman much-sought after by all men, including a top actor (played by Oh Jung-se).

The film received strong word of mouth for its comic timing and witty gags, the charismatic performances of its leads and its tackling of gender equality issues.

She then headlined the horror film Killer Toon, playing a writer of webcomics (called "webtoon" in Korea) who becomes the number one suspect after a series of murders are committed that mimic her famous comics.

Co-starring Um Ki-joon as the detective on the case, the movie overlaps crime scenes with CG animation.

In an interview, Lee said she picks roles if she is drawn to and can empathize with the character.

In 2014, Lee was cast as a principled prosecutor in the drama series Golden Cross.

She also starred in the film The Divine Move, about a baduk player's quest for revenge.

This was followed later in the year by Righteous Love from cable channel tvN, in which her character has an extramarital affair.

Lee next played a detective in the 2015 suspense thriller series My Beautiful Bride on cable channel OCN, about a man searching for his fiancée who mysteriously disappears.

In 2017, Lee starred in MBC's action thriller The Guardians.

In the comedy Descendants of Hong Gil-dong (also known as The Righteous Thief), Lee played the love interest of Lee Beom-soo, whose character is the 18th descendant of Hong Gil-dong, a Joseon-era Robin Hood whose family for generations has passed down the tradition of stealing only from the rich and giving to the poor while keeping their actions secret.

In 2018, Lee returned to the small-screen after her marriage and childbirth with the medical drama Risky Romance, reuniting with Becoming a Billionaire co-star Ji Hyun-woo.

In 2019, Lee starred in the action film No Mercy and in the family drama Liver or Die.

In January 2020, Lee signed with new management agency Ace Factory.

That same year, Lee starred in the apocalyptic horror Netflix series, Sweet Home (TV series).