Lee Yu-bi

Lee Yoo-bi is a South Korean actress, born on November 22, 1990, in Seoul. Among her family members, her mother is the well-known actress Jeon Mi-ri, who became widely recognized for playing Choi Sang-gung in the historical drama Jewel in the Palace. Lee Yoo-bi’s younger brother is actor Lee Do-eun, and she has another brother. She studied vocal music at Ewha Womans University.

She officially debuted in 2011, first appearing in the sitcom Vampire Idol as “Yoo-bi,” a member of the girl group GirlsGirls. The series was directed by Lee Geun-yeok and co-starred Lee Jung, Hong Jong-hyun, Kim Woo-bin and others. The following year, she played the role of Kang Koko in the romance drama The Innocent Man, acting alongside Song Joong-ki, Moon Chae-won, and Lee Kwang-soo. In April 2013, she appeared in the historical drama Gu Family Book as Park Cheong-jo, the first love of Choi Kang-ji, for which she received the APAN Drama Awards Best New Actress award.

Beginning in February 2014, she became a regular MC on SBS’s popular music program Inkigayo, working with hosts including Kim Jun-myeon (Suho), Byun Baek-hyun, and Hwang Kwang-hee. That same year she co-starred with Lee Jong-suk and Park Shin-hye in the SBS romantic drama Pinocchio, playing reporter Yoon Yoo-rae; this role earned her the SBS Drama Awards Newcomer Award. In November she appeared in the historical drama The Royal Secret Agent as a concubine in the royal court. In 2015 she appeared in the comedy film Twenty, and she also sang the OST “Orientation Sniper” with Lee Joon-ho.

In July 2015, Lee took her first lead role, co-starring with Lee Joon-gi in the historical fantasy drama Scholar Who Walks the Night, portraying the street book vendor Jo Yang-sun. The character’s true identity was Seo-jin, the daughter of a disgraced minister falsely accused of treason. For this drama she won the MBC Drama Awards Newcomer Award in the Mini-Series category and was nominated for Best New Actress at the 36th Blue Dragon Film Awards.

In 2016 she appeared in episode 4 of the KBS romantic drama Uncontrollably Fond, appearing as a celebrity couple with Lee Joon-ho. In August 2017 she starred in the web drama Suddenly I’m 18, playing Han Na-bi. That year she also signed with agency 935 Entertainment and appeared in the feature film The Neighbor, portraying the daughter of an opposition party leader.

In 2018 she played physical therapist Yoo Bo-young in the tvN medical-romance drama To You Who Forgot Poetry, opposite Lee Joon-hyuk. In 2020 she made a brief appearance in the SBS romantic comedy Backstreet Rookie. In 2021 she appeared in the dramas The Joseon Exorcist and Yumi’s Cells, and participated in the reality show Celeb Beauty+.

Her work has remained active: in 2022 she starred in the first and second seasons of Yumi’s Cells, as well as the drama Seven People’s Escape. In 2023 she starred in the suspense drama Seven People’s Escape and in the Netflix release My Goddess Roommate Doona. In 2024 her series Seven People’s Resurrection, a second-season follow-up, is scheduled to air.

During the filming of Scholar Who Walks the Night in 2015 she suffered an on-set accident that resulted in a herniated lumbar disc. She has also participated in charitable activities; in 2016 she donated a portion of her pay from Scholar Who Walks the Night to the Community Chest of Korea.

Her awards include the 2024 SBS Drama Awards Female Excellence Award (Seven People’s Resurrection) and the 2015 Blue Dragon Film Awards Best New Actress (Twenty), along with multiple newcomer acting award nominations.