Bae Joo-hyun, known professionally as Irene, is a South Korean singer and actress. She is a member and leader of the South Korean girl groupRed Velvet and its sub-unit "Red Velvet - Irene & Seulgi".
Life and career
1991–2014: Early life and career beginnings
Irene was born Bae Joo-hyun on March 29, 1991 in Daegu, South Korea. Her family consists of her parents and a younger sister. She attended Haknam High School in Daegu. She joined SM Entertainment in 2009 and trained for five years. On December 9, 2013, Irene was one of the second batch of trainees introduced as a member of SM Entertainment's pre-debut training team, SM Rookies, alongside former trainee Lami and now-NCT member Jaehyun. She also appeared in the music video of labelmate Henry Lau's song "1-4-3" several months prior. Various clips of Irene were released in SM Entertainment's official YouTube channel, one of which included her and Seulgi dancing to "Be Natural", a song originally performed by SM Entertainment's group S.E.S., showcasing their dancing. On August 1, 2014, Irene made her official debut as a member of Red Velvet, becoming the leader of the group. Since then, Red Velvet has released eleven EPs and two studio albums as well as two reiussue albums. They have become regarded as one of the most popular K-pop groups in South Korea and worldwide. In November 2014, Irene appeared in the music video of Kyuhyun's single "At Gwanghwamun".
2015–present: Solo activities
From May 2015 to June 2016, Irene hosted the music show Music Bank with actor Park Bo-gum. They both gained attention for their chemistry as well as singing and hosting skills. The press called them one of the best partnerships in the show's history. In July 2016, Irene made her acting debut in the web drama Women at a Game Company where she played the female lead. On October 14, Irene became a host of OnStyle's fashion showLaundry Day. The show premiered on October 22, 2016. In the same month, she became a panelist on the KBS show Trick & True with bandmate Wendy. Irene has also endorsed a number of brands of various products. Besides her endorsements with Red Velvet, she also became a model for Ivy Club together with labelmates Exo in 2015. In 2016, she became an endorser of coffee brand Maxwell House. In 2017, she became the official endorser of Hyundai Auto Advantage program. On February 26, 2018, Irene was selected to be the model of contact lens brand Cooper Vision. On May 3, she became the brand model for famous vitamin brand LEMONA Vitamin C and was given the title “human vitamin”. On August 9, she was announced as the new exclusive model for Eider for fall/winter of 2018 and spring/summer of 2019. In December, it was announced that Irene would become the new model for HiteJinroChamisul Soju brand. In February 2019, Irene was announced as the new muse of the Italian luxury jewelry brand Damiani, becoming the first Asian to represent the brand as a muse. In July, SM Entertainment announced that Irene would be collaborating with South Korean DJ and producer Raiden on the track "The Only", which was released on August 2. On April 20, 2020, SM confirmed that Irene, alongside member Seulgi, would form Red Velvet's first sub-unit. Red Velvet - Irene & Seulgi debuted on July 6 with the extended play Monster. On July 16, 2020, SM confirmed that Irene would be acting in the upcoming filmDouble Patty, which is to be released later on this year. She is to play the role of Lee Hyun-Ji, an aspiring anchor.
Impact and influence
In 2019, in the nation-wide survey conducted by Gallup Korea, Irene was ranked as the 6th most loved idol celebrity of the year in South Korea. She was previously ranked at #4 in both 2017 and 2018. In 2019, Irene was also ranked as the third most popular female K-pop idol in a survey of soldiers doing mandatory military service in South Korea. Irene is also renowned for her brand recognition and marketing power, having topped the 'Individual Girl Group Members Brand Power Ranking' published by the Korean Corporate Reputation Research Institute several times. In 2018, Irene became the new female ambassador for French sports garment brand Eider. The same year, she was chosen to be the face for Korean soju brand Chamisul. In 2020, Irene became the first Asian brand ambassador of Italy luxury jewelry brand Damiani. In March, Irene became the new ambassador for high-end beauty brand Clinique in South Korea and Asia Pacific.
