Lee Hye-ri / Hyeri (이혜리)

Lee Hye-ri, more popularly known as Hyeri, is best remembered for her iconic role as the goofy neighborhood kid Deok-sun, inducing nostalgia for anyone who has lived through the 1980s.

Photo from HanCinema

Birthday: June 9, 1994

Instagram: @hyeri_0609

YouTube: @IamLeeHyeri

Her tvN slice-of-life drama Reply 1988 aired in November 2015 and became one of the all-time highest-rated series in South Korean cable TV. Hyeri’s portrayal received so much love from critics and audience alike that she was nominated for Baeksang Best New Actress for TV and ranked third in Forbes’ Korea Power Celebrity 40 in 2016.

Before bringing Deok-sun to life, Hyeri started her career as a singer in 2010, joining Girl's Day two months after the group’s debut. Despite initial setbacks, the quartet rose to popularity and earned commercial success.

In 2012, she debuted on the small screen, playing the youngest daughter in the weekend family drama Tasty Life. In August 2014, her “aegyo” video clip from the variety show Real Men went viral at one million daily views, while she became MBC Entertainment Awards Best Female Newcomer.

Like Deok-sun, she doesn't let challenges defeat her. After receiving harsh criticism for her acting in previous shows, she bounced back. This time, in the 2019 tvN workplace drama Miss Lee, she earned praise for her portrayal of a bookkeeper-turned-CEO of a beleaguered factory.

In 2021, she starred in the tvN fantasy series My Roommate Is a Gumiho (2021) opposite Jang Ki-yong, the KBS2 sageuk (historical show) Moonshine (2021) alongside Yoo Seung-ho, and the MBC fantasy drama May I Help You? (2022). This year, she recently finished the variety show HyeMiLeeYeChaePa with five other artists and started filming Victory, the country’s first movie about cheerleaders.

She uses her social media influence to raise awareness of various social issues such as unregistered children, elderly welfare, and cybersex trafficking. She became UNICEF Honors Club’s youngest member and donated to Save the Children to help those affected by COVID-19. Far exceeding Deok-sun's kindness and achievements in the series, Hyeri has come a long way from a breadwinner lifting her family out of poverty to an influential artist helping other families.