Im Yoona (Korean: 임윤아; born May 30, 1990), also Im Yoon-Ah, is a South Korean singer, dancer, actress and promotional model. She made her debut as an actress in the 2007 drama, Two Outs in the Ninth Inning. Yoona is a member of the South Korean girl group Girls' Generation.
Biography
Yoona was born on May 30, 1990, in Seoul, South Korea. She was cast in 2002 SM Saturday Open Casting Audition and began to train with the other trainees under SM Entertainment in the areas of acting, singing and dancing. She has trained with SM for 7 years, after which she joined and debuted under Girls' Generation.
In 2009, she graduated in Daeyoung High School and is currently attending Dongguk University majoring in theater and music, along with fellow Girls' Generation member, Seohyun.Career
Girls' Generation
Main article: Girls' Generation
In 2002, Yoona joined SM Entertainment
Saturday Open Casting Audition, in which she sang WAX's "Please",
danced Britney Spears' "Oops..! I did it again" and BoA's "Valenti".[citation needed] Later, she began to train under SM Entertainment with the other trainees in the areas of acting, singing and dancing. In 2007, Yoona was chosen as a member of the group Girls' Generation. The 9-member girl group debuted on August 5, 2007.
Acting
Yoona made her debut as an actress in 2007 with the drama Two Outs in the Ninth Inning.[5] In 2008, Yoona acted in the drama Woman of Matchless Beauty before her first leading role in the daily drama You Are My Destiny which she won her important recognitions in acting. YoonA filmed her 2009 drama Cinderella Man (신데렐라맨) alongside with Kwon Sang-woo.
In 2012, Yoona was cast in a lead role with Jang Keun Suk in the drama entitled Love Rain. The drama began broadcasting on March 26, 2012 on KBS2. Love Rain
is a fantasy drama about fate and how the offspring of a previous
ill-fated couple who met in the 1970s, also manage to fall in love with
each other.
Television
Yoona was a guest on SBS TV Family Outing which ended February 14, 2010, and a permanent cast member on Family Outing Season 2 with Yoon Sang-hyun, Kim Won-hee, Ji Sang-ryeol, Shin Bong-seon, Jang Dong-Min, Super Junior's Kim Heechul, 2AM's Jo Kwon and 2PM's Ok Taecyeon. The program ended its run on July 11, 2010 after 5 months.
On December 24, 2011, she was an MC for 2011 KBS Entertainment Awards together with Shin Dong Yeob & Lee Ji Ae. She was also an MC for 2011 SBS Gayo Daejeon together with Song Ji Hyo and Lee Seung Gi and for 2012 KBS Gayo Daejun together with Jung Yong Hwa & Sung Si Kyung.[10]
Promotion
Before her debut with Girls' Generation, Yoona had been well known in
the entertainment industry as she began to film commercials and model
for various magazines when she was a trainee with SM Entertainment.
Apart from Girls' Generation's commercials, she is currently a model for
Clean & Clear, YeJiMin Pad, Innisfree Cosmetics, S-Oil, Eider, Ciba Vision’s DAILIES & FreshLook Contact Lenses.
In May 2008, she with fellow Girls' Generation members Tiffany, Jessica and TVXQ members participated in a TV ad for Haptic Motion. Along with her fellow member Choi Sooyoung,
she modeled for the '08-09 F/W SFAA Seoul Collection – Lee Joo-Young
Fashion Show' at Seoul Hakyohul Exhibition Hall on March 20, 2008.
On March 29, 2010, Yoona, along with members Kim Taeyeon, Kwon Yuri, Seohyun, and Choi Sooyoung, was hired by Nintendo Korea as campaign models for the portable game console, Nintendo DSi.[11]
In April 2010, with fellow members Kwon Yuri and Seohyun, along with 2PM members Nichkhun, Ok Taecyeon and Hwang Chansung, she filmed a commercial for Everland's Caribbean Bay. The commercial was released in mid-May and is accompanied by the song "Cabi Song.[12][13]
Yoona was chosen along with Korean celebrities such as Rain, Kim Hee-Sun, Ji Jin-Hee, Ha Ji-won, Son Ye-Jin, Kim Hyun-Joong and Yunho
to be the model of Cartier's LOVE collections. Proceeds from the sale
of the bracelets will go to the international organization International Vaccine Institute (IVI).
Yoona released her first solo song "Innisfree Day" on August 30, 2010
for the Eco Handkerchief's promotion of Innisfree Cosmetics.
In 2012, Yoona and Jessica were tied for 2nd place for individual
commercial ads by participating in 13 different ads while Girls’
Generation as an entire group are 1st place combined. The girls are
models for 21 different brands including chicken, perfume, jewelry,
handbags, TVs, beds, and department stores.[14]
Personal Life
It was announced on January 1, 2014 that Yoona is currently in a relationship with actor Lee Seung-gi.
The two are said to have started seeing one another back in September
and have been growing in love for 4 months now, dating in the utmost
secret. The agencies of both Yoona and Lee Seung-gi had confirmed the relationship status of the both of them. [15]
