Sung was born in 1981 in Tübingen, Baden-Württemberg, West Germany. Her father Sung Jong-hyun, a prominent professor of theology at the Presbyterian College and Theological Seminary, was studying at the time in West Germany. Sung's family returned to South Korea when she was four years old and she grew up in Gangdong District, Seoul. She attended Myung Elementary and Middle School, and Kwang Nam High School, and graduated from Kyung Hee University with a Post Modern Music major in 2005.
Career
When Sung was a high school student, she began her entertainment career in 1998 as the youngest member of the four-member K-popgirl groupFin.K.L (which stood for "Fine Killing Liberty"), one of the first Korean idol groups.[1] Fin.K.L quickly rose in popularity, releasing four albums (Blue Rain (1998), White (1999), Now (2001), Eternity (2002)), and various singles, live concert albums and compilation albums. But after the release of their fourth album, Sung and fellow band members Ock Joo-hyun, Lee Hyori and Lee Jin began doing solo activities.[2]
Sung made her acting debut in 2002 with Bad Girls, and a year later was cast in her first leading role in Thousand Years of Love (2003). Sung learned horseback riding and martial arts in her role as a Baekje princess who time travels to modern-day South Korea.[3] This was followed by the romantic comedyFirst Love of a Royal Prince (2004), partly shot in Japan and Bali, in which Sung's fun-loving sandwich shop delivery girl was a departure from her previous feminine characters.[4] During this time, she was harshly criticized for her acting.[5][6][7]
Sung graduated from Kyung Hee University in February 2005 with a degree in Theater and Film; she also received an Achievement Award for promoting her alma mater.[8] After a brief return to music via Fin.K.L's digital single Corealism in late 2005, she decided to focus solely on her acting career. In line with this, all the Fin.K.L members left their agency DSP Entertainment, and Sung joined SidusHQ in June 2005.
In 2006, she starred in One Fine Day and The Snow Queen, playing, respectively, an orphan adopted by a wealthy but suffocating family, and a cold-hearted heiress with an incurable disease.
But it was fusion-perioddramedyHong Gil-dong in 2008 that changed how the industry perceived Sung as an actress. The series' screenwriters, the Hong sisters were initially criticized for casting her, but they defended Sung, and her portrayal of a tomboyish, vanity-free outlaw drew a positive reception from audiences.[9]
Sung then played an aspiring show director who joins the Cirque du Soleil in Swallow the Sun, a 2009 big-budget action-romance series with overseas location shoots in Las Vegas and South Africa.[10] That same year, she also appeared in her first big-screen starring role as a Korean-American adoptee who returns to her native country to search for her biological mother in Maybe (titled Rabbit and Lizard in Korean).[6][11][12][13][14]
In 2011, Sung left SidusHQ and transferred to King Kong Entertainment.[15][16] She then starred in Romance Town, in the role of a maid who wins ₩14 billion in the lottery and keeps it a secret from her boss and fellow household help.[17][18][19]
Sung at the Return of the Mafia movie premiere in December 2012
When Sung's contract with King Kong Entertainment expired in January 2014, she signed with Fantagio.[34] She then appeared for free in the short film Chorogi and the Stalker Guy which screened at 6th Seoul International Extreme-Short Image & Film Festival (SESIFF).[35] Sung next played a diva actress who unexpectedly falls for her loyal manager in the 2015 omnibusSummer Snow.[36][37]
On April 20, 2015, Sung signed an exclusive contract with SL Entertainment.[38] She next starred in the revenge melodrama Monster.[39][40]
Personal life
Sung married golfer Ahn Sung-hyun in May 2017 in a low-key private ceremony. They had been dating for four years and did not publicly announce their marriage until after the ceremony.[41][42] On July 16, 2021, Sung announced on her Instagram that she was pregnant with twins.[43] Later on January 8, 2022, Sung's agency announced that Sung had given birth to twin daughters on January 7, 2022.[44]
Philanthropy
On July 22, 2022, Sung purchased cosmetics worth 30 million won with her own money, which were donated to the Skylight Project.[45]
^Kim, Hyeon-rok (February 15, 2005). 성유리·옥주현·공유.. "우리는 경희대 졸업동기" [Sung Yu-ri, Ock Joo-hyun, Gong Yoo graduate together from Kyung Hee University]. Star News (in Korean). Retrieved November 11, 2014.
^Lee Young-soo (July 16, 2021). "성유리, 쌍둥이 임신 소식 자필 편지 공개 "태명은 사랑이, 행복이"[전문]" [Sung Yu-ri reveals a handwritten letter on the news of twin pregnancy "My name is love, happiness]. Sports Seoul (in Korean). Naver. Retrieved July 16, 2021.
^Kim Won-gyeom (January 8, 2022). "성유리, 7일 쌍둥이 딸 출산…"건강하고 예쁘게 잘 키우겠다"[공식입장]" [Sung Yuri gave birth to twin daughters on the 7th... "I will raise them healthy and beautiful" [Official position]] (in Korean). SPOTV News. Retrieved January 8, 2022 – via Naver.
^Park Jeong-seon (July 22, 2022). "성유리, 소외 계층 아이들 위해 3000만원 상당 화장품 기부" [Sung Yuri donates 30 million won worth of cosmetics to underprivileged children] (in Korean). JTBC. Retrieved July 22, 2022 – via Naver.
^Bae, Soo-jung (December 25, 2022). "[종합] 'KBS 연예대상' 신동엽, SF9 찬희의 '대상 10년 주기설'에 설마‥2002-2012년 이후 10년 만에 또 대상 "얄궂다" [[Comprehensive] ‘KBS Entertainment Grand Prize’ Shin Dong-yeop, SF9 Chani’s ‘Daesang 10-year cycle theory’, no way… again 10 years after 2002-2012, “It’s ironic]. TopStarNews (in Korean). Retrieved December 24, 2022.
^"[한국세정신문] '납세보국'-세금 잘 냈다고 상 받은 연예인은 누구?" [[Korea Sejeong Newspaper] 'Taxation Bureau' - Who is the celebrity who received the award for paying taxes well?]. www.taxtimes.co.kr (in Korean). Retrieved October 28, 2023.
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