Clara Lee
| Clara | |
|---|---|
_in_Oct_2013_from_acrofan_(2).jpg) Clara in October 2013 | |
| Born |
Lee Sung-min 15 January 1985 Bern, Switzerland |
| Alma mater | El Camino College |
| Occupation | Actress, model |
| Years active | 2005–present |
| Agent |
Korea: Koreana Clara International: East West Artists (EWA) |
| Parent(s) | Lee Seung-kyu (father) |
| Korean name | |
| Hangul | 클라라 |
| Revised Romanization | Keulrara |
| McCune–Reischauer | K'ŭllara |
| Birth name | |
| Hangul | 이성민 |
| Revised Romanization | I Seong-min |
| McCune–Reischauer | I Sŏng-min |
Clara Lee (Hangul: 클라라 리) (born Lee Sung-min (Hangul: 이성민) on 15 January 1985), better known by her mononym, Clara (Hangul: 클라라), is a Swiss-born British actress and model active in South Korea.[1]
Career
Clara (born Lee Sung-Min) made her entertainment debut under her birth name in 2005 and starred in her first film in 2009, Five Senses of Eros. In January 2012, she adopted Clara as her stage name, which was announced at a press conference for the drama series, Take Care of Us, Captain. Reasons given for the name change included the fact that her birth name, Sung-min, was "male-sounding" and that her English name had always been Clara.[2]
In May 2013, Clara became an overnight sensation online after throwing a ceremonial first pitch in a professional baseball game dressed in form-fitting leggings.[3] She has since been hailed as an up-and-coming star and a sex symbol.[4][5] In September 2013, Clara drew criticism from South Korean netizens for apparently contradicting herself on television by saying she liked to eat chicken and drink beer in one program and stating the contrary in another. Consequently, she closed down her Twitter and Facebook accounts.[6][7] Afterwards, she again played supporting roles in the television series Goddess of Marriage (2013) and Emergency Couple (2014), followed by a leading role in the sex comedy film Casa Amor: Exclusive for Ladies (2015).[8][9][10][11]
In December 2014, she filed a lawsuit against her agency Polaris Entertainment to nullify her contract on the grounds of being sexually harassed by its president Lee Kyu-tae; Polaris denied those allegations and countered that Clara had been blackmailing the agency to end her contract which is due to expire in 2018.[12] In July 2015, prosecutors cleared Clara of the blackmail allegations and indicted Lee for making threats against her that implied physical violence.[13][14][15][16]
On 18 September 2015 Clara dropped her suit against Polaris Entertainment, bringing their legal battle to an end.[17]
Family
Clara is the daughter of South Korean singer Lee Seung-kyu, a former member of the bilingual band, Koreana.[18]
Filmography
Film
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Five Senses of Eros | Lee Yoon-jung |
| 2013 | Ask This of Rik-yu | Joseon noblewoman |
| 2015 | Casa Amor: Exclusive for Ladies | Oh Nan-hee |
Television drama
| Year | Title | Role | Network |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Invisible Man, Choi Jang-soo | Cha Hye-jin | KBS2 |
| High Kick! | Kim Yoon-jo (cameo, ep 64) | MBC | |
| 2009 | Tae-hee, Hye-kyo, Ji-hyun | Lee Sung-min | MBC |
| Creating Destiny | Shim Hye-rim | MBC | |
| 2010 | A Good Day for the Wind to Blow | Choi Mi-ran | KBS1 |
| 2011 | Baby Faced Beauty | Choi Seul-ah | KBS2 |
| 2012 | Take Care of Us, Captain | Hong Mi-joo | SBS |
| Tasty Life | Min Young-woo | SBS | |
| 2013 | Goddess of Marriage | Cynthia Jung | SBS |
| Reckless Family - Season 3 | Clara Park | MBC Every 1 | |
| Love For Ten - Generation of Youth | Kim Yang | Mobile drama[19] | |
| 2014 | Emergency Couple | Han Ah-reum | tvN |
| Fated to Love You | Hye-jin (cameo, ep 1) | MBC | |
Variety show
| Year | Title | Network | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| |
We Got Married | MBC | Guest (season 2 ep 28-29) |
| 2010–2011 | Star King | SBS | Regular guest |
| 2012–2013 | Singles Trend Maker | MBC Every 1 | Regular guest |
| Singles - Season 2 | MBC Every 1 | Regular guest | |
| Saturday Night Live Korea | tvN | Cast (season 4 ep 20-38) | |
| Star Diving Show: Splash | MBC | Regular guest | |
| Happy Together | KBS2 | Guest | |
| Fashion King Korea | SBS | Cast (season 2) | |
| Kangxi Lai Le | CTi Variety | Guest (ep 2670) | |
| I Am a Man | KBS2 | Guest (ep 18) | |
Music video
| Year | Song Title | Artist |
|---|---|---|
| 2007 | "Same Pillow" | Tei |
| "Love Song" | ||
| 2009 | "Empty Bet" | Kim Joon |
| "Toy" | Moon Hee-joon | |
| 2010 | "Nothing to Lose" | Juno |
| "Shout to the World" | December | |
| "Dazzling Tears" | ||
| "오고있나요" | ||
| 2013 | "Joah" | Jay Park |
| "Invitation" | House Rulez | |
| 2014 | "Gwiyomi Song 2" | Clara |
Awards and nominations
| Year | Award | Category | Nominated work | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | 1st Foce Digital Ulzzang Photo Contest | N/A | N/A | Won |
| 2013 | Men's Health Cool Guy Contest | Vital Woman Award[20] | N/A | Won |
| 6th Style Icon Awards | Chevrolet Find New Star Award | N/A | Won | |
| 6th Korea Drama Awards | Hot Star Award | Goddess of Marriage | Won | |
References
- ↑ Ock, Hyun-ju (January 13, 2014). "Is Clara turning into a Korean sex symbol?". The Korea Herald. Retrieved January 15, 2014.
- ↑ 클라라, 개명이유 "본명 이성민, 남자가 너무 많아". My Daily (in Korean). January 3, 2012. Retrieved September 15, 2013.
- ↑ "Pororo Beats Psy and Other Celebrities in Google Search Results". The Chosun Ilbo. July 2, 2013. Retrieved September 15, 2013.
- ↑ Ahn, Joo-hee (July 5, 2013). "Clara shows off her bikini body for High Cut". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved September 15, 2013.
- ↑ "Clara Makes Generous Pledge to Breast Cancer Patients". The Chosun Ilbo. September 13, 2013. Retrieved September 15, 2013.
- ↑ Im, Woo-jung (September 11, 2013). "After series of gaffes, Clara swears off SNS". The Korea Herald. Retrieved September 15, 2013.
- ↑ Lee, Sun-min (September 12, 2013). "Clara uses Internet to quit Internet". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved September 15, 2013.
- ↑ Bae, Sun-young (June 25, 2013). "PREVIEW: SBS weekend drama Goddess of Marriage". TenAsia. Retrieved September 15, 2013.
- ↑ Lee, Sun-min (August 16, 2013). "Clara ranks baby-daddies". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved September 15, 2013.
- ↑ Oh, Jean (January 21, 2014). "Clara to show her true self". The Korea Herald. Retrieved January 24, 2014.
- ↑ "Clara Speaks Out About Enduring Harsh Criticism". The Chosun Ilbo. January 23, 2015. Retrieved January 23, 2015.
- ↑ Kim, Se-jeong (January 15, 2015). "Clara claims sexually harassment by agency owner". The Korea Times. Retrieved January 23, 2015.
- ↑ Choi, Hee-suk (July 15, 2015). "Prosecution clears Clara of blackmailing, indicts Polaris chief". The Korea Herald. Retrieved July 16, 2015.
- ↑ "Ilgwang group chairman accused of threatening actress". The Korea Times. July 15, 2015. Retrieved July 16, 2015.
- ↑ Jin, Min-ji (July 16, 2015). "Court sides with Clara in lawsuit". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved July 16, 2015.
- ↑ "Actress Cleared of Blackmail". The Chosun Ilbo. July 16, 2015. Retrieved July 22, 2015.
- ↑ "Clara drops her suit against Polaris Entertainment". Allkpop. September 21, 2015.
- ↑ Park, Si-soo (March 7, 2014). "Stars and outstanding parents". The Korea Times. Retrieved March 11, 2014.
- ↑ Kang, Jung-yeon (August 19, 2013). "INFINITE Sung Yeol, 4minute Jihyun to Pair Up in Drama". TenAsia. Retrieved September 15, 2013.
- ↑ Ahn, Joo-hee (July 2, 2013). "Clara wins awards, reps games". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved September 15, 2013.