Wendy, also known as Shon Seung-wan, is a South Korean singer, host, and DJ. She is famous for being a member of the popular South Korean girl group ‘Red Velvet’ under the record label SM Entertainment.
Wiki/Biography
Wendy was born as Shon Seung-wan on Monday, 21 February 1994 (age 29 years; as of 2023) in Seongbuk District, Seoul, South Korea. Her zodiac sign is Pisces.
A childhood image of Wendy
At the age of six, she developed an interest in becoming a singer. She resided with her family in Jecheon, South Korea, until her fifth year of elementary school, at which point she relocated to Canada with her older sister, Shon Seung-hee, for international studies. Initially living in Brockville, Ontario, she later moved to the United States to attend Shattuck-Saint Mary’s in Faribault, Minnesota. During this time, she adopted the English name ‘Wendy Shon.’ Later, she returned to Canada and continued her education at Richmond Hill High School in Ontario, where she actively participated in the school’s show choir, Vocal Fusion. While living in both countries, she became proficient in English and also acquired some proficiency in French and Spanish.
Physical Appearance
Height (approx.): 5′ 2″
Weight (approx.): 45 kg
Hair Colour: Black (Being a K-pop idol, Wendy changes her hair colour frequently.)
Eye Colour: Black
Body Measurements (approx.): 28-26-30
Family
She belongs to a wealthy family in Seongbuk District, Seoul, South Korea.
Parents & Siblings
She has an elder sister named Shon Seung-hee.
Wendy’s parents and sister
Husband
She is unmarried.
Signature/Autograph
Career
K-pop Trainee
Initially, her parents opposed her pursuit of a music career, urging her to prioritize her studies. However, during her high school years, they eventually granted permission for her to audition to become a singer in South Korea. In 2010, while still in high school, she participated in an online audition for Koreaboo’s Global Auditions in 2011 under Cube Entertainment; however, she was not the final winner. Wendy didn’t plan to audition for SM Entertainment initially. Instead, she was discovered by the company when accompanying a friend to the S.M. Global Audition in Canada in 2012. During the audition, she sang Kim Gun-mo’s ‘Moon of Seoul’ and successfully passed. After training for less than two years, Wendy was introduced as a member of SM Entertainment’s pre-debut group, SM Rookies, on 14 March 2014.
Singer
Red Velvet
On 1 August 2014, she debuted with the single song ‘Happiness’ as a member of the K-pop girl group Red Velvet, consisting of three other members Seulgi, Wendy, and Irene.
Poster of the 2014 South Korean song ‘Happiness’
The original music video of the song ‘Happiness’ received over two million views on YouTube within the first 24 hours of its release; however, it was later removed due to controversy surrounding certain background images; an edited version of the music video was uploaded later. In August 2014, ‘Happiness’ became the second-most viewed K-pop music video worldwide. Red Velvet achieved the distinction of being the first K-pop girl group to have a debut single ranked on the Billboard World Digital Songs chart, reaching number four. On 13 September 2014, the group released their second single digital single ‘Be Natural.’
Solo
On 5 April 2021, she made her solo debut with the release of the EP ‘Like Water.’
Poster of the 2021 EP ‘Like Water’ by Wendy of Red Velvet
Got the Beat
On 27 December 2021, Wendy was unveiled as a member of the supergroup ‘Got the Beat,’ alongside her Red Velvet groupmate Seulgi, soloist BoA, Taeyeon and Hyoyeon from the girl group Girls’ Generation, and Karina and Winter from the girl group Aespa. The group made its debut on 3 January 2022 with the single ‘Step Back.’
Poster of the 2022 song ‘Step Back’ by Got the Beat
Film
In 2015, she appeared as herself in SM Entertainment’s documentary film ‘SMTown: The Stage.’ In 2020, she lent her voice to the characters of Wani and Queen Poppy in the American animated musical comedy film ‘Trolls World Tour.’
Television
TV Series
In 2016, she appeared in a cameo role with her group Red Velvet in episode 16 of KBS2’s popular South Korean TV series ‘Descendants of the Sun.’
TV Shows
In 2015, she appeared as a contestant with her groupmate Seulgi in JTBC’s South Korean singing competition show ‘100 People, 100 Songs.’
In the same year, she, along with groupmates Seulgi and Joy, appeared as a contestant on KBS’s popular South Korean television music program ‘Immortal Songs.’ She has appeared as a contestant and host on many South Korean reality and variety shows including ‘King of Mask Singer’ (2016), ‘Raid the Convenience Store’ (2017), ‘King of Mask Singer’ (2019), and ‘Mysterious Record Shop’ (2021).
Web Shows
She made an appearance as a cast member on the 2021 South Korean comedy variety show ‘Saturday Night Live Korea.’
Wendy in a still from the 2021 variety show ‘Saturday Night Live Korea’
Host
In February 2017, she began to host KBS World’s show ‘K-Rush.’ On 12 July 2021, Wendy became the permanent nightly DJ host for SBS Power FM’s radio show, ‘Wendy’s Youngstreet.’ In June 2023, it was announced that Wendy would be stepping down as the host of Wendy’s Youngstreet.
Wendy with her guest singer Kai in a still from the 2023 episode of the South Korean radio show ‘Wendy’s Youngstreet’
Theatre
In June 2023, Wendy was cast as ‘I’ in the 10th-anniversary production of the musical Rebecca, marking her official debut in theatre.
Controversy
In 2020, in an episode of the Korean talk show tvN’s ‘Talkmon,’ Wendy was questioned about various dialects in North America. In response, she performed impressions of how she thought popular white women and popular black women talked. Her impression of the stereotypical ‘sassy black woman’ received significant backlash from international fans who deemed it racist and harmful, especially in a country with limited exposure to black people and cultures. Many were disappointed, noting that this wasn’t the first time Wendy had engaged in impression-perpetuating negative stereotypes about black people. In a similar incident in 2014 on a radio show, she used stereotypical gestures and language, but neither of these instances was acknowledged by Wendy or her company.
Stage Accident
On 25 December 2019, Wendy faced an accident on stage during her solo rehearsal at the 2019 SBS Gayo Daejeon. The incident occurred due to what was claimed to be a lack of proper safety measures by the show’s crew in the stage design. The lift stairs were not in place for the performance, causing her to fall about 2.5 meters (8.2 ft). Wendy sustained injuries, including a pelvic fracture, a broken wrist, and various facial injuries, notably a cracked cheekbone, all on the right side of her body. Due to the accident, she did not take part in any of her planned activities. In February 2020, Wendy was released from the hospital after a two-month recovery and began outpatient treatment. She marked her return on 1 January 2021, at the SMTOWN Live Culture Humanity event in South Korea.
Awards, Honours, Achievements
Awards
Red Velvet
- 2015: Rookie Award at the Golden Disc Awards
Red Velvet after winning the Rookie Award at the Golden Disc Awards 2015
- 2015: Best Rookie Award at the Korean Entertainment Arts Awards
- 2015: Best Female Dance Award for the song ‘Ice Cream Cake’ at the Melon Music Awards
- 2016: Digital Bonsang for the song ‘Ice Cream Cake’ at the Golden Disc Awards
- 2016: Netizen’s Choice Award at the Korean Entertainment Arts Awards
- 2016: Main Award at the Seoul Music Awards
- 2017: Summer Queens of the Year by Dong-A.com’s Pick newspaper
- 2017: Ceci Asia Female Icon Award Golden Disc Awards
- 2017: Best Female Group at the Korean Entertainment Arts Awards
- 2017: Seoul Mayor’s Award at the Seoul Conference on Social Welfare
- 2018: Digital Bonsang at the Golden Disc Awards
- 2018: Performer of the Year – Singer (Daesang) at the Korea PD Awards
- 2018: Group Dance Award for the song ‘Power Up’ at the Korea Popular Music Awards
- 2018: Best Pop Song Award for the song ‘Red Flavor’ at the Korean Music Awards
- 2019: Grand Prize (Daesang) – Song of the Year Award for the song ‘Umpah Umpah’ at the Asia Artist Awards
Red Velvet after receiving the Song of the Year Award at the Asia Artist Awards 2019
- 2019: Best Female Group Award at the Korean Entertainment Arts Awards
- 2019: Choice Electronic/Dance Song for the song ‘Close to Me (Red Velvet Remix)’ at the Teen Choice Awards
- 2019: Artist of This Year and World Wide Icon at the The Fact Music Awards
- 2020: Best Music Video (Overseas) for the song ‘Psycho’ and Outstanding Group of the Year (Overseas) Award at the Asian Pop Music Awards
- 2020: Most Influential Female Idol Award at the Brand Customer Loyalty Awards
- 2020: 20th Anniversary Awards – Most Loved Music for the song ‘Red Flavor’ at the Bugs Music Awards
- 2020: Main Award at the Seoul Music Awards
- 2020: This Year’s Artist at The Fact Music Awards
- 2021: Best Group (Overseas) Award and Top 20 Albums of the Year (Overseas) Award for the album ‘Queendom’ at the Asian Pop Music Awards
- 2021: Digital Bonsang for the song ‘Psycho’ at the Golden Disc Awards
- 2021: Artist of the Year (Digital Music) – August for the song ‘Queendom’ at the Circle Chart Music Awards
- 2022: Best Female Performance Award at the Genie Music Awards
Red Velvet after winning the Best Female Performance Award at the Genie Music Awards 2022
- 2023: Generation Icon Award at the Hanteo Music Awards
Solo
- 2022: Radio DJ of the Year Award for SBS Power FM’s radio show ‘Wendy’s Youngstreet’ at the Brand of the Year Awards
- 2022: Radio DJ for the radio show ‘Wendy’s Youngstreet’ at the Korea First Brand Awards
- 2022: Radio DJ Award – Power FM for the radio show ‘Wendy’s Youngstreet’ at the SBS Entertainment Awards
- 2022: Ballad Award at the Seoul Music Awards
Honours
- 2018: Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Commendation by South Korea
Red Velvet after receiving the Culture Minister’s Award in 2018
Achievements
- 2018: Ranked 11th on Korea Power Celebrity list by Forbes
- 2019: Ranked 5th on Korea Power Celebrity list by Forbes
- 2020: Listed among 100 Digital Stars (Asia) by Forbes
Net Worth
In 2023, her net worth was estimated to be $4 million.
Favourites
- Film(s): Begin Again (2013), The Fault in Our Stars (2014)
- Perfume: Byredo Mojave Ghost, Le Labo Gaiac 10
- Food: Guk (soup), Kimbap, Bibimbap
Facts/Trivia
- Wendy’s nicknames are Olaf and Wan-ah.
- In November 2018, she became an endorser for Dongwon Yangban Rice Porridge alongside Irene.
- In Red Velvet, Wendy represents the colour Blue according to the group’s concept and imagery.
- In 2018, She, along with her Red Velvet group members, performed in front of Kim Jong Un, the supreme leader of North Korea, at a concert by South Korean musicians held at the East Pyongyang Grand Theatre in Pyongyang, North Korea.
- In 2020, she donated 100 million won (US$92,000) for the Covid-19 outbreak in Daegu, South Korea.
- On 31 December 2020, L’Occitane Korea introduced their ‘Be Happy, Smile Again’ campaign, featuring Wendy as a muse to celebrate the launch of their Happy Shea 2021 edition.
- According to the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), her personality type is ISFP (Introverted, Sensing, Feeling, and Perceiving).
- In February 2021, she appeared in Pond’s campaign for the Pink Essence product. In March 2021, Wendy became the new presenter for Pond’s.
Wendy promoting the beauty serum of Pond’s
- In May 2021, she was named the 2602th member of the Honor Society of Community Chest of Korea charity organization for donating 100 million won to the organization.
- She is proficient in playing multiple musical instruments including the piano, guitar, flute, and saxophone.
- She follows a non-vegetarian diet.
Wendy having a non-vegetarian meal
- She consumes alcohol occasionally.
Categories: Biography
Source: HIS Education