It's hard to believe that Rain (born Jung Ji-hoon) was once rejected at an audition, not for his singing nor dancing, which they claimed was great, but for not looking the part, i.e., not having double eyelids. It's a good thing he didn't listen and worked his way up from backup dancer to world-renowned performer.
Photo from HanCinema
Birthday: June 25, 1982
Instagram: @rain_oppa
He debuted at 16 as a member of a boyband named Fanclub, but the group failed to make any financial gains. Undaunted, four years later, in 2002, Rain debuted as a solo artist and released his first album Bad Guy. And the rest, as they say, is history.
However, most k-drama fans know this Premium Oppa from playing the prickly, reticent star with a soft heart who eventually falls for the innocent and kind-hearted Song Hye-kyo (and her three bears song) in 2004's hit Full House. He won the Best Actor Award for the KBS Drama Awards for the role. In 2006, he starred in his first film, I'm a Cyborg, But That's Okay, a film that went on to win the Alfred Bauer Award at the 57th Berlin International Film Festival. His performance in the film won him the Best New Actor award in the prestigious Baeksang Arts Awards.
Not content with performing in only Korean productions, Rain starred in the Hollywood films Speed Racer (2008) and Ninja Assassin (2009). Then he went on to star in his first Chinese drama, Diamond Lover (2015), which reached an astonishing 3.3 BILLION views online.
His success in acting is only a quarter of his success in the music industry, where he has left his most significant mark. He has released seven albums and close to 30 singles and has sold millions of records worldwide. This multi-awarded performer has sold out concerts in his native South Korea and Japan, China, and the United States. In 2006, Time Magazine listed him as one of the "100 Most Influential People Who Shape Our World."
In his 2019 drama Welcome 2 Life, Rain plays a ruthless, successful, but dissatisfied lawyer who gets a glimpse of an alternate life where he lives as an honest, hardworking public servant who is married and has a child. It's hard to imagine the real Rain wanting to change anything about his life since he is married to actress Kim Tae-hee and raises two daughters with her. Between the two of them, they are one of the wealthiest couples in Hallyu. They shocked their fans in 2017 when they married in a private Catholic ceremony and did not even hire professional photographers. They manage to keep their private lives away from the public eye and only recently starred in a TV ad together.
Rain continues to make his mark both in acting and in music. He starred in the fantasy medical drama Ghost Doctor in 2022, and is set to host the upcoming sequel to the Netflix series Bloodhounds.
After breaking barriers and paving the way for Korean performers to succeed on the world's stage, no one can stop Rain from reigning in his own parade.
