"They say if you fall, someone who loves you will lend a hand for you, here I have 8 pairs of hands, always ready to hold me back up when I stumble backwards" —Jessica
Jessica Jung (Hangul: 제시카 정; born April 18, 1989), better known by her first name Jessica, is a Korean-American singer-songwriter, actress, fashion designer, businesswoman and model, presently based in South Korea and China. She was a member of K-pop girl group, Girls' Generation, as one of the main vocalists from the group's debut on August 5, 2007 until September 30, 2014. Jessica was given notice of her removal from SNSD on September 30, 2014, due to the inability of all members and the company agreeing on Jessica’s fashion business, Blanc & Eclare. Despite her SNSD contract being broken, Jessica stayed as an SM Entertainment artist until August 5, 2015. Jessica made her solo singing debut, under Coridel Entertainment, with the lead single, "Fly" featuring Fabolous and released her first solo album, "With Love, J" in May 2016.
Early life[]
Jessica Jung, also known by her Korean name, Jung SooYeon (정수연), was born on April 18, 1989 in San Francisco, California, USA, to a South Korean couple who settled in America in the 1980s. Jessica has one sister, Krystal Jung, who is five years younger than her, she is a singer, member of the girl group F(x) and an actress.
In 2000, during a family holiday, Jessica and Krystal Jung were discovered and scouted by the prolific show-business company, SM Entertainment, the company saw potential in the two sisters to become entertainers. After they had a cameo in the Shinhwa's music video for their song, Wedding March, Jessica made a successful audition to SM Entertainment and became a trainee in the company in 2000. Krystal, during the same time, however was held back by her parents from pursuing an entertaining career at that time due to her very young age, she would eventually join SM at the age of 11.
During her teenage years, Jessica Jung was a student at Korean Kent Foreign School, alongside the Korean-American rapper, Jessi and Girls Generation member, Tiffany Hwang, the latter also being born in the same hospital as her.
Career[]
August 2007-September 2014[]
After training in singing, dancing and acting from 2000 til 2007 in SM Entertainment, Jessica was chosen to be a member of the K-pop girl group, Girls Generation, the group made their debut on August 5, 2007 and became a huge success in the South Korea and across the world. Jessica was a main vocalist in the group, alongside Taeyeon. Aside from being a Girls Generation member, Jessica has sang several solo songs for Korean dramas, she also collaborated with Tiffany and Seohyun for the song, Love Hate.
Jessica appeared in TV shows and musicals, such as Legally Blonde, Wild Romance Oh! My Lady. and Jessica and Krystal, to name a few.
Jessica has modeled for many companies such as Casio Baby G Watches and the LG Chocolate Phone.
October 2014-present[]
In September 2014, Jessica had officially left Girls' Generation due to S.M. feeling that she could not balance both the commitments of being a member of the group and a businesswoman with priorities on her fashion business. She established her fashion business, Blanc & Eclare, in 2014. On August 6, 2015, it was confirmed that Jessica left S.M. Entertainment, who still managed her solo activities after her leave from Girls' Generation. In February 2016, she signed an exclusive contract to join the record label, Coridel Entertainment, from which she released her first official solo single, "Fly" with an accompanying music video and first solo album, "With Love, J", in May 2016. Jessica also released the single, "Love Me The Same" with a music video.
In 2015, Jessica took part in a Chinese sports reality show called "YES Coach". She participated in a swimming competition, trained by Chinese professional swimmer, Sun Yang. She also appeared on the Singaporean talk show, "The 5 Show" where she briefly spoke about her business, Blanc & Eclare. In 2015, Jessica played the lead female character in the Chinese movie, I Love That Crazy Little Thing, that was released in August 2016 and portrayed the agent of Stephon Marbury, in a Chinese autobiographical film based on the life of basketballer Stephon Marbury, called "My Other Home", that was released in December 2016.
On December 31, 2015, Jessica Jung released a nine-minute video called "Gravity", the video has a cover of the song "Gravity" by Sarah Bareilles and an interview from Jessica, she also acts out being an S.M. trainee as well as a designer. The video was released as part of a promo campaign for Chinese magazine, Grazia.
On December 9, 2016, Jessica released her third solo single, "Wonderland" with an accompanying music video and her second album also named Wonderland.
In August 2017, Jessica released the single "Summer Storm" on her tenth anniversary as a singer with the release of her third mini-album, My Decade.
In 2022, she made her re-debut in China as a girl group member alongside veteran Chinese artists in the survival show Sisters Who Make Waves Season 3. She was the only member in the show's history whose mother tongue was neither Mandarin nor Cantonese.
Jessica Jung authored the books, Shine (2021), I will Shine (2021) and Bright (2022) which were each released by Simon and Schuster. The book series follows Rachel, a young K-pop singer, who faces personal and career challenges while trying to start a fashion brand. Jung was inspired to write the story based off her own experience in the South Korean music industry.
In 2023, Jessica released her fourth mini-album Beep Beep after 7 years.
Trivia[]
- Jessica's nicknames are Ice Princess, Sica, Jess, Maomao, and Sicachu.
- Jessica chose to retain American citizenship over Korean after growing up as a dual citizen; thus, she has an American passport.
- Her Greek zodiac sign is Aries.
- She is of full Korean descent.
- Jessica is a high light lyric soprano, distinguished for her nasal vocal technique, she has a vocal range of D3 to D6. She also has the highest voice and vocal range of the Girls' Generation members.
- Her natural hair color is black, her natural eye color is brown.
- Her height is 162 cm and weight is 46kg
- Jessica's father is a lawyer.
- Jessica's native language is English but can speak fluent Korean, basic Chinese and basic Japanese.
- Her hobbies are boxing and soccer, she considers her specialties as speaking English and playing the piano.
- Jessica's favorite food is Chocolate Ice Cream, she hates Cucumber.
- Her favorite clothes to wear is a simple white t-shirt with denim.
- Her motto is 'Follow my Heart'.
- Jessica is notorious for her serious and blunt personality, according to Yoona, she isn't as intimidating as she first seems, Yoona also said that Jessica likes to joke.
- The name 'Jessica', was actually invented by the prolific English writer, William Shakespeare, it is considered as the feminine version of the male name 'Jesse' which is of Hebrew origin and means 'rich, God beholds.' Her Korean name 'Sooyeon' means 'beauty and luxury' in Korean.
- Jessica trained for seven years under SM Entertainment for her singing career, the longest out of all of the members of SNSD.
- She was born in the same hospital as Tiffany.
- Both Jessica and Krystal are anemic.
Discography[]
Korean[]
Mini Albums[]
- With Love, J (2016)
- Wonderland (2016)
- My Decade (2017)
- Beep Beep (2023)
Digital Singles[]
- Because It's Spring (2017)
- One More Christmas (2018)
Japanese[]
Single Albums[]
- Call Me Before You Sleep (2019)
English[]
Mini Albums[]
- With Love, J (2016)
- Wonderland (2016)
Promotional Single[]
| Year | Album | Song | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | SPC Group | "Sweet Delight" | |
| 2012 | PYL Younique Volume 1 | "My Lifestyle" | with Dok2 |
Soundtrack[]
| Year | Album | Song | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Romance Town OST | "Because Tears Are Overflowing" | Solo | |
| 2012| | Wild Romance OST | "How" | with Kim Jin-pyo |
| To The Beautiful You OST | "Butterfly | with Krystal | |
| The King's Dream OST | "Heart Road" | Solo | |
| 2013 | Dating Agency: Cyrano OST | "The One like You" | |
| 2021 | Jessica & Krystal - US Road Trip OST | "Can't Sleep" | |
| "Snapshot" | |||
| "Daydream" |
Filmography[]
Dramas[]
| Year | Title | Channel | Role | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Unstoppable Marriage | KBS2 | Bulgwang-dong's Seven Princesses Gang | Cameo |
| 2009 | Tae-hee, Hye-kyo, Ji-hyun! | MBC | English teacher | |
| 2010 | Oh! My Lady | SBS | Herself | |
| 2012 | Wild Romance | KBS2 | Kang Jong-hee | Supporting role |
Movies[]
| Year | Title | Role | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | I Love That Crazy Little Thing | Qian Qian | |
| 2017 | Two Bellmen Three | Eui-joo | |
| My Other Home | Yang Chen |
Television[]
| Year | Title | Channel | Role | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Jessica & Krystal | OnStyle | Herself | Supporting role |
| 2016 | Beauty Bible | KBS | Host | |
| 2017 | Mix Nine | JTBC | Coridel Entertainment representative | |
| 2022 | Sisters Who Make Waves 3 | MangoTV | Contestant | |
| 2022-23 | Seaside Band | MangoTV | Cast Member | |
| 2023 | Great Dance Crew | Youku | Cast Member | Judge/Leader |
| 2023 | The Treasured Voice | ZJSTV | Guest Member |
Music Videos[]
| Year | Song | Artist | Role |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | "Love Is Late, I'm Sorry" | Kim Jo Han | |
| 2009 | "Super Girl" | Super Junior-M | |
| 2012 | "Sherlock (Clue + Note)" | SHINee |
Theater[]
| Year | Title | Role | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009–2010 2012–2013 |
Legally Blonde | Elle Woods | Lead role |
Events[]
Concerts[]
- Jessica On Cloud Nine (2017)
- Golden Night (2018)
- Diamond Dreams (2023)
Fanmeeting[]
- 2016 Jessica Fanmeeting (2016)
- Jessica 2016 Fanmeeting in Shanghai (2016)
- Jessica's White Night (2019)
- XOXO Jessica Fanmeeting (2019)
Showcase[]
- Princess Under a Golden Sky (2016)
- Winter Wonderland (2016)
Awards[]
- [2013.06.03] 7th The Musical Awards: Popularity Award - Legally Blonde
- [2014.12.09] Yahoo Asia Buzz Awards - Most Searched Korean Female Artist
- [2014.12.23] Sohu Fashion Awards - Asian Fashion Icon
- [2023.02.25] Sohu Fashion Awards - Fashionista
- [2023.03.25] Weibo Night - Outstanding Singer
MV[]
Gallery[]
| To view the Jessica gallery, click here. |
[]
 | |
|---|---|
| Mini Albums | With Love, J • Wonderland • My Decade • Beep Beep |
| Digital Singles | Because It's Spring • One More Christmas • Call Me Before You Sleep |
| EPs | Wonderland NHR Remix |
| OST | Jessica & Krystal - US Road Trip OST: Can't Sleep • Snapshot • Daydream |
| Collaborations | |
| Single Albums | Call Me Before You Sleep |
| Mini Albums | With Love, J • Wonderland |
| Collaborations | |