Jihyo

Park Ji-hyo (Korean: 박지효; born Park Ji-soo on February 1, 1997), known mononymously as Jihyo, is a South Korean singer. She is the leader and vocalist of the South Korean girl group Twice, formed by JYP Entertainment in 2015. Jihyo was born on February 1, 1997, in Guri, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea as Park Ji-soo. Her younger sister, Lee Ha-eum (born Park Ji-young) has been modeling and debuting as a rookie actress. JYP Entertainment scouted Jihyo after she placed second in a contest on Junior Naver. She joined the company at the age of eight and trained for ten years, during which she became the face of Innisfree's teen line with boy band Boyfriend, and trained with K-pop acts such as Wonder Girls' Sunmi and Hyerim, Bae Suzy, Jo Kwon, and Nichkhun. Jihyo was set to debut in a girl group with now-Twice members Nayeon, Jeongyeon and Sana, although the project was cancelled. Instead, she joined the reality television show Sixteen, a competition to select the founding members of Twice. She legally changed her name to Jihyo before the competition. As one of nine successful participants, she went on to join the newly formed girl group Twice. Jihyo was voted by her bandmates as leader in an anonymous vote.