Jeongyeon was born as Yoo Kyung-wan on 1 November 1996 in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea.[1][2] She has two older sisters, one of whom is the actress Gong Seung-yeon.[1][3][4] Her father was a chef who worked for Kim Dae-jung, a former president of South Korea.[1][3] Jeongyeon took aerobics classes at a young age and developed an interest in singing and dancing soon afterward.[1]
Jeongyeon failed an audition to join JYP Entertainment as a child, but eventually joined the agency after passing an open audition in March 2010.[1][3] She trained for five years before debuting with Twice.[5] Between 2013 and early 2015, Jeongyeon was expected to become a member of a new JYP girl group alongside fellow trainees (now Twice bandmates) Nayeon, Sana, and Jihyo;[1][6] however, the project was cancelled.[1][6][7][8] Later in 2015, Jeongyeon participated in the television program Sixteen, a reality television competition to determine the members of Twice.[5][9] In the final episode, she was chosen as one of the nine members of the group.[5][10]
In October 2015 Jeongyeon officially debuted as a member of Twice with the release of their first extended play (EP), The Story Begins and its lead single "Like Ooh-Ahh".[11][12] Jeongyeon and her sister co-hosted the South Korean music program Inkigayo from July 2016 to January 2017,[4][13] for which they both won the Newcomer Award at the 2016 SBS Entertainment Awards.[1][14] Since Jeongyeon's debut, she has also been credited as songwriter on some of Twice's tracks.[1] In Gallup Korea's annual music poll, Jeongyeon was voted among the top 20 most popular idols in South Korea for four consecutive years from 2016 to 2019 alongside her bandmate Nayeon.[15][16][17][18][19][20]
Jeongyeon was diagnosed with spinal disc herniation in 2020, and underwent disc surgery a week before the release of More & More.[21] According to former reporter Lee Jin-ho, Jeongyeon's subsequent weight gain was likely due to steroid medications commonly used after disc surgery.[22][23][24] On 17 October 2020, JYP Entertainment announced that Jeongyeon would be taking a hiatus due to anxiety.[25] She resumed activities on 31 January 2021 at 30th Seoul Music Awards.[26] On 18 August 2021, JYP Entertainment announced that Jeongyeon would be taking a second hiatus due to panic and anxiety disorder.[27] She resumed activities as a member of the group in February 2022, beginning with the North American leg of Twice 4th World Tour "III".[28] That same year, Jeongyeon and the rest of the members renewed their contracts with JYP Entertainment.[29]
^Han Hae-seon (18 August 2021). "트와이스 정연, 활동 중단.."공황·심리적 불안 장애"[전문]" [Twice Jeongyeon, suspending activities.."Panic and psychological anxiety disorder"[Full text]]. Star News (in Korean). Archived from the original on 18 August 2021. Retrieved 18 August 2021 – via Naver.
^Seon, Mi-kyung (2 November 2023). "트와이스 정연, 애플 뮤직 캐럴 커버 플레이리스트 K팝 아티스트 최초 참여" [TWICE Jeongyeon becomes the first K-pop artist to participate in the Apple Music carol cover playlist]. The Chosun Ilbo (in Korean). Archived from the original on 2 November 2023. Retrieved 2 November 2023.
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