The elder of two sons, Lee was born and raised in Ansan, Gyeonggi Province.[1] His younger brother is singer Sung Yu-bin (Korean: 성유빈, born 1987), who is a member of the band BOB4.[2] Lee was a baseball player in his youth and had aspired to play professionally before constant injuries forced him to give up the sport during his senior year. He graduated from Ansan Technical High School where he was schoolmates with St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Kim Kwang-hyun.[3]
Career
Lee's first credited role was as baseball player Koo Chun-seo in the sports film Superstar Mr. Gam. He was cast in his first lead role in the 2005 film Blossom Again opposite veteran actress Kim Jung-eun and was nominated for Best New Actor at the Blue Dragon Film Awards and Baeksang Arts Awards.[4] His next film was the 2006 Japanese-South Korean co-production 26 Years Diary, in which he portrayed the Korean student who was killed trying to save a man who had fallen off the platform at the Shin-Ōkubo Station. It garnered him much attention in Japan due to the high profile nature of the actual incident, which had occurred in 2001.[5] He was cast in the second male lead role in the romantic comedy Two Outs in the Ninth Inning, in which he played a college baseball player aspiring to go professional.[6] After a stint of playing mostly protagonist roles, he portrayed the villainous nemesis of Park Yoo-chun in the sageuk fusion drama Rooftop Prince followed by the scheming son of a chaebol family in Pots of Gold.
Following his discharge from the military in July 2015, Lee's comeback project was the MBC weekend drama My Mom. He then starred in the KBS drama My Golden Life, which began airing in late 2017 and became a ratings hit domestically.[7]
In April 2020, Lee and his mother joined the cast of the reality show My Little Old Boy.
In December 2021, Lee released his first solo exhibition 'Lee Motion' and made his debut as a painter.[8]
In June 2022, Lee will hold a second art exhibition, starting from June 21, 2022, until July 20.[9]
Personal life
Lee played for the celebrity amateur baseball team Playboys, alongside the likes of fellow actors Kim Seung-woo and Yoon Hyun-min.[10]
Lee secretly registered his marriage in April 2012 to his non-celebrity girlfriend.[11] The couple have a son who was born in 2011, a day before the death of his paternal grandmother.[12][13] They separated before he enlisted for his military service and eventually divorced after three years of marriage. He has primary custody of their son.[14]
Lee entered his mandatory military service on October 29, 2013 at 32nd Division training camp in Gongju, South Chungcheong Province.[15][16] As he was a single father, he was granted reservist status, which meant that he could commute to his duty station from home after the five weeks of basic military training. He was discharged in July 2015.[17]
^Lee Da-won (December 3, 2021). "이태성, 첫 개인전 '이모션' 개최" [Tae-Sung Lee, first solo exhibition ‘Emotion] (in Korean). Sports Kyunghyang. Retrieved December 3, 2021 – via Naver.
^Yoo Hyo-jeong (June 13, 2022). "배우 이태성, 두번째 전시회 연다 "화가 활동도 기대해주길" [Actor Lee Tae-seong opens a second exhibition "I hope you look forward to his artist activities] (in Korean). News1. Archived from the original on June 13, 2022. Retrieved June 13, 2022 – via Naver.
^Oh Ji-won (July 18, 2022). "이태성 母 박영혜, 영화 감독 데뷔 위해 '미우새' 하차 "과분한 사랑 감사" [Lee Tae-sung and Park Young-hye leave 'Miwoo Bird' to debut as a film director "Thank you for your undeserved love"] (in Korean). YTN. Archived from the original on July 18, 2022. Retrieved July 18, 2022 – via Naver.
^Jang Jin-ri (August 13, 2021). "[단독]이태성-허정민, '펜트하우스3' 특별출연…활약 예고" [Actors Lee Tae Seong and Heo Jung Min will make special appearances in 'Penthouse 3']. Spotv News (in Korean). Naver. Archived from the original on August 13, 2021. Retrieved August 13, 2021.
^Park Pan-seok (December 27, 2021). "이태성, '고스트닥터' 역대급 빌런 출연 예고..장민호 역 돌아온다" [Lee Tae-sung, 'Ghost Doctor' All-Time Villain Appearance Announcement... Returning as Jang Min-ho] (in Korean). OSEN. Archived from the original on March 2, 2022. Retrieved December 27, 2021 – via Naver.
^Kim Na-young (January 10, 2022). "김승우 연출 '더 드라이버' 2월 방송, 안재욱·이태란·안길강 출연" [Directed by Kim Seung-woo, ‘The Driver’ aired in February, starring Ahn Jae-wook, Lee Tae-ran, and Ahn Gil-kang] (in Korean). MK SPORTS. Archived from the original on January 10, 2022. Retrieved January 10, 2022 – via Naver.
^Kang Nae-ri (August 18, 2021). "김승우 연출작 '더 드라이버', 안재욱·이태란 등 출연…9월 첫 촬영" ['The Driver' directed by Kim Seung-woo, Ahn Jae-wook, Lee Tae-ran, etc. first shoot in september]. YTN (in Korean). Naver. Archived from the original on August 18, 2021. Retrieved August 18, 2021.
^Park Soo-min (June 4, 2022). "첫방 '오수재' 서현진, 홍지윤 추락과 함께 로펌 대표직 나락으로[★밤TV]" [With the fall of Seo Hyun-jin and Hong Ji-yoon of 'Oh Soo-jae' in the first episode, they went to the bottom of the law firm's position [★Night TV]] (in Korean). MT Star News. Archived from the original on January 8, 2023. Retrieved June 4, 2022 – via Naver.
^Lee Min-ji (June 23, 2022). "삼남매가 용감하게' 김승수-왕빛나-이태성-김소은-이유진 캐스팅 [공식]" [Casting ‘Three Siblings Brave’ Kim Seung-soo, Wang Bit-na, Lee Tae-seong, Kim So-eun, and Lee Yoo-jin [Official]] (in Korean). Newsen. Archived from the original on November 12, 2020. Retrieved June 23, 2022 – via Naver.
