Lee Young-ja

This article is about the comedian. For the handballer, see Lee Young-ja (handballer). For the composer, see Young-ja Lee (composer).

In this Korean name, the family name is Lee.

Lee Yoo-mi (Korean: 이유미; born August 15, 1967), better known by her stage name Lee Young-ja (Korean: 이영자) is a South Korean comedian and television presenter. She is signed with iOK Company as her agency.^[1]

Lee Young-ja
Born	(1967-08-15) August 15, 1967 (age 57) Asan, South Chungcheong Province, South Korea
Medium	Stand-up, television
Years active	1991–present
Genres	Observational, Sketch, Wit, Parody, Slapstick, Dramatic, Sitcom
Korean name
Hangul	이유미
Hanja	李有美
RR	I Yumi
MR	I Yumi
Stage name
Hangul	이영자
RR	I Yeongja
MR	I Yŏngja

Career

Lee made her debut in the South Korean entertainment industry in 1991,^[2] after successfully winning MBC's comedy competition.^[3]

Personal life

In 2010, Lee became an ambassador for the World Disaster Relief Organization after going to Haiti on her talk show, Live Talk Show Taxi, and volunteering during the 2010 Haiti earthquake.^[4][5]

Filmography

Variety shows

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1991	Youth March	Cast member
1992	If You Laugh, Blessings Will Come Your Way	Cast member
	Today is a Good Day	Cast member
1992–1993	Sunday Night	Cast member	영자의방, 댄싱 히어로, 일요매거진, 일요스타앨범
1993	특종 TV연예	With Kim Won-jun and Choi Jin-young
1994	Good Saturday	Host
	Star and Tonight (스타와 이밤을)
1995	Super Sunday	Host	톱스타 인생극장, 금촌댁네 사람들
1996	My Father (친정아버지)
	Moonlight Sonata (달빛 소나타)
1999	Super TV Sunday is Fun	Host
	Family Entertainment	Contestant with Jung Hye-sun and Hong Jin-kyung	Episode 745
2005	Find a Happy World	Host
2007	Squeeze	Host	Season 1
2007–2012	Live Talk Show Taxi	Host
2008	People Looking for a Laugh	Cast member
2010–2019	Hello Counselor	Co-host with Shin Dong-yeop and Cultwo[6][7]
2012	Invincible Youth 2	Host[8]
	Blind Test 180°	Contestant	Chuseok special
2012–2013	100 Dancing Golden Microphones (춤추는 100인의 황금 마이크)	Host[9]
2013–2014	Mamma Mia	Host[10]
2014–2015	Good Eating, Good Living - Did You Eat?	Host[11]
2014–2017	Live Talk Show Taxi	Host[12]
2015	Golden Wagon	Host[13]
	Serial Shopping Family	Host[14]
2016	Eating Show Star (먹스타 총출동)	Host[15]
2018–present	Omniscient Interfering View	Cast member[16]
	Food Bless You	Cast member[17][18]
	Lanlife	Host[19][20]
2019–2022	Stars' Top Recipe at Fun-Staurant	Cast member	[21]
2021–2022	I'm here to make money	Host with Jason [22]	Season 1–2[23]
2021	War of the Sword	Host	with Lee Chan-won and Do Kyung-wan [24]
2022	The House Detox	Host	Season 2[25]

Web series

Year	Title	Notes
2020	K-Bob Star	Host (with Kim Sook)[26]

Television series

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1995	Jazz
1998	Will Make You Happy	Lee Young-ja
2006	Love Truly	Song Eon-joo (cook, 39y/o)	Supporting character
2008	Last Scandal	Min-joo's mother	Supporting character
2015	The Producers	Herself	Special appearance/cameo in episode 3 with Shin Dong-yeop and Cultwo
2017	The Package	Woman in airport	Cameo

Films

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1992	Don't Cry, Young-ja
	I Love You, Young-ja
1999	Ghost in Love	Deity
2004	Don't Tell Papa	Gong Sun-mi	Supporting character

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Nominated work	Result	Ref.
1993	29th Baeksang Arts Awards	Best Variety Performer - Female		Won	[27]
1996	23rd Korean Broadcasting Awards	Comedian Award		Won
	3rd Korean Entertainment Arts Awards	Comedian Award		Won
2010	SBS Entertainment Awards	SBS 20th Anniversary Entertainment 10 Star Award		Won	[28]
2011	10th KBS Entertainment Awards	Top Excellence Award (Variety)		Won	[29]
2012	11th KBS Entertainment Awards	Top Excellence Award (Variety)	Hello Counselor, Invincible Youth Season 2	Won	[30]
2014	Asia Rainbow TV Awards	Best Entertainment Hostess	Hello Counselor	Won	[31]
2015	51st Baeksang Arts Awards	Best Variety Performer - Female		Nominated
2016	tvN10 Awards	Perfect Attendance Award in Variety	Live Talk Show Taxi	Won	[32][unreliable source?][33]
		Best MC		Nominated
	15th KBS Entertainment Awards	Top Excellence Award (Talk Show)	Hello Counselor	Nominated	[34]
2018	16th KBS Entertainment Awards	Grand Prize (Daesang)		Won	[35]
	18th MBC Entertainment Awards		Omniscient Interfering View	Won	[36]
		Entertainer of the Year Award		Won
		Best Couple Award (with manager Song Sung-ho)		Nominated
2019	55th Baeksang Arts Awards	Best Variety Performer – Female		Won	[37]
	17th KBS Entertainment Awards	Best Couple Award with Lee Kyung-kyu	Stars' Top Recipe at Fun-Staurant	Won	[38]
	19th MBC Entertainment Awards	Grand Prize (Daesang)	Omniscient Interfering View	Nominated	[39]
		Entertainer of the Year		Won
2020	18th KBS Entertainment Awards	Producers' Special Award	Stars' Top Recipe at Fun-Staurant	Won	[40]
		Top Excellence Award in Reality Category		Nominated
	20th MBC Entertainment Awards	Grand Prize (Daesang)	Omniscient Interfering View	Nominated	[41]
		Best Couple Award with Jun Hyun-moo		Nominated
2021	19th KBS Entertainment Awards	Top Excellence Award in Reality Category	Stars' Top Recipe at Fun-Staurant	Nominated	[42]
	21st MBC Entertainment Awards	Entertainer of the Year	Omniscient Interfering View	Won	[43]
2022	2022 MBC Entertainment Awards			Won	[44]
		Best Couple Award with Jun Hyun-moo		Nominated

Listicles

Name of publisher, year listed, name of listicle, and placement

Publisher	Year	Listicle	Placement	Ref.
Forbes	2019	Korea Power Celebrity 40	33rd	[45]