On television, Lee was dubbed the "Nation's Fairy" during her days on variety show Family Outing, and received the Grand Prize at the 2009 SBS Entertainment Awards for the program (alongside Yoo Jae-suk).

Lee was born in 1979 in Osong-ri, Cheongwon County, North Chungcheong Province, South Korea,[2] as the youngest of three daughters.

However, the 16-episode drama received low ratings (less than 10%) and Lee was criticized for her acting, with viewers saying she was miscast as a downtrodden but cheerful steel mill worker.

[16] Although her single was commercially successful, her drama was heavily penalized for violating advertising guidelines, as If in Love... Like Them had several instances of overt product placement, in addition to using Lee's songs in the soundtrack.

[19][20] During breaks in her solo music career, Lee also hosted various television programs, including Time Machine and Happy Together, which she co-hosted with Yoo Jae-suk in 2006.

"U-Go-Girl", the first single from the album, peaked at number 1 on online and offline charts, including various television music shows.

The album has 14 tracks, including collaborations with Daesung from Big Bang, Jeon Ji-yoon from 4Minute, Bekah from After School, Gary from Leessang, and Sangchu from Mighty Mouth.

On June 21, 2010, Lee admitted that the plagiarism accusations against her album were true, saying she had been "deceived"; she temporarily stopped all her activities as a singer and suspended her TV appearances.

She wrote online columns for vernacular newspapers such as The Hankyoreh that mixed her thoughts on life and career with social commentary, and was well reviewed for her simple prose, humor and intelligence.

In 2011, Lee released two charity songs for donation to animal shelters, "Please Stay Behind" (남아 주세요; Nama Juseyo) and "Remember" (기억해; Gieokhae).

[35] She personally selected 30 non-celebrity women "with love and respect for themselves" who she saw as the genuine Miss Korea's to perform the song with her on stage at the 2013 SBS Gayo Daejeon televised concert.

[37] Lee wrote the lyrics for eight of the 16 tracks on the album, and reportedly used a full band instead of using electronically generated sounds for the songs.

On April 2, 2014, SBS announced she and actress Moon So-ri would host a talk show Magic Eye.

[46] In October of that year, Lee's representative told media outlets that she would be taking a 2-year hiatus from her entertainment career, "in order to have time for herself.

In June, Lee's agency confirmed her comeback for early July as she prepared to film a music video for the single.

[60][61][62] The self-composed electro-R&B song was released on June 28, 2017, alongside the music video featuring the contrasting visuals of Seoul and Jeju Island.

][66] On July 4, 2017, her sixth studio album, Black, was released alongside the rustic-themed official music video for the title track.

[67] The mature, experimental sound started with Monochrome continues as Lee wrote eight and composed nine of the ten album tracks.

After SSAK3 project, Hangout with Yoo programme has a spin-off from Lee naming Uhm Jung-hwa, Jessi and Hwasa as the members she wanted in her dream girl group during the SSAK3 segment.

[citation needed] The four women formed another girl group named Refund Sisters with Yoo Jae-suk as a producer.

[77] In March 2023, it was revealed that Lee would be a part of Dancing Queens on the Road, a twelve-episode television variety show aired on tvN, along with Kim Wan-sun, Uhm Jung-Hwa, BoA and Hwasa.

[80] On September 5, Antenna announced that after more than 10 years of living in Jeju, Hyori and her husband has moved to Seoul and be more active in their career.

In early 2006, the follow-up commercial "Anyclub" featuring Teddy Park from 1TYM was released in two parts; the music video starred Eric Mun and actor Kwon Sang-woo.

[89] In 2007, she starred in a commercial with Jessica Alba for South Korean cosmetics company Ĭsa Knox, which was shot in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

[90] Lee also modeled for cosmetics company Biotherm (her contract ended in February 2007), and Black Bean Therapy, a health drink.

During an episode of Hangout with Yoo, Lee Hyori was brainstorming stage names for the project group Refund Sisters.

[92][93] Lee Hyori has appeared on the Korea Power Celebrity 40 multiple times throughout her career, including placing within the top 15 in 2009–2011.

[94][95][96] Lee has been cited as an inspiration or influence by numerous artists, including Kara,[97] Blackpink's Jennie,[98] Jeon Somi,[99] Chungha,[100] Jessica Jung,[101] Dalshabet,[102] Nada,[103] Cherry Bullet's Jiwon,[104] Oh My Girl's Jiho,[105] Laboum's Solbin,[106] Elris' Sohee,[107] Jung Eun-chae,[108] Jin Se-yeon,[109] and Huh Chan-mi.

[112][113][114] In 2012 she published Closer, a photo-essay book that focuses on her everyday life with her dog Soonshim whom Lee adopted from an animal shelter.

[111][122] She married musician Lee Sang-soon [ko], guitarist of rock band Roller Coaster, on September 1, 2013, at their vacation home on Mt.