Before JENNIE became one of the most recognizable faces in K-pop, she was a nine-year-old South Korean girl beginning an unusually independent chapter of her life thousands of miles from home.
She spent five formative years studying in New Zealand.
Then, at 14, she made another major decision.
She returned to South Korea and entered one of the toughest training systems in popular music.
Years of preparation followed before JENNIE finally emerged as a member of BLACKPINK in 2016. From there, her life changed dramatically.
She became a rapper, singer, fashion figure, actress and eventually an independent solo artist determined to discover what her music could sound like outside the structure that had defined much of her adult life.
Growing Up Between South Korea and New Zealand
Jennie Kim was born January 16, 1996, in South Korea.
Her childhood took an important turn when she moved to Auckland, New Zealand, at nine.
JENNIE has confirmed that she remained there until she was 14. In a 2024 interview with WIRED, she described those years simply as “five good years.”
She attended school in Auckland and lived with a homestay family.
The experience gave her something that would later become enormously valuable: fluency in English and an early comfort with life outside South Korea.
But JENNIE has said the experience also made her tougher.
She adapted surprisingly quickly. In later interviews, she recalled that her mother called shortly after leaving her in New Zealand to see whether she was homesick. JENNIE was already busy enjoying her new surroundings.
Music was not necessarily the obvious destination.
As a child, she didn’t have a single fixed dream of becoming a pop star. What she did know was that she wanted to find something that genuinely interested her.
Eventually, she found it.
The Decision That Changed Everything
By her early teens, another move abroad was being considered.
JENNIE has recalled that her mother was considering sending her to the United States for further education. Instead, JENNIE decided she wanted to return to South Korea.
K-pop had captured her attention while she was living in New Zealand.
YG Entertainment particularly interested her.
In 2010, at approximately 14 years old, she auditioned for the company. She performed Rihanna’s “Take a Bow” and was accepted as a trainee.
Getting into YG was only the beginning.
Now she had to survive the training.
Six Years Before BLACKPINK
The K-pop trainee system can be relentless.
Young performers may spend years studying vocals, dance, performance and languages without any guarantee they will ever debut.
JENNIE spent roughly six years preparing.
Her English fluency also helped distinguish her within YG. She trained as both a vocalist and rapper and began appearing on recordings by established artists before BLACKPINK existed publicly.
Among those early appearances were collaborations connected with YG artists including G-Dragon and Lee Hi.
They gave audiences an early glimpse of JENNIE.
But she was still waiting for the opportunity that mattered most.
It finally arrived in 2016.
BLACKPINK Arrives
BLACKPINK officially debuted in August 2016 with four members: JENNIE, Jisoo, Rosé and Lisa.
JENNIE herself has described August 2016 as the point when BLACKPINK truly “happened.”
The group’s rise was remarkably fast.
BLACKPINK combined hip-hop, pop, electronic production, choreography and carefully constructed visual presentation. The group could move between Korean and English while presenting an image designed to travel well beyond South Korea.
JENNIE became central to that identity.
Onstage, she projected confidence and intensity.
Offstage, she was often noticeably quieter.
That contrast became one of the most interesting elements of her public persona.
JENNIE has explained that the forceful BLACKPINK version of herself can almost feel like a character. Her private personality is considerably different.
It also created a question that would eventually become increasingly important:
What did JENNIE sound like without BLACKPINK?
“SOLO” Provides the First Answer
In November 2018, JENNIE became the first BLACKPINK member to launch a major solo release.
The title could hardly have been more appropriate.
“SOLO.”
The song mixed pop, hip-hop and electronic production while giving JENNIE space to establish an identity separate from the group.
It became an international success and proved something important.
Fans were interested in JENNIE as an individual artist, not simply as one-quarter of BLACKPINK.
But a full solo album didn’t immediately follow.
BLACKPINK continued consuming much of her attention.
Meanwhile, JENNIE’s influence was expanding far beyond music.
Becoming a Fashion Powerhouse
JENNIE’s fashion identity developed alongside her music career.
Her association with Chanel became particularly prominent, helping earn her the nickname “Human Chanel” among fans and fashion media.
She also developed major relationships with brands including Calvin Klein.
This wasn’t merely celebrity endorsement.
JENNIE became part of a generation of Korean entertainers that helped transform the relationship between K-pop and the global luxury industry.
Fashion houses increasingly recognized that K-pop stars could generate enormous international attention.
JENNIE was positioned directly in the middle of that change.
Vogue has described BLACKPINK’s members as individual brands in their own right, with JENNIE’s fashion relationships contributing substantially to her global visibility.
Yet music remained the unfinished business.
JENNIE Becomes an Actress
Another unexpected turn arrived in 2023.
JENNIE made her acting debut in HBO’s The Idol, created by Sam Levinson, Abel “The Weeknd” Tesfaye and Reza Fahim.
She appeared under the name Jennie Ruby Jane, playing Dyanne.
The series itself generated considerable controversy, but the role demonstrated JENNIE’s interest in expanding beyond the traditional boundaries of K-pop.
It also connected her with The Weeknd and Lily-Rose Depp.
That relationship produced “One of the Girls,” a collaboration between The Weeknd, JENNIE and Depp associated with The Idol.
The song became another important bridge between JENNIE’s K-pop career and the broader international pop market.
Behind the scenes, an even bigger change was coming.
Leaving YG — But Not BLACKPINK
In late 2023, BLACKPINK renewed its agreement with YG Entertainment for group activities.
The individual members, however, began pursuing their solo careers separately.
For JENNIE, that meant creating her own company.
She established Odd Atelier, commonly known as OA, giving herself greater control over her individual career.
It was an important distinction.
JENNIE had not left BLACKPINK.
She had created a structure that allowed BLACKPINK and her solo identity to exist separately.
After spending much of her adolescence and twenties inside the YG system, she could finally make decisions about her individual work through a company built around her.
The next challenge was obvious.
She needed an album.
Finding Freedom in Los Angeles
JENNIE went to Los Angeles to make it.
The move was deliberate.
She later explained that Los Angeles gave her a feeling of freedom she did not experience in the same way in Seoul. She could move around more casually, meet different musicians and push herself outside the environment she had known for years.
For an artist who had entered YG at 14, that freedom mattered.
JENNIE was now approaching music from a different position.
She wasn’t a trainee trying to earn a debut.
She wasn’t simply recording her part on a BLACKPINK project.
She was responsible for deciding what a JENNIE album should actually be.
The result was Ruby.
Ruby Introduces JENNIE Again
JENNIE released her first full-length solo studio album, Ruby, in March 2025.
The project included collaborations with a striking range of artists, including Dua Lipa, Doechii, Childish Gambino, Kali Uchis and Dominic Fike.
Songs included “Mantra,” “Love Hangover,” “ExtraL,” “Handlebars” and “Seoul City.”
Rather than locking herself into one obvious K-pop formula, JENNIE moved between pop, hip-hop, R&B and electronic influences.
The Associated Press described Ruby as a reintroduction of JENNIE as a solo performer, highlighting both its emphasis on independence and its mixture of musical styles.
That description gets to the heart of the album.
Ruby wasn’t simply JENNIE without BLACKPINK.
It was JENNIE discovering what existed beyond BLACKPINK.
More Than the Image
JENNIE’s career has always contained an interesting tension.
Her public image can appear meticulously controlled.
Fashion.
Photography.
Choreography.
Luxury brands.
Music videos.
Every detail can look deliberate.
But JENNIE’s own descriptions of herself reveal someone considerably less certain than the image sometimes suggests.
She has spoken about being shy during her audition years. She has described the powerful BLACKPINK persona as different from her everyday personality. She has also talked about wanting to explore softer vocals, R&B and quieter music that doesn’t necessarily fit the image audiences first associated with her.
That gap between image and personality may explain why her solo career matters so much to her.
It provides room for both versions to exist.
From K-Pop Trainee to Global Artist
JENNIE’s story mirrors the globalization of K-pop itself.
She was born in South Korea.
She spent crucial childhood years in New Zealand.
She returned to Seoul and trained inside the Korean entertainment system.
BLACKPINK then carried that system onto a global stage.
Now JENNIE records across countries, collaborates with musicians from different genres, works with international fashion houses and releases solo music aimed at an audience that extends far beyond any single market.
Yet the most important change may be simpler.
At 14, JENNIE entered a company and learned how to become an artist.
More than a decade later, she created her own company and began deciding what kind of artist she wanted to be.
That is a very different kind of freedom.
And for JENNIE, it may be the most important chapter yet.
Add comment