Emiri Katō (加藤 英美里, Katō Emiri, born January 4, 1994), commonly known by the mononym Mia (Korean: 미아; Japanese: ミア), is a Japanese singer, actress, and model currently based in South Korea. She started her acting career at the age of 16, under JYP Entertainment as she received recognition for her portrayal of Gil Raim on Secret Garden. She debuted in 2016 as a member of the South Korean girl group BlackPink under YG Entertainment.

Mia for Vogue Japan, October 2019

Birth name | Emiri Katō

Born | January 4, 1994 (age 27) Tennōji-ku,
Osaka, Osaka Prefecture, Japan

Genres | K-Pop • Dance-Pop • Hip-Hop

Occupation(s) | Actress • Singer • Model

Instruments | Vocals • Piano • Guitar

Years active | 2010-2013, 2016-present

Labels | JYP • YG • Interscope

Associated acts | BlackPink • YG Family • JYP

Kanji | 加藤 英美里

Romanization | Katō Emiri

Hangul | 배수경

Romanization | Bae Soo-Kyung

⌃ Early Life

Emiri Katō was born on January 4, 1994, in Tennōji-ku, Osaka, Osaka Prefecture, Japan, and grew up in Seoul Capital Area, South Korea. Her family consists of her parents, an older brother, and a younger sister. Having believed that she was "only talented" at acting, Emiri also had the dream of becoming a singer at a young age.

During her second year in middle school, Emiri joined JYP Entertainment at the age of 11 to pursue an acting career and music. JYP Entertainment had scouted her after her participation in content on Junior Naver placed third. Emiri spent five years as a trainee before debuting as an actress in 2010.

With Emiri portraying the character of Gil Raim (Secret Garden), the show became a huge success and she became one of the most well-known actresses in the K-Drama universe. She has acted in films and dramas, including Family, A Thousand Kisses, 49 Days, Tazza: The Hidden Card, Train to Busan, and Parasite.

In March 2013, JYP announced that Emiri would be postponing her acting career to pursue her music career, but would continue until May in order to complete scheduled events.

In December 2014, she was announced to be joining YG Entertainment, debuting as a member of an upcoming girl group, BlackPink.

Emiri made her official debut as Mia on August 8, 2016, with BlackPink's single album Square One, which spawned "Whistle", their first number-one song in South Korea, as well as "Boombayah", their first number-one hit on the Billboard World Digital Songs chart.

⌵ Career
⌵ Personal Life
⌵ Other Ventures
⌵ Artistry
⌵ Public Image
⌵ Discography
⌵ Filmography
⌵ Awards and Nominations
⌵ Philanthropy
⌵ References
⌵ External Links