Shon Seung-wan
- Actress
- Costume and Wardrobe Department
- Soundtrack
Shon Seung-wan, known professionally as Wendy, is a South Korean singer. She is a member of the South Korean girl group Red Velvet. She made her solo debut in 2021 with Like Water. She was born on February 21, 1994 in Seongbuk-dong, a neighborhood in Seongbuk District in Seoul, South Korea.Coming from a family of music lovers, she showed interest in becoming a singer when she was only six years old. Besides her passion for singing, she is also able to play several instruments, including the piano, guitar, flute, and saxophone.
She lived with her family in Jecheon until her fifth year of elementary school, when she moved to Canada with her older sister, Shon Seung-hee, to study abroad. She lived in Brockville, Ontario before moving to the United States to attend Shattuck-Saint Mary's in Faribault, Minnesota, where she was an honor student and athlete, and earned various awards for academics and music-related activities. There, she started using her English name 'Wendy Shon'. Returning to Canada, she later studied at Richmond Hill High School in Richmond Hill, Ontario, where she participated in the school's show choir called Vocal Fusion. While living in both countries, she became fluent in English and also learned to speak some French and Spanish. Her parents were initially against her pursuing a career in music and wanted her to focus on her studies, but while she was still in high school, they eventually allowed her to audition to become a singer in South Korea.
Wendy originally did not intend to audition for SM Entertainment, but was cast by the company when she accompanied a friend to the S.M. Global Audition in Canada in 2012. She trained for less than two years before she was introduced as a member of S.M. Entertainment's predebut group SM Rookies on March 14, 2014. On August 1, 2014, Wendy made her official debut as a member of Red Velvet.