Giselle's Profile
- Real Name: Uchinaga Aeri
- Native Name: うちながえり (Japanese), 우치나가애리 (Korean)
- Nicknames: Riri, Aeri-chan
- Birthday: Oct 30, 2000 (24 years old)
- Blood type: O
- Height/Weight: 164 cm (5'4") / N/A
- Gender: Female
- MBTI: INFJ (The Advocate)
- Birthplace: Garosu-gil, Sinsa-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul
-
Nationality:
Japanese
- Profession: Singer, Rapper
- Language Skills: Korean, English, Japanese
- Current Agency: SM Entertainment
- Debut: November 17, 2020
- Group: aespa
- Years Active: 2020–present (5 years)
Giselle, whose birth name is Uchinaga Aeri (内永枝利) and Korean name is Kim Ae-ri (김애리), is a Japanese rapper and singer born on October 30, 2000, in Gangnam District, Seoul, South Korea. She is the main rapper and sub-vocalist of the South Korean girl group aespa under SM Entertainment, which debuted on November 17, 2020. Giselle holds Japanese nationality; her father is Japanese and her mother is Korean. She is fluent in Japanese, Korean, and English.
Early Life
Although born in Seoul, South Korea, Giselle was raised in Tokyo, Japan, after her family relocated there when she was young. She attended Tokyo International School from elementary through middle school and later graduated from the International School of the Sacred Heart, a prestigious international high school in Japan. During her time at Sacred Heart, she spent four years as an alto in the school choir and was a member of the St. Mary Choir.
Giselle was first introduced to K-pop during her second year of high school and, interestingly, attended the same school as Rima from the girl group NiziU. After graduating from high school, she returned to South Korea to audition for SM Entertainment, participating in the Saturday Open Audition four times before being accepted in December 2019.
Career
Giselle’s career began in December 2019 when she joined SM Entertainment as a trainee. After 11 months of training, she was introduced as the third member of the girl group aespa on November 6, 2020. She officially debuted with aespa on November 17, 2020, with the single “Black Mamba,” taking the roles of main rapper and sub-vocalist.
The debut single “Black Mamba” achieved remarkable success, setting a record with 21.4 million views in the first 24 hours for a K-pop debut music video. aespa earned their first music-show win on SBS Inkigayo on January 17, 2021. In May 2021, the group released “Next Level,” which reached No. 2 on both the Circle Digital Chart and the K-pop Hot 100, becoming one of the year’s major hits.
In October 2021, aespa released their first EP, Savage, along with the title track of the same name. The album sold 787,600 copies, becoming SM Entertainment’s best-selling physical debut album at that time. “Savage” also became aespa’s second top-five hit in South Korea and their first song to enter the top 40 of the Billboard Global 200.
In July 2022, the group followed with their second EP, Girls, which sold 1,844,376 copies and reached No. 3 on the Billboard 200. In May 2023, aespa returned with their third EP, My World, securing 1.8 million pre-orders and selling 1,372,929 copies on its first day, setting a record for the highest first-day sales by a K-pop girl group. Their fourth EP, Drama, was released in November 2023 with 1,381,885 copies sold in South Korea.
The year 2024 marked another milestone for Giselle as aespa released their first full studio album, Armageddon, in May, selling 1,431,439 copies in South Korea and entering the top 25 on the Billboard 200. The group officially debuted in the Japanese market in July 2024. In October 2024, aespa released the EP Whiplash, which sold 1,133,467 copies in South Korea.
Alongside group activities, Giselle actively pursued a solo presence in the fashion industry. She became a global ambassador for the luxury fashion house LOEWE, attended international fashion weeks, and appeared on the cover of Marie Claire Korea.
In 2025, Giselle continued her musical work with the release of the single “Dirty Work” in June and the EP Rich Man in September, maintaining her prominence in the K-pop industry.
Fun Facts
- The “I’m a sandwich??” moment became a fan-favorite meme after Giselle’s adorably puzzled reaction was caught on camera.
- Fans created the “Giselle + Gidget” meme because they think she resembles the plush toy Gidget, sparking endless funny edits.
- The nickname “Hot Girl” is widely used by international fans on social media thanks to her confident, on-stage vibe.
- A series of clips titled “Giselle being a mood” captures her spontaneous expressions, from daydreamy to hilarious, perfect for reaction memes.
- During interviews, she often pulls quirky faces behind the MC, which fans quickly turn into viral images.
- When her favorite songs play, she sometimes lip-syncs with over-the-top excitement, a moment fans love to share.
- The “Dolphin Giselle” meme grew so popular that it even inspired fan banners and merch, all thanks to her bright, dolphin-like smile.
- Her habit of wearing knee-high socks or dramatically flipping her hair has been turned into countless funny gifs.
- Both onstage and off, her unique fashion sense led fans to jokingly call her the group’s “unofficial stylist.”
- Fans say her laugh is so contagious that just hearing it makes them crack up too.
- During livestreams, she playfully teases her members with witty remarks, and their reactions often become memes.
- At one performance, she kept spinning her hand while flashing a peace sign, earning the nickname “spin peace.”
- Clips show her picking up other groups’ choreography incredibly fast, prompting the joke that she’s a “dance copy machine.”
- Her habit of catching the camera’s lens at unexpected moments gave rise to the playful title “eye contact queen.”
- At fan-sign events, she’s known for twirling a pen to the beat, inspiring the meme “the magical pen.”
