As 2025 draws close, Jennie is making headlines once again. Her solo debut album ‘Ruby,’ released in March, has become the most celebrated K-pop album this year. More recently, Ruby made Rolling Stone’s list of 100 Best Albums of 2025, occupying the 29th spot. Having said that, Jennie is no stranger to making or breaking records.
The 29-year-old idol is at the peak of her career and continues to dominate the music industry. Besides music, she has acted in HBO’s The Idol, appeared in several variety shows, and now prepares to make an appearance at a dating reality show. Jennie also took home the Global Force award at the 2025 Billboard Women in Music this year. After wrapping solo activities in the first half of this year, she is currently on a group tour with BLACKPINK members.
Jennie Profile and Basic Information
- Full Name: Jennie Kim
- Stage Name: Jennie Ruby Jane
- Birthday: January 16, 1996
- Age: 29 years
- Zodiac Sign: Capricorn
- Height: 5’4”
- Position: Main Rapper and lead vocalist of BLACKPINK
- Agency: ODD ATELIER (Founded by Jennie in 2023), Columbia Records, and YG Entertainment for BLACKPINK activities
- MBTI: INFJ
Jennie’s Journey with BLACKPINK
Long before the group debuted in August 2016, Jennie was already known inside YG Entertainment as a standout trainee. She even earned nicknames such as “YG Princess” and “YG’s secret weapon.” She trained for six years after joining the company in 2010 and appeared in songs and music videos for top YG artists like G-Dragon. She was the first BLACKPINK member to be revealed to the public in June 2016.
Within BLACKPINK, Jennie played a key musical role behind the scenes. She served as the main harmonizer and later co-wrote songs like “Lovesick Girls. “
BLACKPINK’s rise was historic, and Jennie was at the center of it. The group headlined Coachella, shattered sales records, and achieved the highest-grossing world tour by a girl group.
While BLACKPINK propelled her to worldwide fame, Jennie also carved out a powerful solo career. Her 2018 single “SOLO” broke numerous records, and she later became the first Korean soloist to win a Billboard Women in Music Award.
After launching her own label, Odd Atelier, she released her 2025 album Ruby, which became a record-breaking success. It presented her as a fully realized artist on her own terms.
Solo Career
Jennie’s solo career began while she was still active in BLACKPINK. She became the first member to make her solo debut in November 2018 with “SOLO” under YG Entertainment. The song topped both South Korea’s Circle Digital Chart and the US Billboard World Digital Songs chart.
Its music video later became the first by a Korean female solo act to surpass a billion views on YouTube. She continued to build momentum with releases like “You & Me” in 2023 and “One of the Girls,” a soundtrack track from HBO’s The Idol, where she also made her acting debut. “One of the Girls,” featuring The Weeknd and Lily-Rose Depp, earned a Platinum certification from the RIAA after surpassing one million units in the US.
A major turning point came at the end of 2023 when Jennie left YG Entertainment for her solo work and launched her own independent label, Odd Atelier. She later partnered with Columbia Records in September 2024 and set up the release of her first full-length studio album, Ruby, on March 7, 2025.
Ruby is a 15-track project that blends pop, hip-hop, and R&B and features collaborations with artists such as Dua Lipa, Childish Gambino, and Kali Uchis. Jennie took an active role in writing and co-producing the album. It became a worldwide commercial success and sold more than a million copies globally.
In South Korea alone, it sold over 660,000 copies in its first week and broke the record for the highest first-week sales by a female K-pop soloist in 2025. The album entered the top ten of the official charts in 19 countries. Its singles — including “Mantra,” “Love Hangover,” and “like JENNIE, “ and more — all charted on the Billboard HOT 100.
Jennie earned four RIAA Gold certifications as a solo artist, with “Mantra,” “Like Jennie,” and “ExtraL” each surpassing 500,000 units in the US. Ruby was also ranked number 29 on Rolling Stone’s list of “The 100 Best Albums of 2025,” the highest placement for any K-pop artist.
On streaming platforms, Jennie became the first and only female K-pop soloist to pass 3 billion Spotify streams in a single year. “like JENNIE” went on to place on Apple Music’s year-end “Top 100: Global” chart, the first K-pop solo artist to appear on the list.
She won the Global Force Award at the 2025 Billboard Women in Music event, becoming the first Korean soloist to receive an award at the ceremony. The BLACKPINK rapper also performed as a soloist at Coachella 2025.
Endorsement Deals
Jennie has a long-running partnership with Chanel. She became a global ambassador in 2019 and has since fronted many of the brand’s key campaigns. This includes the Coco Neige collection, the Coco Crush jewelry line, and the Chanel 25 handbag campaign in 2025. She also starred in the Fall/Winter 2025/26 pre-collection campaign.
Her strong connection with the brand has earned her the well-known nickname “Human Chanel.” In addition, Jennie has been a global ambassador for Calvin Klein since 2021. Her limited-edition capsule collection, released in 2023, sold out in just one second and generated an estimated $8.6 million in media impact value.
This year, her earlier contracts with some brands have wrapped up. In 2025, she completed multi-year partnerships with Korean brands like Gentle Monster and Hera. Her collaborations with Gentle Monster, including “Jentle Garden” in 2022 and “Jentle Salon” in 2024, were widely popular. She is rumored to ditch Gentle Monster for Ray-Ban. On the other hand, Hera signed Felix of Stray Kids as a replacement for Jennie.
At the same time, she has been connected to new international projects. After appearing at a Ray-Ban pop-up in Seoul in September, many in the industry expect a formal partnership to follow. Her appearance at the event reportedly caused several products to sell out within a day.
In addition, she has been associated with Jacquemus, Adidas, Porsche, Tamburins, Visa, Beats by Dre, Jean Paul Gaultier, and more.
Jennie Dating History
Jennie from BLACKPINK has always been at the center of huge public curiosity when it comes to her dating life. Over the years, she’s had one officially confirmed relationship and several major rumors involving some of the biggest names in K-pop.
Confirmed Relationship with EXO’s Kai
Her only confirmed relationship so far was with Kai from EXO. SM Entertainment publicly acknowledged the relationship in December 2018 after photos of the two surfaced. Since both were top idols from major groups, the news instantly became a massive topic. But it didn’t last long—by January 2019, SM announced that they had broken up, reportedly because of their busy schedules. People close to them said they ended things on good terms.
Rumored Relationships
After that, Jennie was repeatedly linked to other high-profile celebrities, though none of these rumors were ever confirmed by her or her agency.
G-Dragon
One of the biggest rumors involved G-Dragon from BIGBANG. Dispatch reported in February 2021 that the two had supposedly been dating for about a year. They had known each other for a long time—Jennie appeared in his music video back in 2012, even before her debut with BLACKPINK.
When asked, YG Entertainment simply said they couldn’t confirm anything about the artists’ private lives. By 2022, the rumors faded, especially after G-Dragon unfollowed her on Instagram.
V of BTS
The most talked-about rumor came with V of BTS. Things started quietly in 2021 when V briefly followed Jennie on Instagram. But over the next couple of years, alleged photos and videos—like the two reportedly in Jeju or walking together in Paris—spread across social media and caused massive speculation. Neither YG nor BIGHIT commented and stuck to their usual stance on privacy.
In December 2023, some Korean outlets claimed the pair had broken up as V was getting ready for military service, but again, nothing was officially confirmed.
Jennie was also tied to a few other people through lighter rumors. In 2019, some fans wondered about Harry Styles after he followed her on Instagram and attended a BLACKPINK show, but that never developed into anything serious. Earlier, in 2017, YG quickly denied rumors involving producer and THEBLACKLABEL Teddy Park.
On the work front, Jennie is occupied with BLACKPINK’s ongoing tour and has plans to release another solo album next year.
