Hana Mae Lee

Hana Mae Lee, born on September 28, 1988, in the San Fernando Valley, California, is a multifaceted talent known for her work as an actress, model, comedian, and fashion designer. Her career began early, with her starting in makeup professionally at 15, performing makeovers at Macy’s before moving into editorial photoshoots. At 16, Lee became a professional model, appearing in numerous national campaigns for brands such as Honda, Jeep, Apple Inc., Nokia, Sebastian, American Express, HP, Cherry Coke, and Midori. Her modeling endeavors also led to features in prominent magazines, including TIME, SOMA, Elle, and Teen Vogue. Lee pursued her passion for design, earning a BFA in fashion design from Otis College of Art and Design in Los Angeles. She worked with various design houses like Juicy Couture and Mossimo, and even declined an offer from Ralph Lauren to focus on her burgeoning entertainment career. In 2001, she established her jewelry line, Hanamahn, which later expanded to include apparel in 2009. Pieces from her Hanamahn collection have been incorporated into her film projects, notably the Pitch Perfect films.

Lee’s acting career took off with her television debut in 2011, guest-starring in “Mike & Molly” and “Workaholics.” She gained widespread recognition for her role as Lilly Onakuramara in the highly successful musical comedy film series “Pitch Perfect” (2012–2017), a role that earned her a Teen Choice Award nomination for Choice Movie Scene Stealer in 2013. She reprised her character in “Pitch Perfect 2” (2015) and “Pitch Perfect 3” (2017). Her filmography also includes roles in McG’s horror-comedy “The Babysitter” (2017) and its sequel “The Babysitter: Killer Queen” (2020), as well as “Jem and the Holograms” (2015) and “Love Beats Rhymes” (2017).

Beyond acting and modeling, Lee is also an accomplished comedian, regularly performing stand-up since 2009 and forming half of the comedy duo Get Gaysian, often incorporating Korean folk music into her acts. She also showcases her talents as a musician, collaborating with electro performance artist Mark Mallory to form Grave Condition, a musical duo that released their debut project “Atmospheric Paradigm.” Her recent projects include the hybrid-documentary feature “Hot God On A Stick,” which she produced, and acting roles in “Boris Is Dead” and the horror-puppet feature “Abruptio” (2023). Hana Mae Lee’s diverse career illustrates her sustained engagement across multiple creative industries.