Featured Snippet Answer
TWICE has nine members: Nayeon, Jeongyeon, Momo, Sana, Jihyo, Mina, Dahyun, Chaeyoung, and Tzuyu. The South Korean girl group debuted on October 20, 2015, under JYP Entertainment after forming through the reality competition Sixteen. Jihyo serves as leader and main vocalist, while the lineup blends five South Korean members, three Japanese members, and one Taiwanese member — a mix that has helped TWICE build one of the largest fandoms in K-pop, known as ONCE.
Few K-pop groups have stayed fully intact for as long as TWICE. Since their debut in October 2015, all nine original members — Nayeon, Jeongyeon, Momo, Sana, Jihyo, Mina, Dahyun, Chaeyoung, and Tzuyu — have remained together, a rarity in an industry where lineup changes are common. More than a decade in, the group continues to headline world tours, top charts across Asia and North America, and expand into solo projects, acting, and sub-unit work.
This guide breaks down every TWICE member individually: their real names, positions, birthdays, nationalities, career milestones, and the personal details fans search for most. Whether you’re a new fan trying to learn “who is who” or a longtime ONCE looking for updated 2026 information, this is a complete, accurate reference.
TWICE Group Overview
TWICE is a nine-member South Korean girl group formed by JYP Entertainment. The members were selected through the 2015 Mnet reality survival program Sixteen, which put a group of trainees through weeks of performance-based eliminations in front of a live studio audience and viewers voting at home. Out of that process, nine trainees were chosen to debut together.
The group officially debuted on October 20, 2015, with the extended play The Story Begins, led by the single “Like OOH-AHH.” What started as a fairly standard rookie debut quickly turned into a defining act of the “third generation” of K-pop, thanks to catchy, hook-driven singles like “Cheer Up,” “TT,” and “Fancy,” each of which became inescapable across Korean and Japanese pop culture.
What makes TWICE’s story notable from a longevity standpoint is that the original nine-member lineup has never changed. In an industry where departures, hiatuses, and contract disputes frequently reshape group rosters, TWICE has kept every member active — including Jeongyeon, who took an extended hiatus in 2022 for mental health reasons before rejoining full group activities.
The group’s official fandom name is ONCE, a name chosen to reflect the idea that fans and members share a mutual, lasting bond — “the moment you become a fan, you’re a fan forever.”
Members of TWICE at a Glance
| Member | Birth Name | Position(s) | Birthday | Nationality | Age (2026) |
| Nayeon | Im Na-yeon | Lead Vocalist, Lead Dancer, Center | September 22, 1995 | South Korean | 30–31 |
| Jeongyeon | Yoo Jeong-yeon | Lead Vocalist | November 1, 1996 | South Korean | 29–30 |
| Momo | Hirai Momo | Main Dancer, Sub-Vocalist, Sub-Rapper | November 9, 1996 | Japanese | 29–30 |
| Sana | Minatozaki Sana | Sub-Vocalist | December 29, 1996 | Japanese | 29 |
| Jihyo | Park Ji-hyo | Leader, Main Vocalist | February 1, 1997 | South Korean | 29 |
| Mina | Myoui Mina | Main Dancer, Sub-Vocalist | March 24, 1997 | Japanese-American | 29 |
| Dahyun | Kim Da-hyun | Lead Rapper, Sub-Vocalist | May 28, 1998 | South Korean | 27–28 |
| Chaeyoung | Son Chae-young | Main Rapper, Sub-Vocalist | April 23, 1999 | South Korean | 27 |
| Tzuyu | Chou Tzu-yu | Main Dancer, Visual, Maknae | June 14, 1999 | Taiwanese | 27 |
Ages reflect the fact that birthdays fall at different points across 2026; the lower number applies before the member’s birthday and the higher number after it.
Nayeon — The Face of the Group
Full profile: Born Im Na-yeon on September 22, 1995, in Seoul, South Korea, Nayeon is TWICE’s oldest member and one of its central vocal and visual anchors. Her official positions are Lead Vocalist, Lead Dancer, and Center, and she is frequently described in Korean media as the “Face of the Group” — the member whose look and presence anchor promotional material.
Nayeon was originally slated to debut in a different JYP project before that plan changed, and she went on to become the first member confirmed for TWICE through Sixteen. Her bright, expressive stage presence and clear vocal tone made her a standout from the group’s earliest broadcasts, and she has remained one of the members most associated with TWICE’s public image in Korea.
Solo career: Beyond group activities, Nayeon has built a genuine solo career under the stage name IM NAYEON, releasing solo singles such as “POP!” and “ABCD” that charted independently of TWICE’s group discography — an unusual level of individual visibility for a member of an active nine-person group.
Why she matters: Nayeon represents continuity. As the eldest member, she has taken on an informal senior role within the group, and her ability to balance group promotions with a distinct solo identity has become something younger K-pop idols increasingly point to as a career model.
Jeongyeon — The Reliable Vocalist
Full profile: Jeongyeon was born Yoo Kyung-wan on November 1, 1996, and later legally changed her name to Yoo Jeong-yeon before TWICE’s debut. She holds the position of Lead Vocalist and is known for a deeper, distinctive vocal tone that stands apart from the group’s brighter, higher-register singers — a quality that gives TWICE’s harmonies more texture.
Personal resilience: Jeongyeon’s story carries more public weight than most members’ because of her openness about mental health. In late 2022, she paused all group activities to focus on her wellbeing, and her gradual, fully disclosed return to TWICE’s stages and tours became one of the more closely followed comeback arcs in K-pop, both for fans and for industry observers who noted how JYP Entertainment handled the situation with relative transparency.
Recent activities: Jeongyeon has continued to expand her range within the group, including a widely discussed solo stage titled “Fix A Drink” performed during TWICE’s world tour. She is also part of an internal performance unit called Takedown alongside Jihyo and Chaeyoung. Outside music, she has moved into acting, with a supporting role announced for the Korean thriller New Recruit: The Movie — notably stepping into the same general professional field, nursing, as her older sister in real life.
Momo — The Main Dancer
Full profile: Born Hirai Momo on November 9, 1996, in Kyotanabe, Japan, Momo holds the positions of Main Dancer, Sub-Vocalist, and Sub-Rapper. She is widely regarded as one of the most technically accomplished dancers in the entire K-pop industry, known for combining sharp precision with powerful, athletic execution.
Journey to debut: Momo’s path to TWICE wasn’t smooth. She was scouted by JYP Entertainment specifically for her dance ability, but during the Sixteen survival show she was initially eliminated before ultimately earning a spot in the final lineup — a storyline that became one of the more emotional threads of the show and helped establish her reputation for perseverance.
Career and personal life in 2026: Momo remains one of TWICE’s most consistent dance leaders on tour, with standout solo performance segments such as “Decaffeinated” praised for showcasing her warmer, playful side alongside her technical skill. In January 2026, JYP Entertainment confirmed that Momo is in a relationship with a non-celebrity partner, though his identity has not been publicly disclosed.
Sana — The Bright Energy
Full profile: Minatozaki Sana was born on December 29, 1996, in Osaka, Japan. Her official position is Sub-Vocalist, and she is best known within the group for her upbeat, playful stage energy and strong ability to connect directly with audiences during fan interactions and variety appearances.
Why she stands out: While Sana isn’t classified as a main vocalist or dancer, she has become one of TWICE’s most recognizable personalities, largely because of her charisma outside of pure performance metrics — the kind of member presence that drives variety-show popularity and brand endorsements as much as chart success.
Sub-unit work: Sana is one-third of MiSaMo, TWICE’s Japanese-language sub-unit alongside Mina and Momo, which has allowed her to headline projects specifically tailored to the group’s large Japanese fanbase.
Jihyo — The Leader
Full profile: Jihyo was born Park Ji-soo on February 1, 1997, in Guri, South Korea, and later legally changed her name to Park Ji-hyo. She serves as TWICE’s Leader and Main Vocalist, and is generally regarded as the group’s central figure both on stage and administratively.
A decade of preparation: Jihyo joined JYP Entertainment as a trainee at around eight years old and trained for roughly ten years before TWICE’s debut — the longest training period of any member in the group. That extended development period is often cited as the reason her live vocals are considered among the most consistently powerful in the group.
How she became leader: Unlike many K-pop groups where a leader is appointed directly by the agency, Jihyo was chosen through an anonymous vote among the members themselves — a detail fans frequently point to as evidence of the genuine trust her groupmates place in her.
Solo career: Jihyo made her solo debut on August 18, 2023, with the mini-album ZONE. Follow-up solo singles, including “ATM” and “Killin’ Me Good,” charted on Billboard’s World Digital Song Sales chart, giving her one of the more commercially notable solo runs among active TWICE members.
Mina — The Graceful Dancer
Full profile: Myoui Mina was born on March 24, 1997, in San Antonio, Texas, making her technically the only TWICE member born in the United States. She was raised primarily in Japan from a young age, however, and has consistently described Japan — not the U.S. — as home throughout her career, which is why she is generally categorized as a Japanese member with Japanese-American heritage.
Position and style: Mina holds the positions of Main Dancer and Sub-Vocalist. Her dance style is frequently described as elegant and controlled, a trait attributed to her background in ballet training prior to joining JYP Entertainment.
Sub-unit involvement: Like Sana and Momo, Mina is a member of MiSaMo, the trio’s Japanese sub-unit, which has given her a platform to showcase both her vocal and dance abilities outside the full nine-member group format.
Dahyun — The Playful Rapper
Full profile: Kim Da-hyun was born on May 28, 1998, in Seongnam, South Korea. Her official positions are Lead Rapper and Sub-Vocalist, and she is one of the group’s most consistently comedic personalities in variety and reality content.
Path to JYP: Dahyun was scouted by JYP Entertainment after performing a solo dance at a youth festival while still in middle school. She passed her official audition on July 7, 2012 — a date she has said became personally meaningful, since 7 later became her favorite number, tying together her audition date and her position as the seventh-oldest member of TWICE.
Popularity and nickname: During Sixteen, Dahyun was frequently cited as one of the most popular trainees with viewers. She is also known by the nickname “Tofu,” a reference to her very fair skin tone.
2026 update: In February 2026, JYP Entertainment announced that Dahyun would be unable to join a portion of TWICE’s North American tour dates after sustaining an ankle injury, a reminder of how physically demanding a full-scale world tour schedule can be even for experienced performers.
Chaeyoung — The Artist of the Group
Full profile: Son Chae-young was born on April 23, 1999, in South Korea, and holds the positions of Main Rapper and Sub-Vocalist. Beyond music, Chaeyoung is known within the group and among fans as a genuine visual artist, regularly sharing original paintings and artwork.
Personal life: In April 2024, both JYP Entertainment and her partner’s label confirmed that Chaeyoung is in a relationship with Korean R&B singer Zion.T, one of the more high-profile confirmed relationships among current TWICE members.
Group role: Chaeyoung is also part of the internal Takedown performance unit alongside Jihyo and Jeongyeon, giving her additional stage moments distinct from the full-group setlist during TWICE’s world tours.
Tzuyu — The Maknae and Visual
Full profile: Chou Tzu-yu was born on June 14, 1999, in Tainan, Taiwan, making her both the youngest member (maknae) and the group’s sole Taiwanese member. Her official positions are Main Dancer and Visual, and at 170 cm, she shares the title of tallest member with Jeongyeon.
Why her nationality matters commercially: Tzuyu’s status as TWICE’s only Taiwanese member has made her an especially significant figure for the group’s popularity across Taiwan and broader Southeast Asian markets, where she is often treated as a national celebrity independent of her TWICE activities.
Public image: As the maknae, Tzuyu occupies a specific role within the group’s internal dynamic common to K-pop groups — often the center of affectionate teasing from older members while also being trusted with significant visual and dance responsibility in performances.
TWICE Sub-Units Explained
Sub-units are smaller formations drawn from a larger group’s existing members, typically created to target a specific market, sound, or creative direction without requiring the full group’s involvement.
MiSaMo is TWICE’s official sub-unit, consisting of Mina, Sana, and Momo — the group’s three members with Japanese backgrounds. Formed to strengthen TWICE’s connection with its large Japanese fanbase, MiSaMo releases Japanese-language music and performs independently of the full nine-member unit, giving these three members a dedicated creative outlet built around their shared cultural and linguistic background.
Takedown is a more informal internal performance unit made up of Jihyo, Jeongyeon, and Chaeyoung, used for specific stages during TWICE’s world tours rather than as a separate recording act with its own commercial releases.
How TWICE Was Formed
TWICE’s origin traces back to Sixteen, a 2015 reality survival program broadcast on Mnet. JYP Entertainment had a pool of trainees compete through a series of missions — dance battles, vocal evaluations, and team performances — with eliminations decided by a mix of expert judges and live audience voting.
This format was significant because it gave fans a direct hand in shaping the final lineup before the group even debuted, which is part of why TWICE built an unusually engaged fanbase from day one — many ONCEs had already been following individual members’ journeys for weeks before the official debut.
The final nine-member lineup was confirmed in mid-2015, and TWICE debuted just months later on October 20, 2015. The choice to keep exactly nine members became one of the defining structural decisions of the group’s identity, one that has held for over a decade without a single lineup change.
TWICE Members: Nationalities and Backgrounds
TWICE’s nine-member lineup includes five South Korean members (Nayeon, Jeongyeon, Jihyo, Dahyun, Chaeyoung), three Japanese members (Momo, Sana, Mina), and one Taiwanese member (Tzuyu). This mix is one of the more internationally diverse lineups among major K-pop girl groups of their generation, and it has directly shaped the group’s business strategy — TWICE regularly releases separate Korean and Japanese-language albums and tours extensively across Japan, Taiwan, and Southeast Asia in addition to Korea and North America.
The group’s cross-national appeal is often cited by industry analysts as a key reason TWICE became one of the first K-pop girl groups to headline stadium-level venues in the United States, since their fanbase draws heavily from multiple countries rather than relying on a single domestic market.
FAQs
How many members does TWICE have? TWICE has nine members: Nayeon, Jeongyeon, Momo, Sana, Jihyo, Mina, Dahyun, Chaeyoung, and Tzuyu. All nine have remained active since the group’s 2015 debut.
Who is the leader of TWICE? Jihyo is TWICE’s leader. She was chosen by the members themselves through an anonymous vote rather than being appointed directly by JYP Entertainment.
Who is the oldest member of TWICE? Nayeon, born September 22, 1995, is the oldest member of TWICE.
Who is the youngest member (maknae) of TWICE? Tzuyu, born June 14, 1999, is the youngest member and the group’s official maknae.
Which TWICE members are Japanese? Momo, Sana, and Mina are the three Japanese members of TWICE. They also form the sub-unit MiSaMo.
Which TWICE member is Taiwanese? Tzuyu is the only Taiwanese member of TWICE.
Do any TWICE members have solo careers? Yes. Nayeon (as IM NAYEON) and Jihyo (as JIHYO) have both released solo music independent of TWICE’s group discography, including Jihyo’s 2023 mini-album ZONE.
Are any TWICE members in relationships? As of 2026, Chaeyoung’s relationship with singer Zion.T has been publicly confirmed since April 2024, and Momo’s relationship with a non-celebrity partner was confirmed by JYP Entertainment in January 2026.
What is TWICE’s fandom called? TWICE’s official fandom name is ONCE.
Conclusion
TWICE’s nine members — Nayeon, Jeongyeon, Momo, Sana, Jihyo, Mina, Dahyun, Chaeyoung, and Tzuyu — remain one of the most stable, commercially successful lineups in modern K-pop, more than a decade after their 2015 debut. Between individual solo projects, the MiSaMo sub-unit, world tours, and continued chart success, each member has carved out a distinct identity while the group as a whole keeps expanding its global footprint.
For fans old and new, understanding who each member is — and what she brings to TWICE — is the clearest way to appreciate why the group has stayed this durable in an industry defined by constant change.