TC Candler Ranked Kaeha & Anna Among World's Most Beautiful: Japan-Born K-Pop Visuals Breaking Through

The internet's been pairing Le Sserafim's Kaeha and MEOVV's Anna together a lot lately, and for good reason. Beyond sharing Japanese heritage in a K-pop industry still anchored by Korean artists, both just dropped into 2025's TC Candler 100 Most Beautiful Faces ranking—Kaeha at #35, Anna at #44. It's a moment that feels worth unpacking, especially when their paths to stardom couldn't have been more different.

Kaeha's journey reads like a dancer's dream: three years old, her parents enrolled her in ballet. Fifteen years. That's how long she committed to the art form, training rigorously enough to earn a spot at the prestigious Netherlands National Ballet Academy. She was living that life—convinced, probably, that classical ballet was her future—until she caught a BLACKPINK music video during study abroad. Then an OSAKA concert. K-pop hit different. In 2021, on what sounds like a whim, she submitted an audition tape online. The callback came fast. Honestly, she thought it was a scam. Six months of trainee life followed—shortest among her group—before Le Sserafim debuted May 2, 2022 with 'Fearless.'

Anna's route was less straightforward but equally credentialed. She wasn't fresh out of high school looking for a shot. By the time MEOVV came calling, Anna had been modeling professionally in Japan since 2014. Nico Puri model audition grand prize winner. She had clout. Name recognition. Then one day in 2023, The Black Label slid into her Instagram DMs. Professional to professional. She wasn't auditioning for her shot at fame—she was being recruited. MEOVV's official debut landed September 6, 2024 with 'Meow,' and the moment she appeared on stage, people noticed. Magazine features were already calling her 'model-like' and 'magazine-cover beautiful' before her first comeback.

Now? Both are moving in completely different circles. Kaeha's become the face you see at Etude House, Calvin Klein, Alexander McQueen, Lululemon. Luxury brands pulling her for campaigns because her classical elegance translates to their DNA. Meanwhile Anna's wearing Chloé as a global ambassador—reportedly the first K-pop artist ever tapped for that particular role—plus collaborations with Hadala Lab and other high-end partners. They're not in competition. They're operating in parallel universes, each collecting brand deals like their visuals are currency, because, frankly, they are.

The TC Candler ranking just made official what fans had been whispering: these two Japanese women in K-pop aren't anomalies anymore. They're proof that the industry's visual playing field is actually leveling, at least a little. Kaeha brings that poised, trained elegance—there's an unmistakable balletic grace to how she carries herself. Anna comes with that editorial polish, that magazine-spread confidence born from years modeling. Different energies. Incomparable really. Which is probably why the comparison feels more like celebration than rivalry.

Both debuted fairly recently (2022, 2024) and both are already operating at a different scale than most idols their tenure in. Kaeha's balancing group schedules with international brand campaigns. Anna's doing the same. They're working twice as hard, showing up everywhere, and the internet can't get enough of either of them. The curve's steep, the stakes are real, and both seem built for it in ways that go beyond just faces. The training paid off. The poise, the discipline, the preparation—it all shows.