Stephanie was born on June 10, 1971 in Seoul, S. Korea, and emigrated to the U.S. in 1978. She showed artistic aptitude early on and was always “the kid who can draw,” but it was drilled into her head that good smart Korean girls did not become artists. It wasn’t until her senior year in high school that she learned that art school could be a viable option. She attended the Laguna College of Art & Design and graduated with a BFA degree in Illustration in 1995. After graduating, she found a job in the marketing department at Canon Computer Systems in Costa Mesa. She enjoyed her time there, learning a lot and making great friends (including her now-husband Curtis), but after two years it was time for her to move on; working for a large corporation just wasn’t for her. She always wanted to get a master’s degree, so she attended the MFA Illustration program at the School of Visual Arts in NYC. It was chaired by an Illustration legend named Marshall Arisman who had made a big impression on her during a talk he gave in Laguna, CA. She spent two great years in New York and recieved her MFA degree in 1999. After graduation, she returned to CA to settle down with her long-suffering fiance. She is currently a full-time art director at JDA Inc. in Long Beach and spends her free time drawing and painting.