Shin Lim facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Shin Lim
Lim in 2016 performing his "Dream Act"
Born	(1991-09-25) September 25, 1991 (age 33) Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Nationality	American Canadian
Occupation	Close-up magician
Years active	2009–present
Known for	Penn & Teller: Fool Us America's Got Talent season 13 winner America's Got Talent: The Champions winner 2015 "FISM" winner
Spouse(s)	Casey Thomas ​ (m. 2019)​

Shin Lim, whose full name is Liang-Shun Lim, was born on September 25, 1991. He is a famous Canadian-American magician. Shin Lim is known for his amazing card manipulation and sleight of hand tricks. He performs detailed close-up magic routines with cards. During his shows, he often stays silent, letting the music and his tricks speak for themselves.

Shin Lim taught himself most of his magic skills by watching videos on YouTube. He has also shared some of his own techniques in videos online. Originally, he planned to be a pianist. However, he chose magic as his career after he was diagnosed with carpal tunnel syndrome. This condition affects the nerves in the wrist.

Shin Lim became well-known around 2012 and started touring around the world. In 2015, he won the championship for Close-up Card Magic at the Fédération Internationale des Sociétés Magiques (FISM) competition. His appearances on Penn & Teller: Fool Us and his wins on America's Got Talent in 2018 and America's Got Talent: The Champions made him even more famous worldwide.

Shin Lim's Early Life

Shin Lim is the second of three children. His parents were born in Singapore. He was born in Vancouver, Canada, while his father was studying there. When Shin Lim was two years old, his family moved back to Singapore. They later moved to Acton, Massachusetts, in the United States when he was 11. He went to Acton-Boxborough Regional High School.

From a young age, Shin Lim loved music. When he was nine, his grandmother gave him a violin. He later switched to playing the piano. After high school, he studied piano and telecommunications at Lee University in Tennessee.

Shin Lim's Magic Career

Starting Out in Magic

Besides music, Shin Lim was also interested in magic when he was younger. His older brother, Yi, showed him a simple card trick. When Shin Lim asked how it was done, his brother told him to look it up on YouTube. Shin Lim watched many videos and taught himself different tricks. As he got better, he created his own tricks. He used YouTube to share his performances and techniques.

Shin Lim says that David Blaine's early TV shows inspired him. These shows focused on simple but powerful tricks, like card magic, instead of big stage performances.

In 2011, when he was 20, Shin Lim was diagnosed with carpal tunnel syndrome. This made it hard for him to practice piano for many hours. He had to choose between music and magic. He decided to follow his passion for magic. He took a year off from school to focus on it. During this time, he kept creating new tricks and making YouTube videos. He also developed tricks to sell to his fans.

Becoming a World Champion

During his break from school, Shin Lim competed in the 2012 Fédération Internationale des Sociétés Magiques (FISM) World Championship. He finished in sixth place. At first, he wasn't sure if magic would be his career. But in 2013, an agent who saw him at the championship offered him a tour in China. Shin Lim agreed.

He made some changes to his show for the tour. He made his show longer, about 20 minutes of tricks. He also stopped talking during his routine because he didn't speak Chinese. This silent style became a key part of his future acts. By the end of the tour, Shin Lim was the main performer. Because of this success, he decided to leave Lee University to focus on magic.

In 2015, he won the FISM World Championship for Close-up Card Magic. This win didn't come with a million-dollar prize. However, it gave him a chance to be seen by TV producers looking for new talent.

Shin Lim on Penn & Teller: Fool Us

Soon after winning the World Championship in 2015, Shin Lim was asked to be on Penn & Teller: Fool Us. This show features magicians trying to trick the famous magicians Penn & Teller. The producers had seen his YouTube videos. Shin Lim's routine successfully fooled Penn & Teller. Penn Jillette praised his act, saying it was "wonderful" to see card tricks done so seriously and importantly.

Penn Jillette also said Shin Lim was part of a new wave of magicians. He connects the big stage shows of magicians like David Copperfield with the close-up, interactive style of magicians like David Blaine. Shin Lim's 2015 performance on Fool Us became very popular online, getting over 50 million views. This led to a second invitation to the show in 2017.

Shin Lim realized after his 2015 Fool Us appearance that his "magic's pretty special." He decided then to stick with magic instead of music. His performance also led to other invitations, including to the House of Magic in Macau, China. He called this "the best gig in magic." His special YouTube video "Pray for Paris," a tribute to the victims of the November 2015 Paris attacks, also brought more attention to his skills.

In March 2016, Shin Lim hurt two tendons in his left thumb while practicing a new trick. He thought his magic career might be over. But he had surgery and recovered fully after a lot of therapy. He thanked his surgeon and physical therapist for saving his career. In his 2017 appearance on Fool Us, he again successfully fooled Penn & Teller.

In a video chat in 2020, Shin Lim performed another trick for Penn & Teller. Penn said, "If you were on Fool Us right now, you would have fooled us ... for the third time." Shin Lim uploaded this video to YouTube, where it has received over 2.3 million views.

Shin Lim on America's Got Talent

After his 2015 Fool Us appearance, the producers of America's Got Talent contacted Shin Lim. He first turned them down because he only had one main act ready. By 2017, after his second Fool Us appearance, Shin Lim felt ready for America's Got Talent. His fiancée, Casey Thomas, also encouraged him. She is a dancer and helped him improve his routines.

Shin Lim was chosen for the 13th season of the show. On September 19, 2018, he was announced as the winner. He won a prize of $1 million and became a headline act at the Paris Theater in Paris Las Vegas. During the competition, he used different versions of his tricks. He also added more talking and showed a bit of his piano skills in his final show.

One of the judges, Simon Cowell, advised him to show more of his personality. Cowell also told him to step away from the card table and add bigger elements to his show if he wanted to win. Shin Lim was then invited back to compete in the first season of America's Got Talent: The Champions. He won that competition too, beating American ventriloquist and season 12 champion Darci Lynne.

Life After America's Got Talent

After his success on America's Got Talent, Shin Lim started a long-term show in Las Vegas. He performs at the Terry Fator Theatre at the Mirage Casino Hotel. He also joined The Illusionists, a group of magicians who perform together. He also started his own tour across the United States in 2020.

Shin Lim has appeared on many talk shows since winning America's Got Talent. These include The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, and The Today Show. In 2020, he made special guest appearances on the second season of America's Got Talent: The Champions. He appeared in a magic trick by Marc Spelmann and also in a trick by AGT semi-finalist Colin Cloud.

Shin Lim's Magic Style

Shin Lim sees his magic as an artistic show, not just a way to trick people. He wants to make card magic more artistic and visual. He uses his musical background in his acts, setting almost all his tricks to music. He stays silent during the tricks. Shin Lim compares his act to the movie Inception, saying it is artistic but also easy for everyone to enjoy. He also feels his magic is like playing the piano, as it involves similar ideas of timing and being in sync.

Shin Lim says most of his tricks involve switching cards. He does this so viewers cannot see the switch, or he hides it completely. To get this right, he records himself practicing his tricks. Then he plays them back in slow motion to find any moments that might give away the trick. He knows that his fans on YouTube will also watch his videos in slow motion to try and catch him. Shin Lim also uses special decks of cards sometimes. These might include blank cards or cards with a special finish that makes them easier to handle. He does not consider these decks to be rigged.

Shin Lim's Personal Life

Shin Lim lives near Boston, Massachusetts. He is a citizen of both Canada and the United States. He got engaged to Casey Thomas, whom he met in 2015 during his Macau tour. She was performing at a theater next to his. They met at after-show events that brought their theater groups together. They got married on August 19, 2019.

Shin Lim's Awards

Shin Lim on Television