Shin Lim is living his best life these days, doing what he loves while filling theaters with fans and admirers. Lim is a magician, recognized for his use of card manipulation and sleight of hand.

When not traveling the world, Lim is busy dazzling audiences in Las Vegas. After a successful run at the now-closed Mirage, Lim can be found these days at the Venetian on the Las Vegas Strip.

Lim was born in Vancouver, Canada, in 1991. When he was two years old, his parents, born in Singapore, returned there before eventually settling in Acton, Massachusetts, when Lim was 11. Lim later moved to Waltham.

A graduate of Acton-Boxborough Regional High School, Lim studied violin and then piano, but became intrigued by magic.

After high school, Lim left Massachusetts to study at the School of Music at Lee University in Tennessee, where he developed carpal tunnel syndrome in both hands. All the while, Lim studied YouTube videos of magic tricks and eventually opted to leave music school to pursue a career as a magician.

Lim won NBC's America's Got Talent in 2018 and America's Got Talent: The Champions the following year.

Lim told WGBH All Things Considered in 2020, "My persona was...I just had a hard time talking. So I was really shy as a kid. Like in high school, I kind of had no friends. I don't think anyone really remembers me from Acton-Boxborough."

Lim said music was the way he learned to express himself, and so he incorporated music into his magic act.

"My whole act is synchronized to every single beat in the song," he said.

I saw Lim perform at the Mirage and found him to be an amazing talent.

Lim, who holds both Canadian and American citizenship, still lives near Boston. He and Casey Thomas were married in August 2019.