Aya Ueto

In this Japanese name, the surname is Ueto.
Aya Ueto
上戸 彩
Ueto attending the iPhone 3GS launch event at the SoftBank flagship store, June 2009
Born (1985-09-14) September 14, 1985 (age 39)
Nerima, Tokyo, Japan
Occupations
  • Actress
  • singer
  • television personality
Years active1999–present
Spouse
​
(m. 2012)​
Children3
Musical career
Genres
InstrumentVocals
Labels
WebsiteOfficial website

Aya Ueto (上戸 彩, Ueto Aya, born September 14, 1985) is a Japanese actress, singer and television personality. In 1997, Ueto participated in the seventh Japan Bishōjo Contest, where she won the special jury prize.[1] Soon thereafter, Ueto joined the talent agency Oscar Promotion and began taking singing, dancing and acting lessons. In 1999, she formed the girl group Z-1 with three fellow Japan Bishōjo Contest participants. The group disbanded in 2002 and later that year, Ueto signed with Pony Canyon and released "Pureness", her debut single as a lead artist. She has since released five studio albums which have spawned ten Oricon top-ten singles.

At the age of thirteen, Ueto made her acting debut in the 1999 thriller Satsujinsha: Killer of Paraiso. In 2001, Ueto appeared in the sixth season of the TBS drama 3-nen B-gumi Kinpachi-sensei. Her portrayal of a high school student with gender dysphoria garnered critical acclaim and led to several leading roles and advertising endorsements, establishing Ueto as one of Japan's most recognizable faces.[2] Since 2004, Ueto has held the annual title of CM Queen five times.[3] Ueto has won two Television Drama Academy Awards – one for Best Actress for her performance in the sports drama series Ace o Nerae! (2004) and one for Best Supporting Actress for her role in the human drama Nagareboshi (2010). She subsequently starred in the remake of Attention Please (2006), the banking drama Hanzawa Naoki (2013) and Hirugao: Love Affairs in the Afternoon (2014).[4]

Ueto ventured onto the big screen as the lead in Ryuhei Kitamura's 2003 blockbuster Azumi, which earned her a nomination for a Japan Academy Award for Best Actress. She went on to star in its sequel, Azumi 2: Death or Love (2005), and Thermae Romae (2012), the adaptation of Mari Yamazaki's manga series of the same name.[5][6] In 2017, Ueto starred in the feature film adaptation of the drama series Hirugao.

  1. ^ Betros, Chris (2006-10-20). "Girl on the go". Metropolis. Archived from the original on 2009-12-01. Retrieved 2010-04-18.
  2. ^ Poole, Robert Michael (2008-11-13). "Understanding Ueto, Japan's reluctant star". The Japan Times. Retrieved 2009-07-04.
  3. ^ ＣＭキング＆クイーン共に連覇！あのグループも大躍進！ ～ ニホンモニター ２０１０タレントＣＭ起用社数ランキング発表 ～ (PDF) (Press release) (in Japanese). Nihon Monitor. 2010-12-14. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-01-24. Retrieved 2011-01-20.
  4. ^ Blair, Gavin J. (October 3, 2013). "Japanese Hit Drama 'Hanzawa Naoki' Sells to Hong Kong, Taiwan". The Hollywood Reporter.
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference Newtype USA 5 11 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ "Abe Hiroshi, Ueto Aya star in "Thermae Romae" live-action movie". Tokyograph. 2011-04-17. Retrieved 2011-07-20.