Tuesday, December 18, 2007

Kyoko Fukada 深田恭子



Profile
Name: Kyoko Fukada (深田恭子 - is also her real name)
Nicknames: Fukakyon (深キョン), Kyokorin (恭子りん), Kyokorin-hime (恭子りん姫)
Birthdate: November 2nd, 1982
Birthplace: Tokyo, Japan
Blood type: O
Height: 164cm
Shoe size: 26cm
Hobby: Karaoke, watching movies, shopping

Information
Fukada Kyoko won the 21st Talent Scout Caravan Grand Prix Award as part of the "Pure Girl Audition" in 1996 at the age of 14. Her reason for entering the audition was because she yearned to be like her idol, Kahala Tomomi. She made her official debut in 1997 with three dramas, and in 1998 was part of Horipro's idol group "HIP" (Horipro Idol Paradise). Fukada began appearing on several radio programs and Horipro events before her graduation from the group in summer of 1999. She also began her career as a gravure idol in 1998, releasing several photobooks and idol videos before focusing solely on acting after 2002. A DVD of clips from her idol videos was even licensed for the United States in 2001 from Tokyopop.



She garnered much attention in 1998 for co-starring in the drama "Kamisama, mou sukoshi dake" alongside famed actor Kaneshiro Takeshi as Kano Masaki, a 16-year-old who contracts HIV after a one-night stand to earn money for concert tickets. October of that same year she was given her first radio program, "Fukada Kyoko IN MY ROOM", which lasted until March 2002. The next year she starred for the first time in the drama "Oni no Sumika".

Fukada's debut as a musician came in 1999 with the single "Saigo no Kajitsu" in May and a mini-album in November. The mini-album, "Dear..." showcased not only her vocal talents, but an instrumental track of Fukada playing "Do They Know It's Christmas?" on the piano was also included. (Her original composition "Into the Light" was featured as well.) Meanwhile, Fukada was still pursuing her acting career and in 2000, her song "How?" was used for the film "Shisha no Gakuensai", which was also her first starring role in a film. In 2002 Fukada co-starred in the Japanese/Korean drama Friends with Korean actor Won Bin, a mini-series about two people from different countries who both meet in Hong Kong on vacation. The drama was the first to be broadcast simultaneously in both countries. She also held a major role in the popular film Dolls as fictional idol Yamaguchi Haruna.

Fukada became a model for the first time in 2003, modeling fashion designer Katsura Yumi's kimono-styled outfits for the Spring/Summer Paris Collection. Since doing "Shimotsuma Monogatari" in 2004, she has been a guest model several times for the magazine KERA and has appeared on the cover of one of their photomooks.

Fukada's most popular film by far is the 2004 hit "Shimotsuma Monogatari", the story of a lolita befriended by a yankee. Shortly after its release in Japan, it was licensed and made available for American audiences (however, it was not until 2006 that the film was released on DVD for Western viewing). It was this movie that truly put Fukada on the radar worldwide, as she has won four different awards for that movie alone. Fukada continues to be one of Japan's most recognized actresses with her continual appearances in dramas, films, and magazines.

Trivia
- Fukada shares a birthday with Marie Antoinette and has joked about being an incarnation of the infamous French queen.
- She has also loved swimming from a very young age and wonders if she was a dolphin in a previous life. It was for this reason that her first photobook is named Pool; her fan-club also shares this name. In dramas and commercials that show Fukada swimming, it actually is Fukada and not a stunt or body double.
- Fukada took piano for four years and has also worked on composition. Her original work "Into the Light" was featured on "Dear...".
Her idol is Kahala Tomomi, and she confessed to crying "like a baby" the first time they met.
- Went to high school and was best friends with Kato Ai, whom she acted with in the film "Shinjuku Shounen Tanteidan". They applied for high school together. She says when she came back from school, Kato would get jealous whenever Fukada talked with other girls. (It is unknown if they're close now.) Fukada also attended the same high school as Nakane Kasumi, Sowelu, Odaka Saki, Fujiwara Tatsuya, Matsumoto Jun and others. As for other friends, she is close with Kuroki Hitomi and has been associated with Suzuki Ami, Shinohara Tomoe, Hamasaki Ayumi, and Utada Hikaru. She even performed a duet with Hamasaki Ayumi on her television show "Ayu Ready?".

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