Keiko Kitagawa (北川 景子, Kitagawa Keiko, born August 22, 1986) is a Japanese actress and former model. She was an exclusive model for the Japanese Seventeen magazine from late 2003 to mid-2006, and quit modeling when she left the magazine. Her first acting role was Sailor Mars in the Sailor Moonlive action show Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon (2003–2004), and after her role in the film Mamiya Kyōdai, she left modeling to concentrate on acting. She has appeared in several films, including The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (2006) and Handsome Suit (2008), and has played leading roles in the TV Dramas Mop Girl (2007), Homeroom on the Beachside (2008), Buzzer Beat (2009), Lady Saigo no Hanzai Profile (2011),[1] and Akumu-chan (2012).
Biography
Kitagawa was born on August 22, 1986, in Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan.[2] She grew up in Kobe, and lost many friends in the Great Hanshin earthquake in 1995.[3] As a child, she wanted to be a doctor, but by the time she reached high school she was uncertain of what to do in the future.[4] Around this time, she was scouted by a talent agency, and decided to try the entertainment world. Her parents were initially opposed, but they gave their permission on two conditions: that she give up if she was making no progress within a year, and that she put her studies first and graduate from university.[5] She graduated from Meiji University in Tokyo in March 2009.[6]
Career
Within a week of joining an agency, Kitagawa was selected as a model and an actress.[7] She was chosen as Miss Seventeen in 2003,[8] which led to her working as a model with the Japanese Seventeen until she graduated from the magazine in September 2006.[9] In the latter part of the run, she had her regular feature, "Keiko's Beauty Honey".[10]
As an actress, Kitagawa was given the role of Rei Hino in the live action television series of Sailor Moon, which began her acting career. Her first significant film role was in Mamiya Kyōdai, and as result of the influence of the director, Yoshimitsu Morita, she decided to concentrate on acting rather than modeling.[7] She initially concentrated on films, including the leading roles in Cherry Pie and Dear Friends.[10] In late 2007, she had her first leading role in a TV drama, in the late-night drama Mop Girl.[10] In 2008, she was given the role of the heroine in Homeroom on the Beachside, Fuji Television's Monday 9pm drama for the summer season.[7]
Kitagawa moved to Tokyo when she started working as an actress and model, and has lived there since. She traveled to California to film The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift, and returned there to study English for a couple of months early in 2006.[11] From May to December 2007, she wrote a column entitled "Keytan Hakusho" for the Japanese weekly television listings magazineWeekly The Television.[10]
Kitagawa has described herself as a stay-at-home person who likes watching DVDs, listening to music, and reading books. When asked what she would do if the world were going to end tomorrow, she said "read books".[7] She is managed by Stardust Promotion.[10]
She has appeared in the films Mizu ni Sumu Hana (2006), Mamiya Kyōdai (2006), The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (2006), Cherry Pie (lead role) (2006), Dear Friends (lead role) (2007), Sono Toki ha Kare ni Yoroshiku (2007), Southbound (2007), Heat Island (2007), Handsome Suit (2008), Orion in Midsummer (2009), I'll Pay (2009), After the Flowers (lead role) (2010), and Matataki (lead role) (2010), and Elevator to the Scaffold (2010).[10]
She appeared in the TV dramas Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon (2003–4), Mop Girl (lead role) (2007), Homeroom on the Beachside (2008), Buzzer Beat (2009),[12] and Moon Lovers (2010),[13]The After-Dinner Mysteries (2011), Hero (2014), and Detective versus Detectives (2015).
Personal life
In 2016, Kitagawa married singer-songwriter Daigo.[14] The same year, Kitagawa won the Japanese Television Academy Award for Best Actress for Ie Uru Onna.[15]
On April 22, 2020, she announced her first pregnancy. On September 7, she gave birth to her daughter.[16][17] On September 25, 2023, Kitagawa and her husband jointly announced through their agency that they are expecting their second child.[18] On January 31, 2024, she gave birth to a son.[19][20]
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