Yuki Nakashima (中島 由貴, Nakashima Yuki, born September 12, 1997) is a Japanese actress, voice actress, model, singer, and bassist from Wakayama Prefecture who is affiliated with Beffect.[2] She began her career as a child model and actress, appearing in magazines and commercials, before passing a voice acting audition and becoming a member of the idol group Earth Star Dream. In 2018, she was cast as the character Lisa Imai in the multimedia franchise BanG Dream!; as part of her responsibilities, she plays the bass for the band Roselia.
Biography
Nakashima was born in Wakayama Prefecture on September 12, 1997.[3][4] She had been interested in entertainment from an early age, and she wanted to do something involving singing, acting, or dancing.[5] While in junior high school, she joined a jazz music club where she learned how to play the bass guitar.[5] She then became interested in voice acting after watching the anime series Gin Tama,[6] an interest that would later grow after becoming familiar with the anime series Teekyu.[5]
Nakashima began her career as a child model, appearing in the magazine JS Girl.[7] She also appeared in a number of television commercials and dramas while affiliated with the talent agency Amuse.[4] In 2014, at the urging of her mother, she participated in a voice acting audition held by the publishing company Earth Star Entertainment.[5] She and Kanon Takao won the competition, beating 3,000 other contestants.[5][8] Following the competition, she, Takao, and some of other the participants became part of the idol group Earth Star Dream.[9] The following year, she made her voice acting debut in Teekyu.[10]
In 2017, Nakashima was cast as Yūki Otokura in The Idolmaster Cinderella Girls.[11] Later that year, she announced that she would leave Earth Star Dream and begin solo activities.[9] Although she initially announced that she would remain with Earth Star Entertainment, she left the company in April 2018 after they announced that they would cease artist management activities.[12] She then joined the talent agency Beffect.[13] In May 2018, it was announced that she would be replacing Yurika Endō, who had announced her retirement from the entertainment industry, as the voice actor of the character Lisa Imai in the multimedia franchise BanG Dream!. As part of her new role, she joined the band Roselia as its bassist.[14]
On December 23, 2020, Nakashima made her solo artist debut under NBCUniversal Entertainment Japan with the release of her first album, Chapter I.[15]
Personal life
Nakashima's interests include listening to music and playing the bass guitar. She had been interested in promoting Wakayama Prefecture, and in 2018 she became an ambassador for a campaign to promote the prefecture's orange industry.[16] In 2019, she was appointed as a public relations officer by the prefectural government to further promote the area.[17]
Since 2019 she maintains a gaming channel with her Roselia bandmate Megu Sakuragawa.[18]
