Aoi Yu

Yu Aoi is a Japanese actress and model who built a prominent career across film, television, stage productions, and voice acting. She first gained wide screen recognition in the early 2000s and has since established herself as an acclaimed performer in Japan, earning multiple national honors and critical awards for her roles.

Aoi was born on August 17, 1985, in Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. During her junior high school years, she relocated to Tokyo, where she resided in the Kasai area of Edogawa ward. In her personal life, she married comedian Ryota Yamasato in June 2019, and she gave birth to their daughter in August 2022.

Her performance career began on stage in 1999 playing Polly in the musical Annie, followed by a regular television appearance on Oha Suta in 2000. Her feature film debut came in 2001 as Shiori Tsuda in Shunji Iwai's All About Lily Chou-Chou. She subsequently appeared in Ao to Shiro de Mizuiro and Gaichu. In 2003, she starred alongside Anne Suzuki in a short film project for Kit Kat's 30th anniversary in Japan, directed by Iwai, which was later expanded into the 2004 movie Hana and Alice. Her portrayal of Tetsuko Arisugawa earned her the Best Actress award at the Japanese Professional Movie Awards.

In 2005, Aoi took her first lead film role in Letters from Kanai Nirai, marketed in South Korea as Aoi Yu's Letter. She also held supporting roles in Turtles Swim Faster than Expected and Yamato. Her major breakthrough arrived with the 2006 film Hula Girls, in which her role as Kimiko Tanigawa received a dozen accolades, including the Japan Academy Prize for Best Supporting Actress. That same year, she played Hagumi Hanamoto in Honey and Clover, appeared in Rainbow Song, and voiced Shiro in the animated movie Tekkon Kinkreet.

Aoi expanded her repertoire through projects like the live-action movie Mushishi, Don't Laugh at My Romance, and Welcome to the Quiet Room, reducing her weight by seven kilograms to play an eating disorder patient. Her stage performances included playing Desdemona in Othello. On television, she starred in the drama series Camouflage and played the lead role of Handa Sen in the manga adaptation Osen.

Her subsequent screen work included leading One Million Yen Girl, as well as roles in Best Wishes for Tomorrow, Tokyo!, Honokaa Boy, Ototo, and The Lightning Tree. She provided voice work for Ikechan and Me and acted in Vampire, Rurouni Kenshin, and Penance. In 2009, Japan's Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology recognized her achievements with the Rookie of the Year award. Outside of acting, Aoi released the photobooks Travel Sand and Dandelion and endorsed major commercial brands including Sony, Canon, Nintendo, Shiseido, and Coca-Cola.