Erika Ikuta

Erika Ikuta is a Japanese actress and singer. She is a former first-generation member of the Japanese idol girl group Nogizaka46 and has appeared in various television, stage, and dubbing projects. She has been affiliated with the talent agency Ohta Production from 2007 to 2009 and returned to the agency in 2022.

Ikuta was born on January 22, 1997, in Düsseldorf, Germany. Influenced by her older sister, she began taking piano lessons at the age of four. Her family relocated to Tokyo when she was five years old. She began her entertainment career as a child actress in 2007, starring in the musical Coco Smile: Asu e no Rock 'n' Roll.

In 2011, Ikuta successfully auditioned for Nogizaka46, becoming one of its thirty-six initial first-generation members. She performed on the group's debut single, "Guruguru Curtain," released in February 2012. Later that year, she played the lead role of Alice in Nogizaka46's stage musical Sixteen Principal. After taking a brief break in early 2014 to prepare for her education, she returned in August as the choreographic center for the group's tenth single, "Nandome no Aozora ka?". She remained an active member until her graduation from Nogizaka46 on December 31, 2021, performing her final group activity at the 72nd NHK Kouhaku Uta Gassen after holding a graduation concert at Yokohama Arena.

Alongside her work with Nogizaka46, Ikuta expanded into acting and publishing. She appeared in the 2015 Fuji TV drama Zannen na Otto and released her debut solo photobook, Tenchō, in January 2016. The photobook sold 38,355 copies in its first week, ranking first on the Oricon weekly photobook sales chart and leading the Oricon photobook category for the first half of 2016. In musical theater, she was cast as Cosette in the 30th anniversary Japanese production of Les Misérables in 2017 and 2019, later playing Éponine in 2021 and Fantine from late 2024 to mid-2025. She is the second Japanese actress to perform all three roles in the musical. Additionally, she voiced Asha in the Japanese dubbing of the Disney animated movie Wish.

Following her departure from Nogizaka46, Ikuta rejoined Ohta Production in January 2022 and launched her official website, social media, and fan events. Her first post-group television role was as Mio Mukai in the Fuji TV series Gossip: #Kanojo ga Shiritai Honto no 〇〇. In September 2023, she launched her first solo tour, Erika Ikuta Autumn Live Tour 2023. She made her official debut as a solo singer under Gr8! Records on April 10, 2024, releasing her first extended play titled capriccioso. In May 2024, she was announced as the lead star of the public television drama Subarashiki Kana, Sensei!.