is a Japanese actress and former idol singer. She is regarded as one of Japan's top actresses, and her accolades include six Japan Academy Film Prizes and three Kinema Junpo Awards.

Miyazawa began her career as a child model, seeing wide exposure as the original face of Mitsui Rehouse. At age 16, she made her acting debut in the 1988 film Seven Day's War, winning the Japan Academy Award for Newcomer of the Year. Her short-lived music career began with the single "Dream Rush" in 1989, and the next year she performed at the prestigious Kōhaku Uta Gassen television special.

Miyazawa quickly rose to prominence as one of the top idols of the early Heisei period, attracting controversy for her 1991 nude photography book Santa Fe, which sold 1.5 million copies. Her personal struggles were further scrutinized, including a high-profile engagement to sumo wrestler Takanohana, a suicide attempt and battle with anorexia nervosa. By 1996, she went into hiatus and briefly resettled in the United States.

She took on a few television drama roles in the late 1990s, and returned to the big screen in the Taiwanese films The Cabbie (2000) and Peony Pavilion (2001). She co-starred in the highly-acclaimed 2002 film The Twilight Samurai, which marked a full-fledged comeback for Miyazawa and remains as her most recognizable role both domestically and internationally. She saw further success in The Face of Jizo and Tony Takitani (2004), and received several accolades for Pale Moon (2014) and Her Love Boils Bathwater (2016).

Life and career

Miyazawa was born in Tokyo to a Dutch father and a Japanese mother Mitsuko Miyazawa. Since her debut at age 11 in an advertisement for Kit Kat, she has appeared many films, television shows, commercials, stage appearances and photo books to her credit. She starred in the children's comedy Bokura no Nanokakan Sensō (Seven Days' War) and the television drama Tokyo Elevator Girl. Miyazawa made her debut as a singer on September 15, 1989, with her album MU.

Miyazawa gained notoriety in 1991 with the publication of a fine art nude photography book, Santa Fe, and even more publicity in 1992 with her engagement to sumo star Takanohana. The engagement was called off in 1993. In September 1994 she cut her wrists with a broken glass in what she described as an "accident" and which some reports characterized as a suicide attempt.

Personal life

On February 13, 2009, Miyazawa announced to the public that she was six months pregnant and would soon marry the child's father, reported to be Hiroyuki Nakatsu, an ex-pro surfer from Hawaii turned entrepreneur. On May 20, 2009, in Tokyo she gave birth to a baby girl.

On March 23, 2016, Miyazawa announced that her divorce from Nakatsu has been finalized.

On March 16, 2018, she married Go Morita from the band V6.

Filmography

Film

  • Seven Days' War (1988), Hitomi Nakayama
  • The Face of Jizo (2004)
  • Tony Takitani (2004)
  • Ashurajō no Hitomi (2005)
  • The Book of the Dead (2005), Lady (voice)
  • Hana (2006)
  • The Invitation from Cinema Orion (2007)
  • Dreaming Awake (2008)
  • Haha Shan no Komoriuta (2009)
  • Gelatin Silver Love (2009)
  • Kiki's Delivery Service (2014)
  • Pale Moon (2014), Rika Umezawa
  • Independence of Japan (2020), Masako Shirasu
  • The Sunday Runoff (2022), Yumi Kawashima
  • I Am Makimoto (2022), Miharu Imae
  • The Moon (2023), Yoko Dojima
  • Phoenix Reminiscence of Flower (2023), Romi (voice)
  • The Last Man: The Movie – First Love (2025), Nagisa Ivanova
  • Numb (2026), Aki

Television

  • Kasuga no Tsubone (1989), young Ohatsu
  • Taiheiki (1991), Fujiyasha
  • Tokyo Elevator Girl (1992)
  • Kita no Kuni kara: Himitsu (1995)
  • Concerto (1996)
  • Kita no Kuni kara: Jidai (1998)
  • Genroku Ryōran (1999), Yōzen-in
  • Kita no Kuni kara: Yuigon (2002)
  • Gō (2011), Yodo-dono
  • Gu-Gu Datte Neko de Aru (2014)
  • Sherlock Holmes (2014 puppetry in which she voices Irene Adler)
  • North Light (2020), Yukari Murakami
  • The Naked Director Season 2 (2021), Ms. Takamiya
  • The 13 Lords of the Shogun (2022), Lady Maki
  • Phoenix: Eden17 (2023), Romi (voice)
  • Human Specimens (2025), Rumi Ichinose
  • Queen of Mars (2025), Takima Suzuki

Japanese dub

  • The Hunchback of Notre Dame II (2002), Madellaine
  • Oceans (2009), Narrator

Discography

Studio albums

{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;"

! rowspan="2" scope="col" style="width:12em;" | Title

! rowspan="2" scope="col" style="width:16em;" | Details

! scope="col" | Peak chart position

! rowspan="2" scope="col" style="width:12em;" | Sales

|-

! scope="col" style="width:2.5em;font-size:90%;" | JPN<br>

|-

! scope="row" | MU

|

  • Released: November 22, 1989
  • Label: CBS/Sony
  • Formats: CD

| 3

|

  • JPN: 133,000

|-

! scope="row" | Chepop

|

  • Released: October 21, 1990
  • Label: CBS/Sony
  • Formats: CD

| 8

|

  • JPN: 61,600

|-

! scope="row" | Rosee

|

  • Released: June 21, 1993
  • Label: Sony Music
  • Formats: CD

| 85

|

  • JPN: 3,750

|}

Singles

{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;" border="1"

! rowspan="2" scope="col" style="width:15em;" | Title

! rowspan="2" scope="col" style="width:1em;" | Year

! scope="col" | Peak chart positions

! rowspan="2" scope="col" | Album

|-

! scope="col" style="width:2.5em;font-size:90%;" | JPN<br>

  • Utsutsu
  • Kinema Junpo Awards—Best Actress
  • Blue Ribbon Award—Best Supporting Actress
  • Peony Pavilion
  • Moscow International Film Festival—Best Actress
  • Seven Days' War
  • Japan Academy Award—Best New Actor
  • Nikkan Sports Movie Award—Best New Talent
  • Who Do I Choose?
  • Nikkan Sports Film Award—Best New Talent

References

  • Profile at Japan Zone
  • Metropolis – Big in Japan: Rie Miyazawa
  • Idol*80 Discography (in Japanese)