Rinko Kikuchi

:"Yuriko Kikuchi redirects here. For the American dancer, see Yuriko (dancer)".Infobox actor
name = Rinko Kikuchi
(菊地 凛子 "Kikuchi Rinko")


imagesize = 150px
caption = Rinko Kikuchi
birthname = Yuriko Kikuchi
birthdate = birth date and age|mf=yes|1981|1|6
birthplace = Hadano, Japan
website = http://www.anore.co.jp/rinko/nihongo|Rinko Kikuchi|菊地 凛子|Kikuchi Rinko, born nihongo|Yuriko Kikuchi|菊池 百合子|Kikuchi Yuriko, January 6, 1981) is a Japanese actress. She has been nominated for the Academy Award, the Screen Actors Guild Award, and the Golden Globe, and won the NBR Award and the CFCA Award. Kikuchi is the first Japanese actress to be nominated for an Academy Award in 50 years. She is Japan's only living female Academy Award nominee, since Miyoshi Umeki, who won in 1957 for Sayonara, died on August 27, 2007.

Biography

Kikuchi was born in Minamigaoka,Hadano-City,Kanagawa-Prefacuture. She debuted in 1999 under her birth name, Yuriko Kikuchi, with the Kaneto Shindo-directed film nihongo|"Ikitai"|生きたい.citeweb|url=http://www.midnighteye.com/interviews/rinko_kikuchi.shtml|title=Midnight Eye interview: Rinko Kikuchi|accessdate=2007-02-14] Soon after, in 2001, she starred in the acclaimed Kazuyoshi Komuri-directed film nihongo|"Sora no Ana"|空の穴, which was featured across several international film festivals, including the Rotterdam Film Festival. In 2004, she appeared in the critically acclaimed Katsuhito Ishii-directed film nihongo|"Cha no Aji"|茶の味, which was selected for the Cannes Film Festival.

In 2006, she appeared in the critically-acclaimed Alejandro González Iñárritu-directed film "Babel", where she played Chieko Wataya, a deaf-mute teenage girl, in a role for which she was critically acclaimed and nominated for numerous awards, including the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.cite web|url=http://www.oscar.com/nominees/?pn=detail&nominee=KikuchiRinkoActressSupportingRoleNominee|title=OSCAR.com - 79th Annual Academy Awards - Nomination|accessdate=2007-02-14] She won several, such as the National Board of Review Award for Best Breakthrough Female Performance (tying with Jennifer Hudson) and the Gotham Award for Best Breakthrough. Kikuchi is also the fifth actress in Academy Award history to be nominated for an award for a role in which they do not speak a word. (The others were Jane Wyman, Patty Duke, Holly Hunter, and Samantha Morton.) Her hypnotic, emotionally intense role in "Babel" has led to her being noticed by many international directors, such as Rian Johnson, auteur director of "Brick". She will star in his next film, "The Brothers Bloom", which will be her first fully English-language feature.

She was mentioned in an episode of the TV show Robot Chicken on the Adult Swim network in a parody of the popular movie-themed Lego play sets.

Filmography

Television

*"Bakayaro! Special 2" (1999)
*"Kawaii dakeja Dame kashira" (ANB) (1999)
*"Chura-san" (NHK) (2001)
*"The private detective Mike Hama" (YTV) #1 (2002)
*"Uchu ni Ichiban Chikai basho" (2003)
*"Ai to Shihonshugi" (WOWOW) (2003)

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* [http://www.anore.co.jp/rinko/ Official site]
*

Bibliography

* Morris, Jerome C. "Exposed! Interview with Riko Kikuchi", in "Asian Cult Cinema", #55.