Erika Sawajiri

Infobox actor
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name = nihongo|Erika Sawajiri|沢尻 エリカ


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birthname =
birthdate = birth date and age|1986|4|8
location = Nerima, Tokyo, Japan
deathdate =
deathplace =
othername = Kaoru Amane Erika Kacchan, Aachan
yearsactive = 1999–Present
spouse =
homepage =
notable role = Aya Ikeuchi in "1 Litre of Tears" Hotarubi in ""

nihongo|Erika Sawajiri|沢尻 エリカ|Sawajiri Erika|born April 8, 1986 in Nerima, Tokyo is a Japanese actress, model, and musician. Her alias in her music career was Kaoru Amane, but she has recently started her own project under the name Erika. She is currently affiliated with Sony for her record label as formerly Kaoru Amane and later Erika, and Stardust Promotion for her talent agency as her real name, Erika Sawajiri, and became popular after playing a girl who suffered from an intractable disease called spinocerebellar degeneration (SCD) in the nonfiction drama "1 Litre of Tears".

Biography

Erika was born to a Japanese father and mother who is of Algerian-French and Japanese descent Fact|date=April 2008 and is the youngest of three brothers and sisters. Her father owned sixteen racehorses, including the horse, nihongo|"Edonokoban"|エドノコバン. Her father died of cancer when she was in her third year at junior high school. Her second eldest brother died in a car accident when she was in her first year at high school. Her mother managed a Mediterranean restaurant (closed down for unknown reason) and Erika sometimes helped with it. Erika has been horseback riding since she was a child.

In 1999, Erika passed the Stardust audition after graduating from elementary school. She became part of the idol unit "Angel Eyes" and began modeling for junior fashion magazines such as CUTiE and nicola. She later won the grand prize for the 2001 Seikore and became a regular on the BS news program Harajuku Launchers. In 2002, Erika started her career in film as well as extending her modeling career as a gravure idol. Her first film was Mondai no nai Watashitachi.

She also became one of Fuji TV's Visual Queens in 2002. On the NTV variety show "The Yoru mo Hit Parade", she became a regular from April till late June, shortly after leaving the program for the CX news program Chou VIP Fortune no Tobira from mid-June till late August. In November, she was on the CBC variety show "Bijou Dokyuu" and TBS show "B-1". She got her big break when she was cast in the TBS TV drama Hotman. Her most notable role was in 1 Litre of Tears in 2005 when she portrayed a girl with the degenerative disease spinocerebellar degeneration.

Erika first started her music career under the name "Kaoru Amane," the name of her character in her last drama, the TV adaptation of A Song to the Sun (Taiyou no Uta). The single went into number 1 in its second and fourth week. On July 16, 2007, Erika released her 'debut' single under only "Erika" entitled "Free". The single was immediately ranked on its first day as number one on the Oricon Charts. Oricon stated that she is the only artist in 39 years to get their first two single hit number one since Hiroko Yakushimaru in 1983.

She decided to enter the entertainment world because she wanted to meet singer Namie Amuro whom she idolizes.

Controversy and criticism

On September 29, 2007, Sawajiri showed up at the Closed Note movie premiere and was visibly upset. [ [http://mdn.mainichi.jp/culture/waiwai/face/archive/news/2007/20071005p2g00m0dm005000c.html Sulky Erika Sawajiri not quite big enough to pull off prima donna pouting] Mainichi Japan en icon] Many people perceived this as a 'bad attitude'. She answered questions she was asked with very short, impolite answers. The Japanese press treated this issue as a very big deal. On October 2, she posted an official apology on her website. [ [http://www.erika-official.com/071002.html Apology by her on her website] ja icon] She states that she regrets her attitude, and what she did was very unprofessional and she shouldn't have let her mood affect her job. A few days later she appeared on a TV Asahi's morning news show "Super Morning", and gave them an exclusive 120 minute interview. She said again that she was sorry for what she did, and she knew there was nothing she could do to change what happened, but she would try to make up for it. She also denied the rumors that she was being suspended by her management.

Following this issue, she was going to attend the 12th Pusan International Film Festival, which was held on October 6, 2007, but she announced she would not attend this.

What was later found out after the interview was that she had been seen in the club with a man who was said to be her lover Tsuyoshi Takashiro. [ [http://www.sanspo.com/geino/top/gt200710/gt2007100700.html nihongo2|行定監督「映画がかわいそう」…“エリカ様”騒動の心中激白] Sanspo.com ja icon]

She has been rumoured to not have anything in her 2008 schedule and that she is staying in United Kingdom for a year and take a break in the entertainment industry. Stardust Promotion have confirmed to replace her during that time period with an actress Kaho. [ [http://erika-fantasy.blogspot.com/2007/12/stardust-announces-new-erika.html Stardust Announces "New Erika"] ]

Actress Erika Sawajiri returned to Japan on March 29, 2008 after nearly three months in London with her boyfriend, media creator Tsuyoshi Takashiro. While in London, Sawajiri attended a language school. Her familiarity with English became evident at the airport when several cosmetics items fell out of her bag, and she exclaimed, "Oh shit!" She continued to mostly use English while at the airport, and she reportedly has become fluent enough to handle ordinary conversation. [cite news |last=Connell|first=Ryann|title='Oh ****!' - Foul-mouthed starlet Sawajiri's career in crisis|url=http://mdn.mainichi.jp/culture/waiwai/face/news/20080411p2g00m0dm004000c.html|publisher=Mainichi Shimbun|date=April 11, 2008|accessdate=2008-04-15|language=English] [cite news |last=Connell|first=Ryann|title=Sourpuss thespian Sawajiri snared in Doppelgang bang scandal|url=http://mdn.mainichi.jp/culture/waiwai/face/news/20080229p2g00m0dm013000c.html|publisher=Mainichi Shimbun|date=February 29, 2008|accessdate=2008-04-15|language=English]

Sawajiri stated that she would be in Japan for her birthday, April 8, although she planned to return to London some time after that. [ [http://www.erika-sawajiri.net/index.php?topic=1283.0 Erika Sawajiri and lover back in Japan and in a good mood? (extract from Tokyograph)] ]

Miscellaneous

She is also known to be a fan of the English rock band Led Zeppelin [ [http://contents.oricon.co.jp/news/music/50419/full/ ツェッペリン再結成の迫力に沢尻エリカもコーフン！] Oricon Style ja icon] [ [http://blog.mystarhill.com/gossip/sawajiri-erika-takashiro-tsuyoshi-spotted-together-in-led-zeppelin-concert/ News about Erika Sawajiri's Led Zeppelin reunion concert visit in London] en icon] [ [http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x3sbrj_erika-at-led-zeppelin-concert-news_news News video clip about Zep's reunion concert] ] . During Led Zeppelin's reunion concert at The O2 in London, England on December 10, 2007, three seats for Japanese celebrities were reserved, though only Sawajiri and her partner turned up. Tomoaki Ogura was unable to attend due to work commitments for a Japanese television program. [ [http://www.og-land.com/blog/index.php?act=date&day=20071212 Tomoaki Ogura's official diary] ja icon] )

Filmography

Movies

Music Videos

CM

Awards and Nominations

References

* [http://erika-official.com/index.html Official Website] ja icon
* [http://www.stardust.co.jp/talent/48.html Erika Sawajiri official page by Stardust Promotion] ja icon
* [http://www.kaoruamane.com Kaoru Amane Official Website] ja icon
* [http://www.erika-web.com Erika SawajiriOfficial Website] ja icon
*imdb name|id=1847329|name=Erika Sawajiri
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