Kaori Momoi

Kaori Momoi  桃井 かおり Momoi Kaori born April 8 1952 in Tokyo Japan is a Japanese actress Momoi was born in Tokyo and at the young age of 12 traveled to London to study dance at the Royal Ballet Academy After 3 years she returned to Tokyo later graduating from Japans Bungakuza School of Dramatic Arts In 1971 Momoi debuted in director Kon Ichikawas Ai Futatabi To Love Again beginning a career that has already spanned 35 years and over 60 films As an actress she has worked with some of the most notable films directors in Japan including Akira Kurosawa Kagemusha 1980 Tatsumi Kumashiro Seishun no Satetsu 1974 Yoji Yamada The Yellow Handkerchief 1977 and Otoko wa Tsuraiyo 1979 Shohei Imamura Why Not 1981 Shunji Iwai Swallowtail Butterfly 1996 Jun Ichikawa Tokyo Yakyoku 1997 Mitani Koki Welcome Back Mr McDonald 1997 Yoshimitsu Morita Like Asura 2003 and most recently Takashi Miike IZO Sukiyaki Western Django She has also performed in The Sun 2005 directed by Alexander Sokurov and appeared in director Rob Marshalls film Memoirs of a Geisha For her film performances in Japan Momoi has won many awards She has won the Japanese Academy Awards for Best Actress twice and Best Supporting Actress once and was selected Best Actress at the 1983 New York International Film Festival for her role in Giwaku Suspicion Popular among Japanese of all ages and a recognized trend setter Momoi is never idle pursuing various projects in producing directing screenwriting and design in addition to her acting She has also released some 15 record albums as a singer and is a much sought after essayist She won the award for best actress at the 7th Hochi Film Award for Giwaku Her latest movie is Maris Martinsons movie Amaya which was released on September 17 2010 Description above from the Wikipedia article Kaori Momoi licensed under CCBYSA full list of contributors on Wikipedia