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Rinko Kikuchi
Her Oscar-nominated performance in Babel and her role as Mako Mori in Pacific Rim.
Babel · Norwegian Wood
- Born
- 6 January 1981
- Birthplace
- Japan
More people
Rinko Kikuchi
Rinko Kikuchi is a Japanese actor working across Japanese and international cinema. She gained international recognition playing a deaf teenager in Babel, then moved between independent drama and large-scale science fiction.
Early life
Childhood
Born in Hadano, Kanagawa, and the youngest of three children.
Discovery
Was approached by a talent scout in Harajuku at fifteen.
Career
- 1999
Film debut
Appeared in Kaneto Shindō’s Will to Live.
- 2006
International breakthrough
Starred in Babel.
- 2013
Action cinema
Played Mako Mori in Pacific Rim.
- 2022
Television
Appeared in Tokyo Vice.
Selected work
Babel
Played Chieko Wataya.
Norwegian Wood
Played Naoko in the literary adaptation.
Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter
Played a woman pursuing a supposed hidden fortune.
Beyond work
Family
Married actor Shota Sometani in 2014; they have two children.
Music
Recorded experimental music under the name Rinbjö.
Sources & photo credit
Life, career and references ↗Academy Awards 2007 ↗Photo: Dick Thomas Johnson from Tokyo, Japan. CC BY 2.0 · Original image. Cropped and displayed in monochrome.
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