Rie Miyazawa
Biography
Rie Miyazawa is a Japanese actress and former teen idol. 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, and made her acting debut in the 1988 film Seven Day's War, for which she won the Japan Academy Award for Newcomer of the Year at age sixteen. 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 moved 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 San Diego. 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).
Known For
SMAP×SMAP
1996
The Naked Director
2019
Blackboard
2012
Blackboard
2012
The 13 Lords of the Shogun
2022
Princess Go
2011
Musashi
2003
The Twilight Samurai
2002
Guilty Flag
2021
Genroku Ryoran
1999
0あてなよる
2015
Asura
2025
Filmography
SMAP×SMAP
as Bistro Guest · 1996
The Naked Director
as Etsuko Takamiya · 2019
Blackboard
as Hisako Shirahama · 2012
Blackboard
as Shirahama Hisako · 2012
The 13 Lords of the Shogun
as Maki no kata · 2022
Princess Go
as Chacha / Yododono · 2011
Musashi
as Oshino · 2003
The Twilight Samurai
as Tomoe Iinuma · 2002
Guilty Flag
· 2021
Genroku Ryoran
as Aguri · 1999
あてなよる
· 2015
Asura
as Tsunako · 2025
Human Specimens
as Rumi Ichinose · 2025
Food Fight
as Miyazono Saeka · 2000
Gu Gu the Cat
as Asako Kojima · 2014
Phoenix: Eden17
as Romi (voice) · 2023
Tokyo Elevator Girl
· 1992
Tears of a Swan
as Mika Hazuki · 1989
Queen of Mars
as Suzuki Takima · 2025
FM999: 999 WOMEN'S SONGS
as Eve (The First Woman) · 2021
Precious Time
as Lisa Takimura · 1998
いつも誰かに恋してるッ
· 1990
Concerto
· 1996
いつか誰かと朝帰りッ
· 1990
Too Young To Die!
as Adult Hiromi Tezuka · 2016
Seven Days War
as Hitomi Nakayama (voice) · 2019
Leaders
as Yukino Higashiyama · 2014
Matrilineal Family
as Fumino Hamada · 2021
Romance
· 1999
North Light
· 2020
Kiki's Delivery Service
as Kokiri · 2014
47 Ronin
as Karu · 1994
Her Love Boils Bathwater
as Futaba Kono · 2016
No Longer Human
as Michiko Tsushima · 2019
一番大切な人は誰ですか？
as Nakamichi Toko · 2004
Tony Takitani
as Konuma Eiko / Hisako · 2004
結婚式場 花嫁介添人がゆく
· 1994
Last Man -FIRST LOVE-
· 2025
Natsumeke no Shokutaku
· 2005
Pieta in the Toilet
as Takuto's Mother · 2015
Hana
as Osae · 2006
The After-Dinner Mysteries
as Miho Kumazawa · 2013
Ashura
as Tsubaki · 2005
神様のボート
as 노지마 요코 · 2013
The Cabbie
as Chuang Ching-wen · 2000
Erotic Liaisons
as Rie · 1992
Pale Moon
as Rika Umezawa · 2014
Saiyūki
as 三藏法师 · 1993
The Devil's Ballad
· 2026
Gelatin Silver, Love
as Assasin · 2009
Ashiato Hime
· 2017
The Face of Jizo
as Mitsue Fukuyoshi · 2004
Youth Peony Lantern
· 1993
Peony Pavilion
as Cui Hua · 2001
Kita no kuni kara '92 Sudachi Part 1
· 1992
Numb
· 2026
I Am Makimoto
as Miharu Imae · 2022
The Moon
as Yoko · 2023
Free and Easy 12: Big Holiday Bonus Project
as Kido Kubo · 2001
Kogoro Akechi vs Kaijin Nijyuu Menso
as Fumiyo Yoshinaga · 2002
Utsutsu
as Ikuko Obara · 2002
The Miracle on a Christmas Night
· 1995
Basara: The Princess Goh
as Princess Goh · 1992
What Did You Eat Yesterday? New Year's Special 2020
· 2020
Defeat the Devil!
as Maki Hoshigawa · 1990
Dreaming Awake
· 2008
MIRACLE GIRLS: Neva-da Stop Dreaming
· 2010
The Sunday Runoff
· 2022
Who Do I Choose?
as Namiko · 1989
The Invitation from Cinema Orion
as Toyo Toyota · 2007
Seven Days War
as Hitomi Nakayama · 1988
Kita no kuni kara '95 Himitsu
· 1995
Oshare dorobō
· 1989
Intermission
as Self (archive footage) · 2026
Independence of Japan
· 2020
The Tale of Himeji Castle
· 1995
PHOENIX: Reminiscence of Flower
as Romi (voice) · 2023
リア王
· 2025
疾走する蜷川幸雄80歳 〜生きる覚悟〜
· 2016
昭和から騒ぎ
· 2025
Don't Steal My Heart
· 1992
Tom Cat Holmes and the Twilight Hotel
· 1998
Orlando
· 2024
The Kiss of an Invisible Man
· 2004
The Book of the Dead
as Iratsume of Fujiwara (voice) · 2005
Sunny Home
as Self · 2005