She was discovered at fourteen by a star agent and worked in many TV shows and commercials. Her stage name is taken from the main character of Junko Kawakami's manga Golden Delicious Apple Sherbet. She became famous outside Japan for her role in Battle Royale (2000), where she performed the cold-hearted Mitsuko Souma; her acting career took off with this movie, and now she is well known in East Asia. Her performance in the movie Go earned her several awards, among which the Best Supporting Actress Award of Japanese Academy, the Hōchi Movie Award, the Kinema Junpō Award. In 2002, she started her singer career with her first single Trust My Feelings, but her singing skills were first recognized with her second single Tsuki no shizuku (used for the movie Yomigaeri), which was one of the most successful J-Pop hits of 2003. Many of her singles have become theme songs for various films, dramas, and commercials. Her highly anticipated second album turned out to be quite a flop compared to her first album. It lasted only 9 weeks and had a peak position of #5 while her first album earned a peak position of #2 and spent 68 weeks on the Oricon charts.[1] On the 25th of April 2007, Shibasaki's third album Kiki♥ was released and went straight to number one. Other than acting and singing, Shibasaki has advertised numerous products such as Epson printers, GlicoPocky's, Daihatsu vehicles, as well as Volvic mineral water from France. In 2005, Shibasaki appeared in the independent Japanese film, Mazon Do Himiko. In this film, she plays Saori, an unhappy young woman whose father is gay. Saori meets her father's boyfriend who urges her to come and meet her dying father at a place called Maison Do Himiko where several aging gay men live together. Still angry that her father abandoned her mother and her when she was young, Saori hesitates, but agrees on the condition she will be paid handsomely working as a maid. The film opened in various Asian markets earning critical acclaim. In 2006, the young actress took the role as Dororo in the Japanese film, Dororo along with Satoshi Tsumabuki (her co-actor from the drama Orange Days). The film made a sensation in Japan, and became the top box office for nearly six weeks. Right after the filming of Dororo, Shibasaki participated in two more movies in 2007 including Maiko Haaaan!!! and Shaolin Girl, scheduled to be screened in 2008. Shibasaki's first Christmas song, "Actuality", was released in December 2006. "At Home" was released later on February 21, 2007. Both failed to reach top 10 on the Oricon charts. "Hito Koi Meguri", released on March 28, 2007, reached number 8 on the charts. It became her first single to reach top 10 since "Invitation". On August 3rd and 5th, Kou Shibasaki held her first concert - "Kou Shibasaki Premium Live" in Osaka and Tokyo. 2400 participants of the concert were selected from over 30,000 of the submitters of the tickets (which accompanied the KiKi album). Currently, Shibasaki is filming the Fuji television drama Detective Galileo, co-starring Masaharu Fukuyama.
Toshima, Tokyo, Japan
