Haruka Ayase

In 2018, she was named the most beautiful face in Japan.

• Name — Haruka Ayase • Native Name — 綾瀬 はるか • Birth Name — Aya Tademaru • Born — 24 March 1985 • Birthplace — Hiroshima, Japan • Education — Teikyo University Junior College • Occupation — Actress • Years Active — 2000–present

Ayase was invited by a friend to participate in the 25th Horipro Talent Scout Caravan. She was interested as "an excuse to not attend club activities", but had nothing prepared, so she did a rabbit imitation that was popular at school. She won the Special Jury Prize, and made her debut in the entertainment world in 2000. Her stage name was taken from the internet, with Ayase and herself choosing it from 16,000 applicants; on February 28, 2001, it was decided as "Haruka Ayase". In addition to photo collections and weekly magazines, her popularity as a gravure idol increased with appearances on local programs such as Cosmo Angel. Her pictorial activities decreased as she began to receive attention as an actress. Ayase made her acting debut in 2001 in part 3 of Kindaichi Shōnen no Jikenbo starring Jun Matsumoto. In 2003, she made her first regular appearance in the serial drama Boku no Ikiru Michi. She was selected as a cast member of Socrates in Love in 2004, for which she won Best Supporting Actress at the 42nd Television Drama Academy Awards for her portrayal of Aki Hirose, a high schooler with leukemia. Ayase shaved her hair and changed her weight in order to match Masami Nagasawa's portrayal of the character in the film.

On March 24, 2006, Ayase made her debut as a singer with the single "Period", produced by Takeshi Kobayashi. The single debuted 8th on the Oricon charts. In 2007, she starred in the television drama Hotaru no Hikari, an adaptation of the manga of the same name, with Naohito Fujiki. A sequel was broadcast in 2010, and the movie was released in 2012. Ayase made her first appearance in an NHK taiga drama with Yae's Sakura, which focuses on Niijima Yae, a warrior, educator, scholar, and nurse of the late Edo period. In 2014, the series was nominated for the International Emmy Award for Best Drama Series. After completing this work, she considered retiring. However, she reconsidered her career and decided that "taiga drama is only a stepping stone."

In 2015, Ayase starred in Hirokazu Kore-eda's film Our Little Sister alongside Masami Nagasawa, Kaho, and Suzu Hirose. The film premiered at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival. It was subsequently released in Japan on June 13, 2015 and premiered in London, England, on October 14, 2015, as part of the BFI London Film Festival. In 2016, Ayase starred as Balsa, a spear wielder and bodyguard, in Guardian of the Spirit, an NHK taiga drama. The role involved stage combat. She starred in all three seasons of the drama. In 2022, she made her "Monday 9" debut, starring in My Ex-Boyfriend's Last Will. This was her first Fuji TV serial drama since Shikaotoko Awoniyoshi around 14 years prior. In September 2025, Ayase reunited with director Kore-eda for the science fiction film Sheep in the Box.

Haruka Ayase was born as Aya Tademaru on March 24, 1985, in Hiroshima Prefecture. Ayase has one elder brother. Her grandparents are survivors of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

While filming for Cyborg She, Ayase broke her nose. On August 31, 2021, Ayase announced on Twitter and Instagram that she had contracted the COVID-19 Delta variant. Though she was originally recovering at home, she was hospitalized after symptoms of pneumonia.

In 2006, Ayase was detained in New Zealand after being mistaken for a spy. Around the spring of 2020, Ayase's personal office, a company managed by her mother, invested around in a scheme co-managed by a Hiroshima tax accountant who was a long-time acquaintance of the Ayase family. The scheme defaulted on repayments to Ayase's company in May 2021, and the accountant's son arranged for a full refund of the investment. The accountant and three others were arrested for investment law violations in November 2022. Other investors alleged that the accountant used his relationship with Ayase to solicit investments in the scheme.

Ayase is a popular product spokesperson in Japan, appearing in commercials for major consumer brands such as Coca-Cola, SK-II, and KFC. She is also the main spokeswoman for Uniqlo and SK-II in Japan.

In March 2011, she launched the awareness for raising about the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami and the subsequent Fukushima nuclear disaster and invited Japanese and international celebrities to add their videos for triple tragedy in Japan. Despite Fukushima crisis, she made a call to action to support the victims of triple disaster and to raise funds in the relief effort. In conjunction, she has also created her own website for the cause.

• Year — Title — Role — Notes — Ref. References • 2001 — The Kindaichi Case Files — Tomoko Ninomiya — Episode 7 • Cosmo Angel — Haruka • 2002 — Kaze no Bon kara — Aki Sugimura • 2003 — Hontō ni Atta Kowai Hanashi — Misaki Onose • Boku no Ikiru Michi — Megumi Sugita • Blackjack ni Yoroshiku — Risako Tsubaki • Otoko Yu — Mina Matsuura • Taikoki — Shino — TV movie • 2004 — Kōfuku no Ōji — Mayu Mitsuishi • True Horror Stories — Chisato Nakamura • Kyokugensuiri Colosseum — Ami Shinozaki • Fuyuzora ni Tsuki wa Kagayaku — Hanako Imamiya — TV movie • It Was Sudden, Like a Storm... — Saho Makino • Crying Out Love in the Center of the World — Aki Hirose — Lead role • Charming — Michiru Majiba • 2005 — Red Fate — Naoko Shimazaki — Lead role; miniseries • 2006 — Satomi Hakkenden — Hamaji — TV movie • Hero — Ririko Izumitani — TV movie • Journey Under the Midnight Sun — Yukiho Karasawa • Love of My Life — Nao Tsukioka • 2007–2010 — Hotaru no Hikari: It's Only A Little Light In My Life — Hotaru Amemiya — Lead role; 2 seasons • 2008 — The Fantastic Deer-Man — Michiko Fujiwara • Rookies — Kyoko Mikoshiba — Episode 8; cameo • 2009 — Kurobe no Taiyō — Sachie Takiyama — TV movie • Mr. Brain — Kazune Yuri • 2009–2011 — Jin — Saki Tachibana — 2 seasons • 2011 — Antarctica — Miyuki • 2013 — Yae's Sakura — Niijima Yae — Lead role; Taiga drama • 2014 — I'm Taking the Day Off — Hanae Aonishi — Lead role • 2016–2018 — Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit — Balsa — Lead role; 3 seasons • 2016 — Never Let Me Go — Kyoko Hoshina — Lead role • 2017 — Caution, Hazardous Wife — Nami Isayama — Lead role • 2018 — Stepmom and Daughter Blues — Akiko Iwaki — Lead role • 2019 — Idaten — Suya Haruno — Taiga drama • 2020 — Stepmom and Daughter Blues 2020 Happy New Year Special — Akiko Miyamoto — Lead role; TV movie • 2021 — Anata no Soba de Ashita ga Warau — Ao Mashiro — Lead role; TV movie • Heaven and Hell: Soul Exchange — Ayako Mochizuki — Lead role • 2022 — Stepmom and Daughter Blues 2022 Happy New Year Special — Akiko Miyamoto — Lead role; TV movie • My Ex-Boyfriend's Last Will — Reiko Kenmochi — Lead role • 2024 — Stepmom and Daughter Blues Final (2024 Happy New Year Special) — Akiko Miyamoto — Lead role; TV movie • 2025 — Unbound — Kurosuke Inari / narrator — Taiga drama • I Want to Die Alone — Narumi Yamaguchi — Lead role

• Year — Title — Role — Notes — Ref. References • 2004 — The Incredibles — Violet Parr • 2018 — Incredibles 2 — Violet Parr • 2025 — The Wild Robot — Roz

• Haruka Ayase Listen to War Experience (TBS, 2010–present)

• 47th Japan Record Awards (TBS, 2005), host • Kōhaku Uta Gassen (NHK) • 63rd (2012), a judge • 64th (2013), the red team captain • 66th (2015), the red team captain • 70th (2019), the red team captain • 76th (2025), a host

• Year — Single — Chart position — Album — Total sales • 2006 — "Period" — 8 — — 28,224 • 2006 — "Kōsaten Days" — 8 — — 18,688 • 2007 — "Hikōkigumo" — 23 — — 10,352 • 2010 — "Māgaretto" — 20 —