Agnes Lum (; born May 21, 1956) is an American former model and singer who gained popularity in

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

in the late 1970s and early 1980s. In order to avoid confusion with

Agnes Chan Agnes Meiling Kaneko Chan (; Japanese: 金子陳美齢, ''Kaneko Chan Meirin'') is a Hong-Kong-born Japanese singer, television personality, university professor, essayist and novelist. Since 1998, Chan has been a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador a ...

, another popular idol at the time, "Lum-chan" was used, though many fans called both "Agnes". Lum has appeared in numerous calendars, on posters, and magazine spreads, and these items regularly fetch high prices in the collectors' market.

History

Lum was born to a

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...

father and a

Native Hawaiian Native Hawaiians (also known as Indigenous Hawaiians, Kānaka Maoli, Aboriginal Hawaiians, First Hawaiians, or simply Hawaiians) ( haw, kānaka, , , and ), are the indigenous ethnic group of Polynesian people of the Hawaiian Islands. Hawaii ...

mother. While attending

Kailua High School Kailua High School is a four-year public high school located in the Kailua CDP, City and County of Honolulu, Hawaii, United States on the island of O‘ahu. The school serves students grades 9 through 12. As of the 2000 U.S. Census the U.S. C ...

, Lum worked as a model and became well-known in Hawaii. She was named

Miss Hawaii USA The Miss Hawaii USA competition, previously known as Miss Hawaii Universe, is a beauty pageant that selects the representative for the state of Hawaii in the Miss USA pageant. Kiana Yamat of Honolulu was crowned Miss Hawaii USA 2022 on Februar ...

in 1974, but the title was revoked because she was too young to compete in the contest. Lum became an overnight success in Japan after becoming the first

Clarion Girl A Clarion Girl is a Japanese campaign girl chosen to represent the Clarion car audio products in television and print advertising campaigns. A new representative is chosen annually, and many careers have been launched or enhanced due to being selec ...

in 1975, hired to promote

Clarion Clarion may refer to: Music * Clarion (instrument), a type of trumpet used in the Middle Ages * The register of a clarinet that ranges from B4 to C6 * A trumpet organ stop that usually plays an octave above unison pitch * "Clarion" (song), a 2 ...

products in a

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...

and print

advertising campaign An advertising campaign is a series of advertisement messages that share a single idea and theme which make up an integrated marketing communication (IMC). An IMC is a platform in which a group of people can group their ideas, beliefs, and conc ...

. In 1976, she released her first

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

, titled ''Downtown After the Rain''. That same year, she made her debut appearance on

NHK , also known as NHK, is a Japanese public broadcaster. NHK, which has always been known by this romanized initialism in Japanese, is a statutory corporation funded by viewers' payments of a television license fee. NHK operates two terrestr ...

's ''

Kōhaku Uta Gassen , more commonly known simply as ''Kōhaku'', is an annual New Year's Eve television special produced by Japanese public broadcaster NHK. It is broadcast live simultaneously on television and radio, nationally and internationally by the NHK net ...

'' variety show. In 1996, Lum appeared, along with her twin sons, in a television commercial for the

Daihatsu Pyzar The , sold in some export markets as the Daihatsu Gran Move, is a mini MPV which was manufactured by the Japanese automaker Daihatsu from 1996 to 2002. It is based on the chassis of the Daihatsu Charade#G200, G200 series Charade. The name "Pyzar" ...

. The 12.20.2011 "Super Lucky" edition of ''

Weekly Playboy , also known as or ''WPB'', is a Japanese weekly magazine published by Shueisha since 1966. Although the magazine publishes a variety of news and special interest articles, columns, celebrity interviews, and manga, it is considered an Pornographi ...

'' features Lum. She has appeared on the cover of the publication six times.

Public image

At that time, she was nicknamed "Lum-chan" in Japan, though now that nickname can be confused with that of the fictional character Lum from ''

Urusei Yatsura is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Rumiko Takahashi. It was serialized in Shogakukan's ''Weekly Shōnen Sunday'' from September 1978 to February 1987. Its 366 individual chapters were published in 34 ''tankōbon'' volum ...

''. Lum was the inspiration for the name of this character as she was well known at the time the

manga Manga (Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is u ...

was first released (1978).

Discography

Singles

* *: Keisuke Yamagawa (lyrics),

Yūzō Kayama is a Japanese popular musician, singer-songwriter and actor. Life and career Son of mid-twentieth century film star Ken Uehara,and actress Yoko Kozakura, ( ja) Kayama graduated from Keio University. Yuzo Kayama signed with Toho and made hi ...

(composition) *:Reached 79 on the

Oricon , established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics and information on music and the music industry in Japan and Western music. It started as, which was founded by Sōkō Koike in Nov ...

charts * *: Mayo Shōno (lyrics), Masami Koizumi (composition)

Albums

* *''With Love'' *''I Am Agnes Lum''

Books

Listed chronologically, with newest at bottom. *''Agnes Lum'', , ¥2500, 2000, KK Bestsellers, 82 pages *, , ¥2381, 1998, Saibunkan, *, Kenji Nagatomo and Miho Osada, , ¥840, 2007,

Chuokoron Shinsha is a Japanese publisher. It was established in 1886, under the name . In 1999, it was acquired by The Yomiuri Shimbun Holdings, and its name was subsequently changed to Chūōkōron-shinsha. Profile The company publishes a wide variety of mater ...

*, , ¥1200, 2007, Asuka Shinsha Sources:

References

External links

Agneslum.com
(archived a
Internet Archive
(Italian fan website) {{DEFAULTSORT:Lum, Agnes 1956 births Native Hawaiian actresses American female models American expatriates in Japan Actresses from Honolulu American people of Native Hawaiian descent American women singers American musicians of Chinese descent Japanese gravure models Living people Musicians from Honolulu American beauty pageant winners American models of Chinese descent 21st-century American women