(born on February 5, 1977, in

Takahata file:Yamagata Takahata Winery.JPG, 270px, Yamagata Takahata Winery is a Towns of Japan, town located in Yamagata Prefecture, Japan. , the town had an estimated population of 23,367, in 7629 households, and a population density of 130 persons per ...

Yamagata Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku region of Honshu. Yamagata Prefecture has a population of 1,079,950 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of 9,325 km² (3,600 sq mi). Yamagata Prefecture borders Akita Prefecture to the north, ...

, Japan) is a former Japanese

bikini model A model is a person with a role either to promote, display or advertise commercial products (notably fashion clothing in fashion shows) or to serve as a visual aid for people who are creating works of art or to pose for photography. Though mo ...

and singer.

Biography

She first started modeling in 1995, and became a "Visual Queen of the Year" at

Fuji TV JOCX-DTV (channel 8), branded as and colloquially known as CX, is a Japanese television station based in Odaiba, Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Owned and operated by the it is the key station of the Fuji News Network (FNN) and the Fuji Network Sys ...

for 1996. She was a frequent cover girl on Japanese bikini photo magazines in the late 1990s. She appeared in the advertising campaign for

Suntory (commonly referred to as simply Suntory) is a Japanese multinational brewing and distilling company group. Established in 1899, it is one of the oldest companies in the distribution of alcoholic beverages in Japan, and makes Japanese whisky. Its ...

's product. Aoki stopped modeling in 1998, and retired from modeling in 2000 to focus on a music career. In February 1998, Aoki held a healing music concert at Casals Hall, near

Ochanomizu Station is a railway station in Tokyo, Japan, operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East) and Tokyo subway operator Tokyo Metro. Lines Ochanomizu Station is serviced by the following lines: * **Chūō Main Line (including Chūō Line and Ch ...

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

. In June 1999, she sought to raise money through her singing for the refugees in

Kosovo Kosovo ( sq, Kosova or ; sr-Cyrl, Косово ), officially the Republic of Kosovo ( sq, Republika e Kosovës, links=no; sr, Република Косово, Republika Kosovo, links=no), is a partially recognised state in Southeast Euro ...

. On December 16, 2002, Aoki revealed a chocolate covered statue of

David Beckham David Robert Joseph Beckham (; born 2 May 1975) is an English former professional footballer, the current president and co-owner of Inter Miami CF and co-owner of Salford City. Known for his range of passing, crossing ability and bending fr ...

to generate publicity. In 2003 she released an album titled ''Blue'' on the

Universal Japan , often referred to as just Universal Music Japan or UMJ, is a Japanese subsidiary of the Universal Music Group founded in 1990. It is the largest subsidiary for a foreign company in the country regarding music distribution. The company is resp ...

label. She is currently the lead vocalist for the band Icy Blue. She has been the cover model for (and subject of major articles in) nearly fifty issues of various magazines in Japan, including ''

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 ...

s March 12, 1996 issue. Aoki started appearing for professional wrestling promotion Hustle in 2005, acting primarily as an announcer. In February 2006, Yuko got in a storyline in which she would audition for a full-time job in Hustle, but general manager

Hiroko Suzuki , née , (born 1974) is a Japanese people, Japanese politician, professional wrestling Manager (professional wrestling), valet, occasional professional wrestler and professional wrestling promoter best known in the United States for her work wi ...

verbally attacked her and made her cry until

Wataru Sakata is a Japanese professional wrestler and former mixed martial artist. Career A former Kyokushin karateka, Sakata trained in professional wrestling at Animal Hamaguchi's gym and joined Akira Maeda's Fighting Network RINGS immediately after. F ...

came to her rescue. Aoki became Sakata's

valet A valet or varlet is a male servant who serves as personal attendant to his employer. In the Middle Ages and Ancien Régime, valet de chambre was a role for junior courtiers and specialists such as artists in a royal court, but the term "vale ...

, and helped him to win a match against Hiroko's husband

Kenzo Suzuki is a Japanese professional wrestler. He is perhaps best known for his appearances with New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) and in the United States with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), where he was a one-time WWE Tag Team Champion in the lat ...

. In 2010, she retired from the entertainment industry after getting married. After her retirement, while raising children, she worked at her parents' conveyor belt sushi restaurant in

Yonezawa Yonezawa City Hall is a city in Yamagata Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 81,707 in 33,278 households, and a population density of 150 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . Yonezawa is most famous for ...

References

External links

Yuko Aoki official site (in Japanese)
*
Yuko Aoki video from Japanese television program
* 1977 births Living people People from Yamagata Prefecture Japanese gravure idols Japanese women pop singers Japanese television personalities Musicians from Yamagata Prefecture 21st-century Japanese singers 21st-century Japanese women singers {{model-stub