, ''

née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...

'' , was a Japanese actress,

voice actress Voice acting is the art of performing voice-overs to present a character or provide information to an audience. Performers are called voice actors/actresses, voice artists, dubbing artists, voice talent, voice-over artists, or voice-over talent ...

, and

television presenter A television presenter (or television host, some become a "television personality") is a person who introduces, hosts television show, television programs, often serving as a mediator for the program and the audience. Nowadays, it is common for ...

. She was known for her work on

television drama In film and television show, television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or docudrama, semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humour, humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms t ...

s, as well as hosting entertainment and

variety show Variety show, also known as variety arts or variety entertainment, is entertainment made up of a variety of acts including musical theatre, musical performances, sketch comedy, magic (illusion), magic, acrobatics, juggling, and ventriloquism. It is ...

s, such as ''Renso Game'' on NHK. Okae also hosted the morning show ' on Tokyo Broadcasting System Television from 1996 to 2014.

Career

Okae began her professional acting career in 1975. She appeared in numerous television roles and variety shows from the 1970s to the 2010s. In 1982, she released the album ''Yes, I Feel'' on the Casablanca label. She acted in

s, and hosted entertainment and

s, such as ''Renso Game'' on NHK. Okae hosted the morning show, ', on Tokyo Broadcasting System Television from 1996 until 2014.

Personal life

Okae married actor in 1983. They had a daughter, Miho Ohwada.

Death

Okae underwent surgery for early stage

breast cancer Breast cancer is cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipple, a newly inverted nipple, or a re ...

in late 2019. She was then treated with

Radiation therapy Radiation therapy or radiotherapy, often abbreviated RT, RTx, or XRT, is a therapy using ionizing radiation, generally provided as part of cancer treatment to control or kill malignant cells and normally delivered by a linear accelerator. Radia ...

from January to mid-February 2020, which further weakened her immune system. On 3 April 2020, Okae developed a fever and her health began to deteriorate. She was admitted to a Tokyo hospital on 6 April, placed on a ventilator and later diagnosed with

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

during the

COVID-19 pandemic in Japan Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickly ...

. Okae died from

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severity ...

in the Tokyo hospital on April 23, 2020, at the age of 63. She is survived by her husband and daughter.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Okae, Kumiko 1956 births 2020 deaths Japanese television actresses Japanese voice actresses Japanese television presenters Japanese women television presenters Japanese television talk show hosts Japanese game show hosts Japanese women television personalities Actresses from Tokyo People from Setagaya 20th-century Japanese actresses 21st-century Japanese actresses Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in Japan Deaths from pneumonia in Japan