(born on July 2, 1984) is a Japanese commercial fashion model and singer. She is managed by Stellar Entertainment Agency and sometimes goes by the name "Lena". Fujii was scouted in

Harajuku is a district in Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan. Harajuku is the common name given to a geographic area spreading from Harajuku Station to Omotesando, corresponding on official maps of Shibuya ward as Jingūmae 1 chōme to 4 chōme. In popular refer ...

and is best known for her work for Japanese

fashion magazine Fashion journalism is a component of fashion media, with a focus on writing and photojournalism. Fashion journalists write about fashion events, trends and have to cultivate and maintain a relationship with stylists and designers. A fashion jour ...

'' ViVi''.

Biography

Early life

Fujii was born in

Kawasaki City is a Cities of Japan, city in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan, one of the main cities of Greater Tokyo Area and Keihin Industrial Area. It is the second most populated city in Kanagawa Prefecture after Yokohama, and the List of cities in Japan, eight ...

, Japan to an American father of Japanese and

Swiss Swiss may refer to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina *Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses *Swiss-system tournament, in various games and sports *Swiss Internation ...

descent and a Japanese mother. Fujii has a younger brother, Arthur. As a high school student, she traveled to

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

to study English following bullying by her Japanese classmates, who would make comments such as "You're a fat one oreignerbut you don't speak English". In Switzerland, she was also subject to bullying and racism, particularly from one female classmate, who would make racist comments. When Fujii initially joined her management company, her debut coincided with two other new models, and Fujii recalls getting the least attention. In recent years, she has become a renowned model in Japan, and is arguably one of the best known Japanese models both in and outside Japan.

Career

Fujii is a regular top print model for Japanese

s '' ViVi'' and ''sweet'', as well as appearing in other magazines like ''VOCE'', ''Lip'', ''spring'', and ''Cutie''. She is the spokesmodel for Canmake Cosmetics and has previously been a spokemodel for the lingerie brand Peach John. She has also done television commercials for

McDonald's McDonald's Corporation is an American Multinational corporation, multinational fast food chain store, chain, founded in 1940 as a restaurant operated by Richard and Maurice McDonald, in San Bernardino, California, United States. They rechri ...

and

Panasonic formerly between 1935 and 2008 and the first incarnation of between 2008 and 2022, is a major Japanese multinational corporation, multinational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate corporation, headquartered in Kadoma, Osaka, Kadoma, Osaka P ...

. She was featured on the covers of DJ Kawasaki's albums ''Beautiful'' and ''Beautiful Too'', where she was a vocalist in the song "Bright like Light feat. Lena Fujii". Kawasaki later went on to produce Fujii's debut 7-song house/techno album, titled ''Lena'', released on April 2, 2008. Her first photo book, titled ''Lena'', was released the same month on April 14, 2008. On July 2, 2008, Fujii released a compilation album, ''ViVi presents Holiday Style – selected by Lena Fujii'' . On July 11, 2009, Fujii held her first live concert at Luxy, a nightclub in

Taipei Taipei (), officially Taipei City, is the capital and a special municipality of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Located in Northern Taiwan, Taipei City is an enclave of the municipality of New Taipei City that sits about southwest of the n ...

, Taiwan. It was reported that she had attracted over one hundred members of the media to a press conference for the concert held the previous day. On November 4, 2009, Fujii released her second album, ''Rainbow'', in which she performed a cover of

Rihanna Robyn Rihanna Fenty ( ; born February 20, 1988) is a Barbadian singer, actress, and businesswoman. Born in Saint Michael and raised in Bridgetown, Barbados, Rihanna auditioned for American record producer Evan Rogers who invited her to the ...

's hit song "

Pon de Replay "Pon de Replay" is the debut single of Barbadian singer Rihanna, from her debut studio album ''Music of the Sun'' (2005). It was written and produced by Vada Nobles, Alisha "M'Jestie" Brooks, Carl Sturken and Evan Rogers. The song was released ...

". On April 10, 2010, she released her second photo book ''No Make''. She also produces her own jewellery line, titled Lounsbery. Fujii is also an actress, known for ''

Rainbow Song is a 2006 Japanese film by director Naoto Kumazawa and produced by Shunji Iwai (who also co-wrote the screenplay under pseudonym Aminosan). Kumazawa had worked with Iwai before, having directed the making-of documentary for '' Swallowtail But ...

-Niji no megami'' (2006) and ''Shibuya'' (2010).

References

External links

藤井リナ公式ブログ
– Lena Fujii official blog {{DEFAULTSORT:Fujii, Lena Singers from Tokyo 1984 births Living people Japanese people of American descent Japanese people of Swiss descent Japanese female models Nippon Columbia artists Japanese women pop singers Stardust Promotion artists 21st-century Japanese singers 21st-century Japanese women singers Models from Tokyo Metropolis