is a Japanese actress, singer, and TV-personality. She was born in Ota, Tokyo, Japan, and is currently married to

Jun Nagura is a Japanese comedian, actor and businessman who is the leader of the comedy trio Neptune and in charge of ''tsukkomi''. He is nicknamed and . Nagura is represented with Watanabe Entertainment. His wife is Marina Watanabe. Nagura is left-hande ...

of the comedy trio

Neptune Neptune is the eighth planet from the Sun and the farthest known planet in the Solar System. It is the fourth-largest planet in the Solar System by diameter, the third-most-massive planet, and the densest giant planet. It is 17 times ...

. She is a former

Japanese idol An is a type of entertainer marketed for image, attractiveness, and personality in Japanese pop culture. Idols are primarily singers with training in acting, dancing, and modeling. Idols are commercialized through merchandise and endorsements b ...

singer who is now known as a television commentator and author who speaks about fashion, travel, personal health, and contemporary issues.

History

Biography

Marina Watanabe was born and raised in Kamata, Tokyo. It is said that her father named his daughter "Marina", an unusual name in Japan which comes from Latin, because he enjoyed

yachting Yachting is the use of recreational boats and ships called ''yachts'' for racing or cruising. Yachts are distinguished from working ships mainly by their leisure purpose. "Yacht" derives from the Dutch word '' jacht'' ("hunt"). With sailboats, t ...

. On the other hand, it is also said that her mother decided on this name. When she was 14 years old, she entered the Miss Seventeen Contest co-sponsored by

CBS Sony , often abbreviated as SMEJ or simply SME, and also known as Sony Music Japan for short (stylized as ''SonyMusic''), is a Japanese music arm for Sony. Founded in 1968 as CBS/Sony, SMEJ is directly owned by Sony, Sony Group Corporation and is ...

and

Shueisha (lit. "Gathering of Intellect Publishing Co., Ltd.") is a Japanese company headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. The company was established in 1925 as the entertainment-related publishing division of Japanese publisher Shogakukan. The foll ...

at the encouragement of her mother and older sister, but was not selected. However, CBS Sony invited her to take singing lessons for a while. In march 1986, she was discovered by star agents, and subsequently passed her audition tests to become an idol in the same year. Soon after, she joined the all-girl idol group

Onyanko Club was a large all-girl Japanese pop idol group in the 1980s. Some members of the group participated in spin-off groups, such as Nyangilas, Ushiroyubi Sasaregumi and Ushirogami Hikaretai. Many of the latter two groups' songs were used as theme so ...

. It was during her time within the group that she made her debut. Her debut song "Shin Koukyuu Shite" (to breathe deep) became a number one song on

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, and later got her in the record books for setting the record for the youngest singer to have a number 1

hit (a record that stood for 15 years until it was broken by a member of the

Morning Musume , formerly simply and colloquially referred to as , are a Japanese girl group, holding the second highest overall single sales (of a female group) on the Oricon charts as of February 2012, with the Oricon record of most top ten singles with an ...

group in 2001). She was 15-years and 11-months old at the time. After her idol club was disbanded, Watanabe continued to participate in various

variety shows Variety show, also known as variety arts or variety entertainment, is entertainment made up of a variety of acts including musical performances, sketch comedy, magic, acrobatics, juggling, and ventriloquism. It is normally introduced by a compèr ...

as a singer. Initially she used mainstream idol clothing in her performances. However, because she decided to purchase her own

clothes Clothing (also known as clothes, apparel, and attire) are items worn on the human body, body. Typically, clothing is made of fabrics or textiles, but over time it has included garments made from animal skin and other thin sheets of materials ...

and design her performance style while abandoning traditional idol styles, she became more popular. Later, she was found to have talent as a comedian, thus she decided to take on more diverse roles such as that of a variety show announcer with a comedic yet sophisticated touch. It was from this period on that others started to notice that she was trying to hide or down-play the fact that she once was a member of an idol group. Throughout the 1990s she continued to build broad networks within the

subculture A subculture is a group of people within a culture that differentiates itself from the parent culture to which it belongs, often maintaining some of its founding principles. Subcultures develop their own norms and values regarding cultural, poli ...

genre of Japan as both an announcer and celebrity, which eventually led to her rising popularity. Currently, she is famous in Japan for her essays and books concerning her hobbies of fashion, travel, and personal health. She is also known widely as a "Taiwan-know-all".

Personal life

After marriage to her husband in 2005, her official name was changed to Nagura Marina, as she adopted her husband's surname "Nagura". However, she continues to work with her old maiden name, Watanabe Marina. She gave birth to her first child, a son, in December 2008. She gave birth to a daughter on June 24, 2010.

Discography

Singles

* "Shin Koukyuu Shite" (1986) * "Howaito Rabitto no Meseeji" (1987) * "Marina no Natsu" (1987) * "Natsuyasumi dake no Saidosheeto" (1987) * "Chiisana Breakin' my heart" (1987) * "Mitsumete agetai" (1988) * "Natsu no Tanpen" (1988) * "Mou Yume kara Samenaide" (1988) * "Calendar" (1989) * "Niji no Shounen" (1989) * "Mune ga Ippai" (1989) * "Atarashii Kimochi" (1990) * "Daisukina SHATSU" (1990) * "Shiawase no Rinkaku" (1991) * "Birthday Boy" (1992) * "Ureshii Yokan" (1995) * "Taiyou to HANAUTA" (1997)

Albums

* MARINA (1987) * EVERGREEN (1987) * CHRISTMAS TALES (1987) * DIARY (1988) * SUNNY SIDE (1988) * MISS (1989) * TWO OF US (1989) * a piece of cake! (1990) * FUNNY FACE (1990) * mood moonish (1991) * Ring-a-Bell (1996) * Watanabe Marina Best Collection (1997)

Television appearances

TV dramas

* ''Kangofu Akademi-'',

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 ...

1987 * ''Osana Tsuma! Mama ha Abunai 17sai!'',

1987 * ''Tokimekizakari'',

1988 * ''Shinkon Monogatari'', NTV 1988 * ''Yonimo Kimyouna Monogatari '',

1990, 1991, 1992 * ''Waru'', Yomiuri TV 1992 * ''O-cha no Ma'', Yomiuri TV 1993 * ''Kachou-san no Kainen'', TBS 1993 * ''Moshimo Negai ga Kanasu nara'', TBS 1994 * ''KAMI-san no Waruguchi 2'', TBS 1995 * ''Dear U-man'', TBS 1996 * ''PIICHIna Kankei'', NTV 1999 * ''Face ~ Mishiranu Koibito'', NTV 2001

Variety shows

* ''Yuuyake Nyan Nyan'', Fuji TV * ''Tonneruzu no mina-san no Okage desu'', Fuji TV * ''Gakkou e Ikkou!"", TBS * ''Zenigata Kintarou'', TV Asahi * ''Takeshi no Daredemo PIKASO'', TV Tokyo * ''Doubutsu Kisou Tengai'', TBS * ''Oshare KANKEI'', NTV * ''JANGURU TV ~ TAMORI no Kisoku ~'', TBS * ''PUROMOMANIA'', Fuji TV

Radio appearances

* Watanabe Marina Kaze no Marina (FM Yokohama) * Across The View (J-WAVE) * TIPNESS presents Watanabe Marina BOO-STAR Rocket ~fit for life~ (TOKYO FM)

Books

* Marina no Tamashii * Marina no Tabibukure – Tawawa Taiwan – * Amatsuyu na Gohoubi * PIRATISU Michi

References

External links

Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Watanabe, Marina Onyanko Club Japanese idols Japanese actresses Japanese television personalities Japanese women pop singers 1970 births Living people People from Ōta, Tokyo Singers from Tokyo