is a Japanese

actress An actor or actress is a person who portrays a Character (arts), character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek ...

model A model is an informative representation of an object, person or system. The term originally denoted the Plan_(drawing), plans of a building in late 16th-century English, and derived via French and Italian ultimately from Latin ''modulus'', a mea ...

, and occasional

radio show A radio program, radio programme, or radio show is a segment of content intended for broadcast on radio. It may be a one-time production or part of a periodically recurring series. A single program in a series is called an episode. Radio networ ...

host A host is a person responsible for guests at an event or for providing hospitality during it. Host may also refer to: Places * Host, Pennsylvania, a village in Berks County People *Jim Host (born 1937), American businessman * Michel Host ...

affiliated with Ken-On Group.

Biography

She was born in

Izumi, Kagoshima is a city located in Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan. The city was founded on April 1, 1954. As of 2017, the city has an estimated population of 52,978. In 2008, the city had a population density of 170 persons per km². The total area is 329.98 ...

, and raised in

Sagamihara, Kanagawa is a city in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. , the city has an estimated population of 723,470, with 334,812 households, and a population density of 1,220 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . Sagamihara is the third-most-populous city ...

.
While a junior high student, she was scouted in front of the 109 (department store), 109 department store in

Shibuya, Tokyo Shibuya (渋谷区 ''Shibuya-ku'') is a special ward in Tokyo, Japan. As a major commercial and finance center, it houses two of the busiest railway stations in the world, Shinjuku Station (southern half) and Shibuya Station. As of April 1, ...

. During her middle-teenage years, Nana modeled in several fashion magazines, mainly in ''

Seventeen Seventeen or 17 may refer to: *17 (number), the natural number following 16 and preceding 18 * one of the years 17 BC, AD 17, 1917, 2017 Literature Magazines * ''Seventeen'' (American magazine), an American magazine * ''Seventeen'' (Japanese m ...

''. During the 2000s, Eikura was featured in ''Seventeen'' along with

Emi Suzuki ,http://person.naver.jp/1108859 (Naver) also called Emichee (えみちぃ), is a Chinese-born Japanese model and retired occasional actress. She debuted in 2005 with ''Seventeen'' and remains a prominent figure in the fashion and modelling indus ...

and several others. Eikura later began appearing in various advertisements and collections in the mid-2000s and has appeared in many TV advertisements. She began acting in the mid-2000s. Since around 2007, Eikura has intentionally gained nearly 12 kg (27 pounds). Eikura has been called "Samoan Eikura" because of her facial resemblance to

Mark Hunt Mark Richard Hunt (born 23 March 1974) is a New Zealand former mixed martial artist and kickboxer of Samoan descent, currently living in Sydney, Australia. Hunt competed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) until 2018 and was the winn ...

and

Samoa Joe Nuufolau Joel Seanoa (born March 17, 1979), is an American professional wrestler better known by the ring name Samoa Joe who is currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW). Joe is currently a double champion - in his first reign both as AEW ...

. In 2006, Eikura interviewed Mark Hunt on the

Tokai TV Tōkai ( 東海, literally ''East Sea'') in Japanese may refer to: * Tōkai region, a subregion of Chūbu * Tōkai, Ibaraki, a village, also known as "Tokaimura" (Tokai-village) * Tōkai, Aichi, a city * Tōkai University, a private university in T ...

show ''The MMA Kingdom'', where Hunt said "I've never seen such a skinny Samoan". Eikura has appeared in advertisements for non-fashion/non-cosmetic items, including

Coca-Cola Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. Originally marketed as a temperance drink and intended as a patent medicine, it was invented in the late 19th century by John Stith Pemberton in Atlanta ...

, the

Japanese Red Cross The is the Japanese affiliate of the International Red Cross. The Imperial Family of Japan traditionally has supported the society, with the Empress as Honorary President and other imperial family members as vice presidents. Its headquarters i ...

Japan Post Service , is a Japanese post, logistics and courier headquartered in Tokyo. It is part of the Japan Post Holdings group. History Japan Post was formed on 1 October 2007 after the privatisation of its predecessor, Japan Post. On October 1, 2012, Japan ...

Johnson & Johnson Johnson & Johnson (J&J) is an American multinational corporation founded in 1886 that develops medical devices, pharmaceuticals, and consumer packaged goods. Its common stock is a component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the company i ...

's Japanese branch,

KDDI () is a Japanese telecommunications operator formed on October 1, 2000 through the merger of DDI Corp. (Daini-Denden Inc.), KDD (Kokusai Denshin Denwa) Corp. (itself a former listed state-owned enterprise privatized in 1998), and IDO Corp. It h ...

's au,

Lion The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large Felidae, cat of the genus ''Panthera'' native to Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body; short, rounded head; round ears; and a hairy tuft at the end of its tail. It is sexually dimorphi ...

, and

Nintendo is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational video game company headquartered in Kyoto, Japan. It develops video games and video game consoles. Nintendo was founded in 1889 as by craftsman Fusajiro Yamauchi and originally produce ...

's videogame

Rhythm Heaven ''Rhythm Heaven'', known as ''Rhythm Paradise'' in Europe and ''Rhythm World'' in Korea, is a Japanese rhythm video game developed by Nintendo SPD for the Nintendo DS. It is the second game in Nintendo's ''Rhythm Heaven'' series and the first one ...

. She has also appeared in non-fashion magazines as a model, including the

NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and hi ...

-orientated magazine ''Racing On''. She has appeared in eight TV commercials with

Masami Nagasawa is a common Japanese given name and can be given to either sex. Possible writings *惟美, meaning "Considerate beauty" *真己, meaning "True self" or "Truth, Snake" *昌美, meaning "Prosperous beauty" *雅美, meaning "Gracious beauty" *� ...

. Nagasawa has frequently described Eikura as an "incredibly" nice person. Eikura can play

shamisen The , also known as the or (all meaning "three strings"), is a three-stringed traditional Japanese musical instrument derived from the Chinese instrument . It is played with a plectrum called a bachi. The Japanese pronunciation is usual ...

, has a diploma, and can sing in fluent

Ryukyu language The Ryukyu Kingdom (1372–1879) on Okinawa Island used various writing conventions, all of which were markedly different from spoken registers. A unique feature of Ryūkyū's writing conventions is that in the Old Ryūkyū period (?–1609), it d ...

, which she learned from her modeling colleagues who were from

Okinawa is a prefecture of Japan. Okinawa Prefecture is the southernmost and westernmost prefecture of Japan, has a population of 1,457,162 (as of 2 February 2020) and a geographic area of 2,281 km2 (880 sq mi). Naha is the capital and largest city ...

. She once covered

Rimi Natsukawa is a Japanese singer. She is best known for her 2001 single "Nada Sōsō." Childhood Natsukawa was born in Ishigaki, the largest city in the Yaeyama Islands chain. From a young age she enjoyed singing, and wanted to be a singer after hearin ...

's song "

Nada Sōsō is a song written by Japanese band Begin and singer Ryoko Moriyama. It was first released by Moriyama in 1998, but achieved popularity through the cover version by Rimi Natsukawa in 2001. Ryoko Moriyama version The song first appears in Ryo ...

" on a

Kinki Kids is a Japanese duo consisting of Koichi Domoto and Tsuyoshi Domoto under the talent agency Johnny & Associates. KinKi Kids was formed in 1993 and officially debuted on July 21, 1997. With more than 30 million physical copies sold, they are one of ...

' TV show in 2007. She appeared in

Shinji Aoyama was a Japanese film director, screenwriter, composer, film critic, and novelist. He graduated from Rikkyo University. He won two awards at the 2000 Cannes Film Festival for his film ''Eureka (2000 film), Eureka''. Biography Shinji Aoyama was b ...

's 2011 film ''

Tokyo Park ''Tokyo Park'' or is a 2011 Japanese drama film directed by Shinji Aoyama. It is based on the novel ''Tokyo Koen'' by Yukiya Shoji. It was released in Japanese cinemas on 18 June 2011. Plot Miura Haruma takes on the role of Koji, a college stu ...

''. She starred as Sakamaki Yuki in the winter 2012 drama serial '' Saikō no Jinsei no Owarikata: Ending Planner''. On 7 August 2016, Eikura registered her marriage with fellow actor,

Kento Kaku is a Japanese actor born in Tokyo. He has appeared in a number of feature films, television series, and stage productions. He is represented by Amuse, Inc. His wife is actress Nana Eikura. Biography He made his acting debut in films in 2007. In ...

. They first met when they costarred in the 2014 TBS drama, ''N no Tame ni''. They started dating in summer 2015. She was confirmed to be five months pregnant in March 2017 and then gave birth on June 12, 2017 and has one more child. Starring in 2016, "99.9 ~ Keiji Senmon Bengoshi (2016-) " topped the ratings of Japanese television drama, The final episode reached 21.0 percent, the only drama this year to exceed 20 percent. In 2020 Eikura was nominated for Best Supporting Actress at a major film award, the 45th

Hochi Film Award The are film-specific prizes awarded by the ''Hochi Shimbun , previously known as , is a Japanese-language daily sports newspaper. In 2002, it had a circulation of a million copies a day. It is an affiliate newspaper of ''Yomiuri Shimbun''. ...

for her performance in ''Threads: Our Tapestry of Love''.

Filmography

Films

Television

Dubbing

*''

Coraline ''Coraline'' () is a dark fantasy horror children's novella by British author Neil Gaiman. Gaiman started writing ''Coraline'' in 1990, and it was published in 2002 by Bloomsbury and HarperCollins. It was awarded the 2003 Hugo Award for Best ...

'' (Coraline)

Recognitions

References

External links

Nana Eikura official websiteNana Eikura
at Ken-On * {{DEFAULTSORT:Eikura Nana 1988 births Living people 21st-century Japanese actresses Japanese female models Japanese film actresses Japanese television actresses Actors from Kagoshima Prefecture Models from Kagoshima Prefecture Asadora lead actors Ken-On artists