, known professionally as Tao, is a

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

actress and

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 ...

, who is alongside Ai Tominaga and Hiroko Matsumoto, one of the biggest models from Japan. In 2009, she was one of the faces of

Ralph Lauren Ralph Lauren, ( ; ; born October 14, 1939) is an American fashion designer, philanthropist, and billionaire businessman, best known for the Ralph Lauren Corporation, a global multibillion-dollar enterprise. He has become well known for his co ...

. She made her film debut as the female lead

Mariko Yashida Mariko Yashida is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character has been depicted as Wolverine's romantic interest. She was portrayed by Tao Okamoto in the 2013 film '' The Wolverine''. Publica ...

in the 2013 film '' The Wolverine''; and played Mercy Graves in the 2016 film '' Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice''. She has had recurring roles in the television series ''

Hannibal Hannibal (; xpu, 𐤇𐤍𐤁𐤏𐤋, ''Ḥannibaʿl''; 247 – between 183 and 181 BC) was a Carthaginian general and statesman who commanded the forces of Carthage in their battle against the Roman Republic during the Second Puni ...

'', ''

The Man in the High Castle ''The Man in the High Castle'' (1962), by Philip K. Dick, is an alternative history novel wherein the Axis Powers won World War II. The story occurs in 1962, fifteen years after the end of the war in 1947, and depicts the political intrigues be ...

'' and ''

Westworld ''Westworld'' is an American science fiction- thriller media franchise that began with the 1973 film ''Westworld'', written and directed by Michael Crichton. The film depicts a technologically advanced Wild-West-themed amusement park populat ...

''.

Early life

Tao was born in

Chiba Chiba may refer to: Places China * (), town in Jianli County, Jingzhou, Hubei Japan * Chiba (city), capital of Chiba Prefecture ** Chiba Station, a train station * Chiba Prefecture, a sub-national jurisdiction in the Greater Tokyo Area on ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

. She started modeling as a teenager in Japan, when she was 14 years old.

Career

In 2006, she made a decision to move to

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

and develop her career on an international level. Soon after that, Tao made her debut on the European runways, one of the few prominent East Asian models of that era. She has modelled for brands including Alexander Wang,

Chanel Chanel ( , ) is a French high-end luxury fashion house founded in 1910 by Coco Chanel in Paris. Chanel specializes in women's ready-to-wear, luxury goods, and accessories and licenses its name and branding to Luxottica for eyewear. Chanel is ...

Dolce & Gabbana Dolce & Gabbana (), also known by initials D&G, is an Italian luxury fashion house founded in 1985 in Legnano by Italian designers Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana. The house specializes in ready-to-wear, handbags, accessories, and cosmetic ...

Fendi Fendi () is an Italian high-end luxury fashion house producing fur, ready-to-wear, leather goods, shoes, fragrances, eyewear, timepieces and accessories. Founded in Rome in 1925, Fendi is known for its fur, fur accessories, and leather goods. ...

Louis Vuitton Louis Vuitton Malletier, commonly known as Louis Vuitton (, ), is a French high-end Luxury goods, luxury fashion house and company founded in 1854 by Louis Vuitton (designer), Louis Vuitton. The label's LV monogram appears on most of its produc ...

Michael Kors Michael David Kors (born Karl Anderson Jr. August 9, 1959) is an American fashion designer. He is the chief creative officer of his brand, Michael Kors, which sells men's and women's ready-to-wear, accessories, watches, jewelry, footwear, and f ...

Miu Miu Miu Miu is an Italian high fashion women's clothing and accessory brand and a fully owned subsidiary of Prada. It is headed by Miuccia Prada and headquartered in Paris, France. History Miu Miu was established in 1992 by Miuccia Prada. The name ...

, and Yves Saint Laurent. In 2009, Tao moved to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. Tao has worked in advertising and editorial projects. She has fronted campaigns such as Dolce & Gabbana with

Mario Testino Mario Eduardo Testino Silva OBE HonFRPS (born 30 October 1954) is a Peruvian fashion and portrait photographer. His work has featured internationally in magazines such as ''Vogue, V Magazine,'' '' Vanity Fair'' and '' GQ.'' He has also cre ...

Emporio Armani Giorgio Armani S.p.A. (), commonly known as Armani, is an Italian luxury fashion house founded in Milan by Giorgio Armani which designs, manufactures, distributes and retails haute couture, ready-to-wear, leather goods, shoes, accessories, and ...

by Alasdair McLellan,

Kenzo is a common masculine Japanese given name. Possible writings Kenzō can be written using different kanji characters and can mean: *賢三, "wise, three" *健三, "healthy, three" *謙三, "humble, three" *健想, "healthy, concept" *建造, "bu ...

with

Mario Sorrenti Mario Sorrenti (born 24 October 1971) is an Italian-American photographer and director best known for his spreads of nude models in the pages of ''Vogue'' and '' Harper's Bazaar''. Early life Sorrenti was born in Naples, Italy, and moved to New Y ...

, and

Tommy Hilfiger Thomas Jacob Hilfiger ( /hɪlˈfɪgər/; born March 24, 1951) is an American fashion designer and the founder of Tommy Hilfiger Corporation. After starting his career by co-founding a chain of jeans/fashion stores called People's Place in upst ...

with

Craig McDean Craig McDean (born 1964 in England) is a British fashion photographer, originally from Middlewich, now based in New York City. Life McDean originally trained and worked as a car mechanic before studying photography at Mid Cheshire College (OND) ...

. Editorially, she has shot for ''

i-D Magazine ''i-D'' is a British bimonthly magazine published by Vice Media, dedicated to fashion, music, art and youth culture. ''i-D'' was founded by designer and former ''Vogue'' art director Terry Jones in 1980. The first issue was published in the for ...

'', '' V Magazine'', ''

W Magazine ''W'' is an American fashion magazine that features stories about style through the lens of culture, fashion, art, celebrity, and film. W was created in 1972 by James Brady, the publisher of sister magazine ''Women's Wear Daily'' (''WWD''), ori ...

'', and various international editions of ''

Harper's Bazaar ''Harper's Bazaar'' is an American monthly women's fashion magazine. It was first published in New York City on November 2, 1867, as the weekly ''Harper's Bazar''. ''Harper's Bazaar'' is published by Hearst and considers itself to be the st ...

'' and ''

Vogue Vogue may refer to: Business * ''Vogue'' (magazine), a US fashion magazine ** British ''Vogue'', a British fashion magazine ** ''Vogue Arabia'', an Arab fashion magazine ** ''Vogue Australia'', an Australian fashion magazine ** ''Vogue China'', ...

''. The November 2009 issue of ''Vogue Nippon'' (Japanese ''Vogue'') is dedicated to Tao. She was the Japan Fashion Editor's Club "Model of the Year" and was one of ''Vogue Nippon'''s "Women of the Year" in 2010. In 2013, Tao made her film debut as

, opposite

Hugh Jackman Hugh Michael Jackman (born 12 October 1968) is an Australian actor. Beginning in theatre and television, he landed his breakthrough role as James "Logan" Howlett / Wolverine in the 20th Century Fox ''X-Men'' film series (2000–2017), a role ...

, in '' The Wolverine''. In October 2014, it was announced that she had joined the cast of ''

'' as Chiyoh,

Hannibal Lecter Dr. Hannibal Lecter is a Character (arts), fictional character created by the novelist Thomas Harris. Lecter is a serial killer who Human cannibalism, eats his victims. Before his capture, he was a respected Forensic psychiatry, forensic psychi ...

's family servant. In January 2015, it was announced that Tao would star in the film ''Crossroads'' with

Alodia Gosiengfiao Alodía Almira Arraiza Gosiengfiao (born March 9, 1988) is a Filipina cosplayer, model, TV presenter, singer, vlogger, actress and co-founder of Tier One Entertainment. She is also known as ''Senpai Alodia of the Philippines''. As a celebrity ...

. In 2015, Tao appeared in ''

'' as Betty Kasoura, wife of lawyer Paul Kasoura and a customer at Robert Childan's American Artistic Handcrafts. In 2016, Tao played Mercy Graves in the film '' Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice''.

Modeling

Okamoto has modeled for

Alexander McQueen Lee Alexander McQueen CBE (17 March 1969 – 11 February 2010) was a British fashion designer and couturier. He founded his own Alexander McQueen label in 1992, and was chief designer at Givenchy from 1996 to 2001. His achievements in fashion ...

, Alexander Wang, Burberry Prorsum,

Bottega Veneta Bottega Veneta () is an Italian luxury fashion house based in Milan, Italy. Its product lines include ready-to-wear, handbags, shoes, accessories, and jewelry; and it licenses its name and branding to Coty, Inc. for fragrances. History Found ...

Donna Karan Donna Karan (, born Donna Ivy Faske), also known as "DK", is an American fashion designer and the creator of the Donna Karan New York and DKNY clothing labels. Early life Karan was born Donna Ivy Faske to mother Helen "Queenie" Faske (née Rabin ...

Emanuel Ungaro Emanuel Ungaro (13 February 1933 – 21 December 2019) was a French fashion designer who founded the eponymous fashion house in 1965. Early life Ungaro's Italian father fled to France from Francavilla Fontana of Brindisi province because of th ...

Giorgio Armani Giorgio Armani (; born 11 July 1934) is an Italian fashion designer. He first gained notoriety working for Cerruti and then for many others, including Allegri, Bagutta and Hilton. He formed his company, Armani, in 1975, which eventually expande ...

Givenchy Givenchy (, ) is a French luxury fashion and perfume house. It hosts the brand of haute couture and ready-to-wear clothing, accessories, perfumes and cosmetics of Parfums Givenchy. The house of Givenchy was founded in 1952 by designer Hubert de ...

Hermès Hermès International S.A., or simply Hermès ( , ), is a French luxury design house established in 1837. It specializes in leather goods, lifestyle accessories, home furnishings, perfumery, jewelry, watches and ready-to-wear. Its logo, since ...

Jean-Paul Gaultier Jean Paul Gaultier (; born 24 April 1952) is a French haute couture and Ready-to-wear, prêt-à-porter fashion designer. He is described as an "enfant terrible" of the fashion industry and is known for his unconventional designs with motifs inc ...

Marc Jacobs Marc Jacobs (born April 9, 1963) is an American fashion designer. He is the head designer for his own fashion label, Marc Jacobs, and formerly Marc by Marc Jacobs, a diffusion line, which was produced for approximately 15 years, before it was d ...

, Maison Martin Margiela,

Max Mara Max Mara (Italian aks 'ma:ra is an Italian fashion business. It markets up-market ready-to-wear clothing. It was established in 1951 in Reggio Emilia by Achille Maramotti (7 January 1927 – 12 January 2005). In March 2008, the company had 2,2 ...

Moschino Moschino () is an Italian luxury fashion house founded in 1983 by Franco Moschino in Milan known for over-the-top, campy designs. The company specializes in ready-to-wear, handbags, and fashion accessories. History Founding and 1990s Franco Mosc ...

, Paul Smith,

Phillip Lim Phillip Lim (born September 16, 1973, as Pheng Lim) is an American fashion designer of Chinese descent whose parents immigrated to America from Thailand during the Cambodian genocide. Lim co-founded and worked at the Los Angeles-based fashion labe ...

Salvatore Ferragamo Salvatore Ferragamo (5 June 1898 – 7 August 1960) was an Italian shoe designer and the founder of luxury goods high-end retailer Salvatore Ferragamo S.p.A. An innovative shoe designer, Salvatore Ferragamo established a reputation in the 1930s. ...

Vivienne Westwood Dame Vivienne Isabel Westwood (née Swire; born 8 April 1941) is an English fashion designer and businesswoman, largely responsible for bringing modern punk and new wave fashions into the mainstream. Westwood came to public notice when she m ...

, Yves Saint Laurent and more.

Personal life

In 2015, Okamoto married Tenzin Wild, the Co-Editor-in-Chief of ''The Last Magazine''.

Filmography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Okamoto, Tao 1985 births Living people Japanese female models Japanese film actresses People from Chiba (city) 21st-century Japanese actresses The Society Management models